AI Index / Open-source workflow automation tools / History

Open-source workflow automation tools — AI Recommendation History

What AI assistants recommended for open-source workflow automation tools, date by date. Every ranking we publish is frozen the day it publishes, so this is a record of what was said — not a re-computation of what today's data would say about the past.

Record: 26 dated snapshots · Aug 14, 2026 – Sep 8, 2026

Answer archive Methodology Data studies JSON

What changed

Computed by comparing each dated snapshot with the one before it. Share moves smaller than 1pp are treated as noise and left out — the same threshold that suppresses trend arrows on the ranking.

Sep 8, 2026vs Sep 7, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 7, 2026vs Sep 6, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 5-7 → 7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲ INAutomatisch entered the top 10 (#13 → #10)
▼ OUTKestra left the top 10 (#10 → #11)
▲Automatisch moved #13 → #10
▲Make moved #8 → #7
▼Huginn moved #7 → #8
▼Kestra moved #10 → #11
▼Docker -3.2pp (52.4% → 49.2%)
▲Zapier AI +3.2pp (22.2% → 25.4%)
▲Automatisch +3.2pp (19% → 22.2%)
▲Windmill +1.6pp (60.3% → 61.9%)
▼Node-RED -1.6pp (54% → 52.4%)
▼Huginn -1.6pp (28.6% → 27%)
▼Kubernetes -1.5pp (31.7% → 30.2%)

Sep 6, 2026vs Sep 5, 2026

▲ INZapier AI entered the top 10 (#12 → #9)
▼ OUTApache Airflow left the top 10 (#10 → #12)
▼Kestra moved #6 → #10
▲Kubernetes moved #9 → #6
▲Zapier AI moved #12 → #9
▼Apache Airflow moved #10 → #12
▼n8n -9.6pp (92.1% → 82.5%)
▼Kestra -8pp (28.6% → 20.6%)
▼Apache Airflow -6.4pp (27% → 20.6%)
▼Activepieces -4.7pp (84.1% → 79.4%)
▲Kubernetes +4.7pp (27% → 31.7%)
▼Zapier AI -3.2pp (25.4% → 22.2%)
▼Node-RED -3.1pp (57.1% → 54%)
▲Windmill +1.6pp (58.7% → 60.3%)

Sep 5, 2026vs Sep 4, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 4, 2026vs Sep 3, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 3, 2026vs Sep 2, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 2, 2026vs Sep 1, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Sep 1, 2026vs Aug 31, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 31, 2026vs Aug 30, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 30, 2026vs Aug 29, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 29, 2026vs Aug 28, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 28, 2026vs Aug 27, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 27, 2026vs Aug 26, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-7 → 5-7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲ INHuginn entered the top 10 (#13 → #7)
▲ INApache Airflow entered the top 10 (#12 → #10)
▼ OUTAutomatisch left the top 10 (#7 → #11)
▼ OUTZapier AI left the top 10 (#8 → #12)
▲Huginn moved #13 → #7
▼Automatisch moved #7 → #11
▼Zapier AI moved #8 → #12
▲Apache Airflow moved #12 → #10
▲Make moved #9 → #8
▲Kubernetes moved #10 → #9
▲Huginn +5.2pp (23.4% → 28.6%)
▲Node-RED +3.9pp (53.2% → 57.1%)
▲Docker +3pp (49.4% → 52.4%)
▲Activepieces +2.3pp (81.8% → 84.1%)
▲Apache Airflow +2.3pp (24.7% → 27%)
▼Automatisch -1.9pp (27.3% → 25.4%)
▼Zapier AI -1.9pp (27.3% → 25.4%)
▲n8n +1.2pp (90.9% → 92.1%)
▲Make +1pp (26% → 27%)
▲Kubernetes +1pp (26% → 27%)

Aug 26, 2026vs Aug 25, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 25, 2026vs Aug 24, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 24, 2026vs Aug 23, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 23, 2026vs Aug 22, 2026

▲ INKubernetes entered the top 10 (#12 → #10)
▼ OUTAutomate left the top 10 (#10 → #11)
▲Kestra moved #8 → #6
▼Zapier AI moved #6 → #8
▲Kubernetes moved #12 → #10
▼Automate moved #10 → #11
▼Zapier AI -4.6pp (31.9% → 27.3%)
▲Windmill +3.5pp (54.9% → 58.4%)
▲Kubernetes +2.9pp (23.1% → 26%)
▼Automatisch -2.4pp (29.7% → 27.3%)
▼Kestra -1.1pp (29.7% → 28.6%)

