AI platform or workflow tool such as n8n and Dify: an overview

Can n8n do the same?

For many tasks, yes. Workflow tools connect systems: a trigger, such as a new email, starts a chain of steps that fetch data, transform it, pass it to an AI model and hand on the result. If you want to automate a clearly defined workflow, for example sorting enquiries from a form and writing them into a ticket system, there are proven tools for that.

Tool	Type	Licence	Operation
n8n	Workflows between systems, with AI steps and agents	Sustainable Use License, enterprise parts under a separate licence	Self-hosted or n8n’s cloud
Dify	Toolkit for AI applications, agents and workflows	Modified Apache 2.0 with additional conditions	Self-hosted or Dify Cloud
Langflow	Toolkit for AI workflows in Python	MIT	Self-hosted
LangChain with LangSmith	Programming library for developers, LangSmith for operation and monitoring	Library open source, LangSmith commercial	LangChain’s cloud (USA or EU) or in-house (Enterprise)
Make, Zapier	Automation as an online service, with AI steps and agents	Commercial	Provider’s cloud
Camunda	Process automation based on BPMN, with AI agents in processes	Commercial; source code viewable, production use requires a licence	Self-hosted or Camunda’s cloud

Information taken from the providers’ websites and documentation, as of 11 October 2026.

What do the enterprise editions include?

More than is often assumed. The enterprise editions are built for companies:

• n8n: sign-in via SSO and LDAP from the Business plan, roles per project (Admin, Editor, Viewer), custom roles and streaming of logs to external systems in the Enterprise plan; the logs contain sign-ins, changes to credentials and workflows, and their execution.
• Dify: according to the provider, sign-in via SAML or OIDC, permissions down to individual workflows, an audit log that can be forwarded to a SIEM, and in-house operation, including without an internet connection.
• LangSmith: in-house operation, its own sign-in and permissions in the Enterprise plan.
• Zapier: sign-in via SAML from the Team plan, audit log and log streaming, restriction of apps and actions in the Enterprise plan.
• Make: according to its pricing page, sign-in via SAML or OAuth, team roles and an audit log.

Sign-in, permissions and logs alone therefore do not distinguish a tool from a platform. What matters is who the tool is built for and who takes care of the rest.

How does this differ from an AI platform?

In four points that can be checked:

• Audience: Workflow tools are made for specialists who build, test and maintain workflows. An AI platform is made for all staff: the nurse or the case officer picks a ready-made app and gets a result without seeing a workflow.
• Overall operation: With a tool, the AI model, servers, sign-in, logs and updates usually come from different sources and are put together in-house. A platform brings these parts as one product under one licence.
• Responsibility: If you run a tool yourself, you are responsible for security updates, licence checks and proof yourself; what this means legally is covered in Liability: open-source build or purchased platform?. With a platform, these lie with the provider, as far as the contract provides.
• Where the AI model runs: The tool calls the model that the person chooses when building the workflow. Where the data is processed therefore depends on each individual workflow.

Where does the AI model run?

With the tools, this depends on the workflow and on the edition. If a step calls an external provider’s model, the data of that step goes there. For their cloud editions, the providers state (as of 11 October 2026):

• n8n Cloud: servers in Frankfurt.
• Dify Cloud: data on AWS servers in the US East region.
• Zapier: data on AWS servers in the USA.
• Make: data zones in the EU and in the USA to choose from; according to Make, some AI features run in the USA regardless of the zone.

When run in-house, the tools run wherever the organisation installs them. The model can then also run in-house if the IT department provides it.

What should you check in the licence?

Several well-known tools have viewable source code but are not open source in the sense of the Open Source Definition. n8n permits use for your own internal business purposes, not resale as a service. Without written permission, Dify prohibits operation for several tenants; this affects, for example, IT service providers that operate it for several municipalities or hospitals. Since version 8.6, Camunda requires a licence for in-house production use. Examples of how licences and owners change are given in Licence risk with open-source tools.

When does which fit?

• A workflow tool fits when an IT team wants to automate clearly defined workflows between systems and takes care of operation, updates, permissions and licence checks itself.
• An AI platform fits when all staff are to use AI with sensitive data, with permissions from user management, logs, proof and support from a single source.
• Both side by side is possible: the tool automates workflows between systems and calls the AI model through an API of the platform.

What an organisation additionally has to carry when building its own is described in What open-source AI does not include.

How does this work with basebox?

basebox is an AI platform for all staff: chat, apps you share without sharing data, connectors with each person’s own access, and logs that also record workflows. The AI model runs in our cloud in Germany or on a server just for you.

From November 2026, the App Builder builds an app from a description, including across several steps and systems. It uses only connections and models your administrator has enabled, works with the permissions of the person who starts it, and write actions run only after a human has given approval.

For tools you already use, there is an OpenAI-compatible API with a separate key for each person.

The comparisons in detail: basebox and n8n or Flowise, basebox and Dify, basebox and Make or Zapier.