Self-hosting automation removes per-task pricing and keeps sensitive data inside your own servers. The trade-off is that you run the infrastructure. These are the projects with the biggest communities.
Visual builders (closest to Zapier and Make)
1
n8n n8n-io/n8n
By far the most-starred automation project on GitHub. Visual workflows with code steps and AI nodes. It is ‘fair-code’: free to self-host, with limits on offering it as a paid service.
2
activepieces activepieces/activepieces
A friendly visual builder with a large library of integrations, now also exposed as MCP servers for AI agents.
3
automatisch automatisch/automatisch
Describes itself as the open-source Zapier alternative, with a deliberately simple interface. Check the activity column: updates have slowed.
4
node-red node-red/node-red
Low-code, event-driven flows, born in IoT and widely used for home and industrial automation. Apache-2.0.
Developer platforms
5
windmill windmill-labs/windmill
Turns scripts into webhooks, workflows and internal UIs. Best when your team prefers writing code to dragging boxes.
6
kestra kestra-io/kestra
Event-driven orchestration and scheduling for data and business-critical pipelines, defined in YAML.
7
trigger.dev triggerdotdev/trigger.dev
Durable background jobs and AI agent workflows written in TypeScript, for product teams that automate inside their own app.
8
huginn huginn/huginn
The veteran: agents that watch websites and feeds and act for you. MIT-licensed and still maintained.
How to choose
Non-technical teams moving off Zapier: n8n or Activepieces. Engineers who want automation as code: Windmill, Kestra or Trigger.dev. Devices, sensors and home setups: Node-RED.
How we pick: we start from every public GitHub repository with 1,000+ stars, keep the projects that do the job in the title, and read their descriptions and licenses. Stars show community size, not quality, so we also show maintenance status. Nobody paid to be listed.