What AI assistants actually recommend when buyers ask about open-source workflow automation tools — measured on a rolling 4-week window across 4 engines, published as open data.
Updated 2026-09-18 · 28 sampled answers · rolling 4-week window · methodology
Rankings are measured from sampled AI answers — never editorial, never paid. Orbator builds AI-visibility tooling; when Orbator itself appears in any category, it is measured by the same rules as everyone else.
Measured by Orbatormethodology owner Henrik Tellewindow ends Sep 18, 2026
Sample: 28 AI answers · Window: Aug 21, 2026 – Sep 18, 2026 (4-week rolling) · trend vs prior 4 weeks (98 answers)
Samples by engine: GEMINI 7 (last run Sep 6, 2026) · CHATGPT 7 (last run Sep 6, 2026) · CLAUDE 7 (last run Sep 7, 2026) · PERPLEXITY 7 (last run Sep 6, 2026) · GROK 0 (last run Aug 18, 2026 — stalest)
How these numbers are made: sampling design · prompt provenance · what counts as a mention · what we cannot see
On the record: This ranking is frozen as a dated snapshot every day. View this category's history to see what entered and left the ranking and when, or read what the engines actually said on a given day.
Across 28 sampled AI answers from 4 engines, Activepieces is recommended most often — appearing in 75% of recommendations, followed by n8n (75%) and Windmill (64.3%).
This is a measurement of share of voice across 4 AI engines — not an editorial pick. See the full ranking below.
Orbator asked Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity buyer questions about open-source workflow automation tools and sampled 28 answers between Aug 21, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026. Recommendation share counts the answers that recommended or listed a product, so a passing mention or a warning adds nothing to it. A category publishes once it holds at least 20 independently sampled answers in the window. Read the full methodology or download this ranking as CSV.
Buyer prompts in this category split between platform choice and data control. The largest intent is best_in_category, 27 runs, where Activepieces and n8n both lead as recommended at 96.3%. Recommendation prompts, 18 runs, put n8n first at 88.9%. Alternatives prompts, 9 runs, again show Activepieces and n8n tied at 88.9% recommended. Problem-solving prompts about self-hosting without sending data to third parties, 9 runs, put Docker first at 88.9%.
So weigh the shape of the question. Activepieces and Node-RED each over-index on the prompt about replacing expensive iPaaS platforms, recommended in 100% of those 9 runs. Windmill over-indexes on connecting internal apps and APIs, 100% of 9 runs. One price is on record: Docker lists Pro at $11 a month, $9 a year with a free tier available, last verified 2026-09-05.
| # | Product | Share | Trend | Engines | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | activepieces.com | 75% 95% CI 56.6–87.3% 21 mentions · avg pos 2.3 first pick 42.9% | — | GEMINI 57.1%CHATGPT 85.7%CLAUDE 85.7%PERPLEXITY 71.4% | Claim |
| 2 | n8n.io | 75% 95% CI 56.6–87.3% 21 mentions · avg pos 2.3 first pick 42.9% | — | GEMINI 57.1%CHATGPT 71.4%CLAUDE 85.7%PERPLEXITY 85.7% | Claim |
| 3 | windmill.dev | 64.3% 95% CI 45.8–79.3% 18 mentions · avg pos 4.3 first pick 11.1% | — | GEMINI 57.1%CHATGPT 85.7%CLAUDE 57.1%PERPLEXITY 57.1% | Claim |
| 4 | nodered.org | 50% 95% CI 32.6–67.4% 14 mentions · avg pos 5.5 first pick 7.1% | — | GEMINI 42.9%CHATGPT 42.9%CLAUDE 71.4%PERPLEXITY 42.9% | Claim |
| 5 | docker.com | 42.9% 95% CI 26.5–60.9% 12 mentions · avg pos 2.1 first pick 50% | — | GEMINI 28.6%CHATGPT 57.1%CLAUDE 42.9%PERPLEXITY 42.9% | Claim |
| 6 | kubernetes.io | 32.1% 95% CI 17.9–50.7% 9 mentions · avg pos 2.6 first pick 55.6% | — | GEMINI 42.9%CHATGPT 57.1%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 7 | make.com | 28.6% 95% CI 15.3–47.1% 8 mentions · avg pos 2.9 first pick 50% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CHATGPT 28.6%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 57.1% | Claim |
| 8 | automatisch.io | 25% 95% CI 12.7–43.4% 7 mentions · avg pos 3.8 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CLAUDE 57.1%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 9 | Huginn | 25% 95% CI 12.7–43.4% 7 mentions · avg pos 4.8 first pick 14.3% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CLAUDE 42.9%PERPLEXITY 42.9% | Claim |
| 10 | postgresql.org | 25% 95% CI 12.7–43.4% 7 mentions · avg pos 7.4 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 28.6%CHATGPT 42.9%CLAUDE 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 11 | zapier.com | 25% 95% CI 12.7–43.4% 7 mentions first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 14.3%CLAUDE 42.9%PERPLEXITY 42.9% | Claim |
| 12 | automate.org | 17.9% 95% CI 7.9–35.6% 5 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 20% | — | GEMINI 57.1%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 13 | kestra.io | 14.3% 95% CI 5.7–31.5% 4 mentions · avg pos 4.3 first pick 25% | — | CLAUDE 28.6%PERPLEXITY 28.6% | Claim |