Aug 22, 2026vs Aug 21, 2026

▲Kestra moved #9 → #8
▼Make moved #8 → #9
▼Make -3.2pp (29.6% → 26.4%)
▼Zapier AI -2.8pp (34.7% → 31.9%)
▲Kestra +1.1pp (28.6% → 29.7%)

Aug 21, 2026vs Aug 20, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 20, 2026vs Aug 19, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 19, 2026vs Aug 18, 2026

▲Kestra moved #10 → #9
▼Automate moved #9 → #10
▼Automate -5.8pp (31.3% → 25.5%)
▼Zapier AI -4.6pp (39.3% → 34.7%)
▼Activepieces -2.3pp (83.9% → 81.6%)
▼Docker -1.9pp (50.9% → 49%)
▼Make -1.7pp (31.3% → 29.6%)
▲Windmill +1.5pp (53.6% → 55.1%)
▲Node-RED +1.4pp (52.7% → 54.1%)

Aug 18, 2026vs Aug 17, 2026

Methodology change: extraction rules 4-5 → 4-7 between these dates. Differences below may reflect the rule change rather than a change in what AI recommends — see the methodology changelog.

▲Make moved #9 → #8
▼Automate moved #8 → #9
▼Zapier AI -4.7pp (44% → 39.3%)
▼Kestra -3.3pp (31% → 27.7%)
▼Automatisch -3.2pp (34.5% → 31.3%)
▼Automate -3.2pp (34.5% → 31.3%)
▲Node-RED +2.7pp (50% → 52.7%)
▲Windmill +2.4pp (51.2% → 53.6%)
▲Docker +2.1pp (48.8% → 50.9%)

Aug 17, 2026vs Aug 16, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 16, 2026vs Aug 15, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

Aug 15, 2026vs Aug 14, 2026

No change above the noise floor.

The ranking, date by date

Top 10 on each archived date, exactly as published. Cite a date and it stays true: snapshots are append-only, and a correction appends a new revision rather than overwriting the original.

Sep 8, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-11 – 2026-09-08 · rules v7

#1n8n82.5%
#2Activepieces79.4%
#3Windmill61.9%
#4Node-RED52.4%
#5Docker49.2%
#6Kubernetes30.2%
#7Make27%
#8Huginn27%
#9Zapier AI25.4%
#10Automatisch22.2%

Sep 7, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-10 – 2026-09-07 · rules v7

#1n8n82.5%
#2Activepieces79.4%
#3Windmill61.9%
#4Node-RED52.4%
#5Docker49.2%
#6Kubernetes30.2%
#7Make27%
#8Huginn27%
#9Zapier AI25.4%
#10Automatisch22.2%

Sep 6, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-09 – 2026-09-06 · rules v5-7

#1n8n82.5%
#2Activepieces79.4%
#3Windmill60.3%
#4Node-RED54%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kubernetes31.7%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Zapier AI22.2%
#10Kestra20.6%

Sep 5, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-08 – 2026-09-05 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Sep 4, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-07 – 2026-09-04 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Sep 3, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-06 – 2026-09-03 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Sep 2, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-05 – 2026-09-02 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Sep 1, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-04 – 2026-09-01 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Aug 31, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-03 – 2026-08-31 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Aug 30, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-02 – 2026-08-30 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Aug 29, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-08-01 – 2026-08-29 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Aug 28, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-31 – 2026-08-28 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Aug 27, 202663 sampled answers · window 2026-07-30 – 2026-08-27 · rules v5-7

#1n8n92.1%
#2Activepieces84.1%
#3Windmill58.7%
#4Node-RED57.1%
#5Docker52.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Huginn28.6%
#8Make27%
#9Kubernetes27%
#10Apache Airflow27%

Aug 26, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-29 – 2026-08-26 · rules v4-7

#1n8n90.9%
#2Activepieces81.8%
#3Windmill58.4%
#4Node-RED53.2%
#5Docker49.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Automatisch27.3%
#8Zapier AI27.3%
#9Make26%
#10Kubernetes26%

Aug 25, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-28 – 2026-08-25 · rules v4-7

#1n8n90.9%
#2Activepieces81.8%
#3Windmill58.4%
#4Node-RED53.2%
#5Docker49.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Automatisch27.3%
#8Zapier AI27.3%
#9Make26%
#10Kubernetes26%

Aug 24, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-27 – 2026-08-24 · rules v4-7

#1n8n90.9%
#2Activepieces81.8%
#3Windmill58.4%
#4Node-RED53.2%
#5Docker49.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Automatisch27.3%
#8Zapier AI27.3%
#9Make26%
#10Kubernetes26%

Aug 23, 202677 sampled answers · window 2026-07-26 – 2026-08-23 · rules v4-7

#1n8n90.9%
#2Activepieces81.8%
#3Windmill58.4%
#4Node-RED53.2%
#5Docker49.4%
#6Kestra28.6%
#7Automatisch27.3%
#8Zapier AI27.3%
#9Make26%
#10Kubernetes26%

Aug 22, 202691 sampled answers · window 2026-07-25 – 2026-08-22 · rules v4-7

#1n8n91.2%
#2Activepieces81.3%
#3Windmill54.9%
#4Node-RED53.8%
#5Docker49.5%
#6Zapier AI31.9%
#7Automatisch29.7%
#8Kestra29.7%
#9Make26.4%
#10Automate25.3%

Aug 21, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-24 – 2026-08-21 · rules v4-7

#1n8n90.8%
#2Activepieces81.6%
#3Windmill55.1%
#4Node-RED54.1%
#5Docker49%
#6Zapier AI34.7%
#7Automatisch30.6%
#8Make29.6%
#9Kestra28.6%
#10Automate25.5%

Aug 20, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-23 – 2026-08-20 · rules v4-7

#1n8n90.8%
#2Activepieces81.6%
#3Windmill55.1%
#4Node-RED54.1%
#5Docker49%
#6Zapier AI34.7%
#7Automatisch30.6%
#8Make29.6%
#9Kestra28.6%
#10Automate25.5%

Aug 19, 202698 sampled answers · window 2026-07-22 – 2026-08-19 · rules v4-7

#1n8n90.8%
#2Activepieces81.6%
#3Windmill55.1%
#4Node-RED54.1%
#5Docker49%
#6Zapier AI34.7%
#7Automatisch30.6%
#8Make29.6%
#9Kestra28.6%
#10Automate25.5%

Aug 18, 2026112 sampled answers · window 2026-07-21 – 2026-08-18 · rules v4-7

#1n8n91.1%
#2Activepieces83.9%
#3Windmill53.6%
#4Node-RED52.7%
#5Docker50.9%
#6Zapier AI39.3%
#7Automatisch31.3%
#8Make31.3%
#9Automate31.3%
#10Kestra27.7%

Aug 17, 202684 sampled answers · window 2026-07-20 – 2026-08-17 · rules v4-5

#1n8n91.7%
#2Activepieces83.3%
#3Windmill51.2%
#4Node-RED50%
#5Docker48.8%
#6Zapier AI44%
#7Automatisch34.5%
#8Automate34.5%
#9Make32.1%
#10Kestra31%

Aug 16, 202684 sampled answers · window 2026-07-19 – 2026-08-16 · rules v4-5

#1n8n91.7%
#2Activepieces83.3%
#3Windmill51.2%
#4Node-RED50%
#5Docker48.8%
#6Zapier AI44%
#7Automatisch34.5%
#8Automate34.5%
#9Make32.1%
#10Kestra31%

Aug 15, 202684 sampled answers · window 2026-07-18 – 2026-08-15 · rules v4-5

#1n8n91.7%
#2Activepieces83.3%
#3Windmill51.2%
#4Node-RED50%
#5Docker48.8%
#6Zapier AI44%
#7Automatisch34.5%
#8Automate34.5%
#9Make32.1%
#10Kestra31%

Aug 14, 202684 sampled answers · window 2026-07-17 – 2026-08-14 · rules v4-5

#1n8n91.7%
#2Activepieces83.3%
#3Windmill51.2%
#4Node-RED50%
#5Docker48.8%
#6Zapier AI44%
#7Automatisch34.5%
#8Automate34.5%
#9Make32.1%
#10Kestra31%

Read any date directly

Every archived date is machine-readable at /api/index/open-source-workflow-automation/as-of/<YYYY-MM-DD>, which returns the ranking as it stood, with the extraction version and revision it was published under. Dates before the record begins return no_record rather than a recomputation — we do not reconstruct history on demand and present it as what we said. See what the engines actually said.

[ORBATOR]