Compare · prices checked 5 November 2026
CiraIQ vs n8n
n8n is the favourite of technical teams who self-host. CiraIQ is a hosted alternative for businesses that want ready-made flows, local payments and AI agents that ask before they act.
Quick answer
CiraIQ, if you want it hosted and ready, with M-Pesa, WhatsApp agents, approvals and spend caps built in, from $20 a month. n8n, if you must self-host or want deep code control.
Side by side
| Fact | CiraIQ | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 3 multi-step workflows, free forever | Free self-hosted Community Edition; cloud trial with no card |
| Paid plans from | $20/month (Basic): unlimited workflows, 14-day free trial | €20/month billed annually (Starter, 2,500 executions) |
| Self-host for free | No | Yes |
| Apps | M-Pesa, WhatsApp, Telegram, Gmail, Sheets, Shopify, WooCommerce, Paystack and more | See their app directory |
| Best for | Businesses in Kenya and Africa that run on M-Pesa and WhatsApp, and anyone who wants AI agents that ask before they act. | Technical teams who want to self-host and write code inside workflows. |
| Not great for | Teams that need thousands of niche app integrations, or must self-host on their own servers. | Non-technical owners who want ready-made business flows and local payments without setup. |
Where n8n is the better choice
Choose n8n if you want to self-host for free on your own servers, or need deep code control in every workflow.
What CiraIQ adds
- M-Pesa built in. STK push, Paybill and Till payment triggers, B2C payouts and reversals, with your own Daraja keys. Paystack and Stripe too.
- AI agents on WhatsApp and Telegram. Agents with long-term memory that people talk to, by text or voice.
- Approval before anything irreversible. Sending, posting and spending wait for a person, approved from the app, Telegram or WhatsApp.
- Spend caps and broken-workflow alerts. Set a monthly AI budget per workflow, and workflows that fail 5 times in a row stop and tell you why.
- A marketplace that pays creators. Sell your workflows and keep 70% of each sale, paid to M-Pesa or a bank.
See the apps CiraIQ connects to and ready-made templates.
Questions
- Is CiraIQ cheaper than n8n cloud?
- CiraIQ Basic is $20 a month. n8n cloud starts at €20 a month billed annually for Starter with 2,500 executions.
- Can I self-host CiraIQ?
- No. CiraIQ is a hosted service. If self-hosting is a must, n8n's Community Edition is free.
- Does CiraIQ support code steps?
- Yes. The Code step runs JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, PHP or Lua.
Competitor prices and plans were read from each company's own pricing page on 5 November 2026 and can change; follow the links for today's figures. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Try CiraIQ on your own workflow
Start free with 3 workflows. No card needed. Install a template or build your own on the canvas.