| 14 | airflow.apache.org | 14.3% 95% CI 5.7–31.5% 4 mentions · avg pos 6.3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 42.9%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 15 | baserow.io | 14.3% 95% CI 5.7–31.5% 4 mentions · avg pos 13.7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 57.1% | Claim |
| 16 | camunda.com | 10.7% 95% CI 3.7–27.2% 3 mentions · avg pos 6 first pick 33.3% | — | GEMINI 28.6%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 17 | git-scm.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 2.5 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 28.6% | Claim |
| 18 | redis.io | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 2.5 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 28.6% | Claim |
| 19 | suitecrm.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 28.6% | Claim |
| 20 | espocrm.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 3.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 21 | vtiger.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 3.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 22 | slack.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 4.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 23 | budibase.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 24 | retool.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 7 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 25 | nocobase.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 26 | tooljet.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 8 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 27 | appsmith.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 8.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 28 | airtable.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 9.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 29 | nocodb.com | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 9.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3%PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 30 | temporal.io | 7.1% 95% CI 2–22.6% 2 mentions · avg pos 10.5 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 28.6% | Claim |
| 31 | forbes.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 1 first pick 100% | — | PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 32 | mautic.org | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 1 first pick 100% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 33 | pipedrive.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 1 first pick 100% | — | CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
| 34 | twenty.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 1 first pick 100% | — | PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 35 | odoo.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 2 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 36 | nextcloud.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 37 | sqlite.org | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 3 first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 38 | privado.ai | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 39 | rasa.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 4 first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 40 | aws.amazon.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 5 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 41 | Vault | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 5 first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
| 42 | prometheus.io | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 6 first pick 0% | — | PERPLEXITY 14.3% | Claim |
| 43 | bit-integrations.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 9 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 44 | dagster.io | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 45 | nginx.org | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | CLAUDE 14.3% | Claim |
| 46 | OpenEMM | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 47 | prefect.io | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 10 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 48 | openpanel.dev | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions · avg pos 12 first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 49 | apache.org | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | GEMINI 14.3% | Claim |
| 50 | sheets.google.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
| 51 | hubspot.com | 3.6% 95% CI 0.6–17.7% 1 mentions first pick 0% | — | CHATGPT 14.3% | Claim |
Reading the numbers: Share is a point estimate on 28 sampled answers, so each row also shows its 95% CI — the Wilson score interval around that share. When two products' intervals overlap, the gap between them isn't statistically meaningful at this sample size. First pick is the share of a product's recommending answers where it was named first, which separates “always mentioned” from “usually the top recommendation”. Full methodology.
Independence: Orbator customers are badged for disclosure. Customer status does not affect prompts, sampling, extraction, or ranking — see the methodology. Your product on this list? Claim it to see the prompts behind your rank and track it weekly.
