Is Node-RED good for home automation?
Yes. Node-RED is widely used with Home Assistant, MQTT and smart home devices. You wire together nodes in a browser-based flow editor to react to…
Node-RED: Visual Flow Automation
Node-RED lets you build workflow automations visually or in code without sending data through a third-party cloud.
Compare with similar apps
How Node-RED stacks up against other workflow apps. Add or remove apps to change the comparison.
| Requirement | Node-RED | Activepieces | Huginn | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | x86 + ARM | x86 + ARM | x86 + ARM | x86 + ARM |
| Price | Free | Free + Cloud | Free | Free + Cloud |
| Containers | 1 (app only) | 3 (app, PostgreSQL +1) | 1 (app only) | 1 (app only) |
| Database | none | PostgreSQL | MySQL / PostgreSQL | SQLite |
| Runtime | Node | Node.js | Ruby | Node |
| Install options | Docker + Linux, macOS, Windows | Docker only | Docker only | Docker + Linux, macOS, Windows |
Common questions
Can I run Node-RED on a Raspberry Pi?
Yes. Node-RED was designed to run on low-cost hardware and has an official install script for Raspberry Pi. It also runs well in Docker on a Pi, NAS…
How do I back up my Node-RED flows?
Flows are stored as JSON files in the Node-RED user directory, usually ~/.node-red or the volume you mount at /data in Docker. Back up that folder…
Alternatives to Node-RED
More apps in Workflow.
Activepieces
An open-source automation tool for building workflows from reusable TypeScript pieces, with hundreds of integrations.
Free + Cloudx86 + ARMNode.js
Huginn
A system for building agents that watch the web, react to events and act on your behalf, like a hackable IFTTT or Zapier.
Freex86 + ARMRuby