Automation moves data. Agents make the call.
n8n and Zapier connect your apps. Open Docy reads your documents, checks them against your rules and puts a person on every exception. They solve different problems, and they work well together.
Pick by the job, not the brand
Use n8n or Zapier when
- The job is "when this happens in one app, do that in another".
- You need a wide choice of ready-made app connections.
- The data is already structured and nobody has to judge it.
Use Open Docy when
- The input is documents and someone has to check them against rules.
- Exceptions need a named person to decide, with the reason on record.
- You want the agents, files and results on your own server.
Not sure? If a mistake would need explaining to an auditor, a client or your boss, you probably want a record of how the decision was made. That is what Open Docy is for.
Where they differ
| n8n and Zapier | Open Docy | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Connecting apps and moving data between them when something happens. | Reading documents, checking them against rules and deciding what needs a person. |
| Typical input | An event or a record from an app: a new row, an email, a form entry. | A document or pack of documents: contracts, invoices, certificates, declarations, applications. |
| Reading documents | Possible as one step among many. You decide how fields are extracted and checked. | The core job. Extraction, rule checks and comparison across documents are built-in node types. |
| Rules | Written as filters, branches or code in the workflow. | Audit nodes show the rule, the expected value and what was found, so a reviewer can see why something failed. |
| Human in the loop | Pause or approval steps exist; scope depends on plan and setup. | A person's answer is a step in the agent, stored with the run: who decided, what they chose and why. |
| Record of the decision | Execution history shows what ran. | Each node's output is kept, with a hash-chained audit log you can export. |
| Integrations | Hundreds to thousands of apps ready to connect. | Few. It works from files, a REST API and webhooks. Bring the files; connect the rest with an automation tool. |
| Where it runs | n8n: self-hosted or cloud. Zapier: cloud. | Open Docy: on your own server. Docy AI: our cloud or your premises. |
| How you pay | By executions (n8n) or tasks (Zapier), on tiered plans. | Open Docy: free to self-host, you pay for your server and model usage. |
n8n and Zapier are separate products with their own plans, which change. This table describes their general approach; check their sites for what your plan includes.
The same job, two ways
A supplier invoice arrives by email. An automation tool is good at the plumbing: notice the email, save the attachment, create a row in your accounting system, post to a channel.
It is not built to answer "does this invoice match the purchase order and the contract, and is the bank account the one we have on file?" An Open Docy agent reads the invoice and the purchase order, compares the amounts, dates and details against your rules, and sends any mismatch to the person who approves payments. It shows them the rule, the expected value and what it found, and records their answer.
Put the two together and the automation tool delivers the files and triggers the run through the API. Open Docy returns the decision and the record, and the automation tool carries on from there.
Common questions
Is Open Docy a replacement for n8n or Zapier?
Usually not. n8n and Zapier are built to move data between apps and trigger actions when something happens. Open Docy is built to read documents, check them against rules you set, send exceptions to a named person and keep a record of the decision. Many teams would use an automation tool to deliver files and trigger runs, and Open Docy to decide what is in them.
Can I trigger Open Docy from n8n or Zapier?
Yes. Open Docy has a REST API for tasks, agents and files, and signed webhooks that push task events when a run changes status or finishes. Both n8n and Zapier can call an HTTP API and receive webhooks, so a workflow can hand a file to an agent and pick up the result.
Can n8n or Zapier do human approval?
Both can pause for a person in some form, and what is available depends on the plan you are on. In Open Docy the person's answer is a step in the agent itself: the agent shows the rule, the expected value and what it found, and the answer is stored with the run.
Can I self-host them?
n8n offers a self-hosted version under its own terms, which you should read for how you intend to use it. Zapier is a hosted service. Open Docy is self-hosted, so agents, tasks, uploaded documents and results stay on the server you run it on.
How do they charge?
n8n charges by workflow executions and Zapier by tasks, each on plans that set the features. Open Docy is free to self-host; you pay for your own server and for the AI model usage your agents make. Check each vendor's current pricing page, since plans change.
- It is not a general app-integration platform. It has few built-in connections, so pair it with n8n or Zapier when you need them.
- The rules are yours. Agents check documents against rules you set; they don't replace the people who make the decision.
- Docy AI, the commercial edition, adds team spaces, chat-built agents and sealed decision records. See the editions.
See what an agent would check in your documents.
Browse example agents by industry, or leave your email and we'll tell you when Open Docy is released.