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Head-to-head pages for products ranked in Open-source workflow automation tools. Each one sets out sourced facts side by side, plus which product AI assistants recommend more, engine by engine.
n8n leads the category with a recommendation share of 92.1% of 63 sampled answers in the 4-week window to 2026-09-05. Its mention breakdown shows 47 runs where it was recommended and 11 where it was listed, with 1 warning against. Engine spread runs from 100% of ChatGPT's 14 answers down to 85.7% of Claude's 14 answers and 85.7% of Grok's 7.
Activepieces is recommended most on the prompt about replacing expensive iPaaS platforms with a self-hosted tool, 100% of those 9 runs. Overall it was recommended in 42 runs and listed in 11. Its highest engine is Grok at 100% of 7 answers, its lowest Perplexity at 71.4% of 14 answers.
Windmill is recommended most on connecting internal apps and APIs, 100% of 9 runs. It was recommended in 25 runs and listed in 12. ChatGPT gave it 78.6% of 14 answers, Claude and Perplexity 50% each of 14. Narrow prompt, so shortlist it for that job rather than general use.
Node-RED is recommended most on the iPaaS replacement prompt, 100% of 9 runs, with 20 recommended runs against 16 listed. Grok gave it 85.7% of 7 answers, Perplexity 35.7% of 14.
Docker is recommended most on building a self-hosted system without sending data to third parties, 100% of 9 runs. It was recommended in 19 runs and listed in 14. Grok gave it 100% of 7 answers, ChatGPT 35.7% of 14. Pricing on record is Pro at $11 a month, $9 a year with a free tier available, last verified 2026-09-05.
Four of the five engines recommended n8n most among the top five. That holds for Claude across 14 answers, Gemini across 14, ChatGPT across 14 and Perplexity across 14. Grok, with 7 answers in the window, recommended Activepieces most among the top five.
The widest gap between engines belongs to Docker. ChatGPT recommended it in 35.7% of its 14 answers, Grok in 100% of its 7, a spread of 64.3 points. Node-RED and Activepieces also move with the engine, though less sharply. A shortlist built from a single assistant will look different from one built across all five, and Docker is where that difference is largest in the 4-week window to 2026-09-05.
This is the first measured window on record for open-source workflow automation tools. It runs 2026-08-08 to 2026-09-05, 28 days, and covers 63 sampled answers across five engines. There is no prior window to compare against, so no entries, exits or share changes are reported yet.
The current standings: n8n leads with a recommendation share of 92.1% of 63 sampled answers, followed by Activepieces at 84.1%, Windmill at 58.7%, Node-RED at 57.1% and Docker at 52.4%, all over the same 63 answers. n8n was also first recommendation in 26 runs, a first-rec rate of 44.8%. Activepieces was first in 16 runs, 30.2%. Movement figures will appear once a second window is measured.
Every number on this page is measured from sampled answers, and those answers are kept. The archive holds dated excerpts of what each engine answered, never full answers. Read the answer archive for open-source workflow automation tools to see the excerpts by date and engine, or view the ranking history to see what entered and left this ranking and when.
Across 28 sampled AI answers from 4 engines (Aug 21, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026), Activepieces is recommended most often for open-source workflow automation tools, appearing in 75% of recommendations, followed by n8n (75%). This is a measurement of what AI assistants recommend, not an editorial verdict.
ChatGPT recommends Activepieces most often for open-source workflow automation tools. It appears as a recommendation in 85.7% of ChatGPT's sampled answers in this window (Aug 21, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026). Other engines answer differently. The per-engine breakdown in the ranking shows each one.
Orbator samples AI answers to buyer questions across 4 engines and counts how often each product is recommended. No product pays for placement. The open-source workflow automation tools ranking is based on 28 answers in the current 4-week window (Aug 21, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026). Full methodology is published at https://www.orbator.io/ai-index/methodology.
Verified facts for the most-recommended products — each sourced and dated. No editorial scoring, just the data side by side.
| Node-REDnodered.org | Dockerdocker.com | Kuberneteskubernetes.io | Automatischautomatisch.io | PostgreSQLpostgresql.org | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | — | Pro: $11 a month, $9 a year (free tier available) ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — | — | — |
| Features | low-code programming ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Docker Engine ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Automated rollouts and rollbacks ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | building workflows ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | object-relational database system ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 |
| Platforms | Microsoft Azure ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | Windows ↗ sourceverified Sep 5, 2026 | — | — | — |
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