Side by side

Node-RED vs Windmill

Both stand on task automation software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Node-RED

Free plan Open source AndroidAPILinux+4

Node-RED offers a visual flow editor, a lightweight runtime, and a large community library. Its default editor security is important to address before deployment.

Visit Node-RED

Windmill

Free plan Open source APILinuxSelf-hosted+2

Windmill combines developer scripting with low-code workflow and app building, and supports self-hosting. Its free plan has stated workspace, user, storage, and guest-user limits; Enterprise adds listed security features and priority support.

Visit Windmill

The facts

	Node-RED	Windmill
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Yes	Yes
Runs on	Android, API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows	API, Linux, Self-hosted, Web, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Enterprise: $120 a month
Plans published	2	3
Maker	Node-RED	Not published
Website	nodered.org	windmill.dev
On task automation software	#1 of 35	#2 of 35

Node-RED: what it does well

Browser editor connects nodes into deployable flows.
Runtime is designed for edge hardware or cloud.
Flow Library offers more than 5,000 nodes and flows.
Flows can be shared as JSON.
Projects use Git for version control and collaboration.

What to know first

Editor access is unsecured by default.
Windows installation requires a supported Node.js version.
Inject node intervals have a maximum of 596 hours.

Windmill: what it does well

Supports scripts in many listed programming languages.
Offers low-code flows and app builders.
More than 200 resource types on its Hub.
Free plan includes 3 workspaces and 50 users.
Supports local development with CLI and Git sync.

What to know first

Enterprise starts at $120 a month.
PID namespace isolation is disabled by default.
NSJAIL sandboxing is optional.

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