Lumen-Pro vs n8n — self-hosting fatigue meets agent-first automation
n8n is the open-source darling — self-host for free, full data control. But agentic patterns are bolted on, and you still own the upgrade treadmill. Lumen-Pro is agent-first from the ground up: the platform plans tool calls; you describe outcomes.
| Capability | Lumen | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Cited answers | Yes | N/A |
| Agent mode (plans, acts, observes) | Yes — an adaptive step-by-step loop | AI nodes (bolted-on) |
| Acts in your own browser | Yes — browser extension | Via custom nodes |
| Works on files on your machine | Yes — opt-in Local Agent | Yes (self-host) |
| Connectors | Google, GitHub and the shared connector catalogue | 400+ + community |
| Choose your own model | Yes — the full roster, or let the router choose | BYO API keys |
| Image generation | Yes | Via nodes |
| Price | See plans — free tier, no card | Free (self-host) / EUR 20+ cloud |
Competitor details above describe n8n as publicly documented at the time of writing. Vendors change their plans; check theirs before you decide.
Why people switch
n8n is unbeatable if you must own the infra. Lumen-Pro is for teams who'd rather have an agent that reasons across the whole job, not a pipeline they still hand-author. Bonus: the Empire bundle means MyAICEO, MyAIAccountant, AISEO Edge and the Distributor all speak Lumen-Pro natively — no glue code.
Try it yourself
The free tier already includes agent mode, so you can judge the difference on your own question rather than ours.