by n8n Labs
Nod review, pricing and verdict
Open-source personal agent that works in your apps and browser
- Best for
- Freelancers and solo operators handling their own admin
- Not for
- Enterprise IT buyer needing an SLA
Should you use Nod?
Pick Nod if you run your own work and want an agent on your own machine that cancels trials, chases invoices and preps calls, with approvals and a spending limit. Skip it if you need a hosted assistant that keeps going while your laptop sleeps. The vendor's own benchmark page lists 226 test errands.
It runs on your own computer with its own sandbox and browser, and the limits on what it may do are enforced in a server check you can read in the open code.
Open code and a local-first design earn trust from privacy-minded buyers, but anyone can fork Apache-licensed code, so the lasting edge is the reach of n8n's brand and community.
Also for
- Small business owners with recurring invoices and supplier portals
- Developers comfortable adding an API key
Show 4 more
- Privacy-minded users who want an agent on their own machine
- Freelancer
- Solo business owner
- Operations generalist
Also not for
- Team needing one shared agent
Main trade-off
Unattended schedules depend on a machine that is always on and awake.
Nod pricing
Free to download and open source, with no Nod subscription listed by the vendor. The running cost is whatever your AI provider charges, or nothing extra if you use a plan you already hold.
Before you commit
- Model usage is billed by your AI provider, and the vendor says some early testers found tasks cost more than they expected.
As a personal agent
Asks before it spends
- Where you talk to it
- Own app, Desktop app, Telegram, WhatsApp
- Price
- Free and open source; you pay your AI provider
- Can it pay for things?
- Yes: A separate check confirms you asked for a payment, and Nod asks when your words do not cover it.
- Asks before it spends or sends?
- Asks first: Sending, paying, posting or deleting something you did not ask for. Without asking: Anything your own request clearly covers
- Remembers you?
- Remembers months of conversation and learns your preferences and how it finished past tasks; you can see it; you can delete it
- Traction (attributed)
- 60 stars on the GitHub repository. GitHub repository page, read by Hokai, 11 Nov 2026
Recent changes
What Nod does on its own
- Scope of autonomy
- Semi-autonomous
- Human approval boundary
- Human in the loop
- Maturity
- Research
Safety controls
- Runs sandboxedSupported
- Audit loggingSupported
- Human in the loopSupported
- Output filteringSupported
What it can operate
- Web browsing
- File system
- API calls
- Calendar
Where Nod runs
- Deployment
- