# Workato vs n8n: which do AI models recommend for automation & ipaas, October 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Workflow automation and iPaaS. Eight of fourteen models named Workato first on the direct prompt; zero named n8n. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/gtm-data/workflow-automation-and-ipaas/workato-vs-n8n/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workato | 28% | #1 of 11 | 14% | 56 | 14 of 14 |
| n8n | 9% | #4 of 11 | 21% | 48 | 14 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- GPT-5.4 mini: workato first (first choices: Workato) (alternatives: Boomi, Microsoft Power Automate, MuleSoft Anypoint Platform, Zapier)
- Perplexity Sonar: workato first (first choices: Workato) (alternatives: HubSpot Operations Hub, Make, Zapier)
- Grok 4.20: workato first (first choices: Workato) (alternatives: Boomi, Celigo, Make, Tray.ai, Zapier)
- Mistral Small: workato first (first choices: Workato) (alternatives: HubSpot Marketing Hub, Jitterbit Harmony, Microsoft Power Automate)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: workato first (first choices: Celigo, Workato) (alternatives: Make, Microsoft Power Automate)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: workato first (first choices: Workato) (alternatives: Jitterbit Harmony, Make, Microsoft Power Automate)
- GPT-6 Luna: workato first (first choices: Workato) (alternatives: Boomi, Make, Microsoft Power Automate)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: workato first (first choices: Celigo integrator.io, Workato)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: Celigo) (alternatives: Make, Tray.ai, Workato, Zapier)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Make) (alternatives: Zapier, n8n)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither first, one named (first choices: Make, Zapier) (alternatives: Workato)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named (first choices: AdRoll ABM) (alternatives: Boomi, Celigo's integrator.io)
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: Make) (alternatives: Microsoft Power Automate, Zapier)

## What the models said about Workato

- "Caution points are cost and complexity... Overkill for small teams; licensing and implementation costs can be high relative to simpler needs." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "often enterprise-first and can require significant IT involvement ... may be overkill for simple team automation" (Perplexity Sonar, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "Powerful but expensive (~$2,500+/month...). Better for enterprises with dedicated integration budgets." (Kimi K2, direct prompt, soft negative)
- "For most mid-market B2B companies, Workato is the best overall choice due to its scalability, depth, and B2B-focused integrations." (Mistral Small, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Workato is most often named as the overall "best for mid-market and enterprise IT teams running governed integrations"" (Muse Glimmer 30B, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Workato is the safest and most flexible first choice if you want business teams to automate across apps" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about n8n

- "Critical vulnerabilities: Multiple CVEs (CVE-2026-27577, CVE-2026-27493) with CVSS scores of 9.4-9.5" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "Tens of thousands of systems may be exposed to a critical vulnerability in n8n (CVE-2026-21858)" (Claude Haiku 4.5, negative prompt, hard negative)
- "This popular open-source workflow automation platform has faced multiple critical vulnerabilities... If you use n8n, ensure you're running the latest versions" (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt, soft negative)
- "For a company with a limited budget, n8n stands out as the best overall workflow automation and integration platform." (Grok 4.20, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Best Overall Value (Free Option Available) ... n8n is unbeatable if you have technical resources to self-host" (Kimi K2, budget prompt, first choice)
- "n8n self-hosted or Activepieces gives you truly zero vendor cost and unlimited runs" (Muse Glimmer 30B, budget prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.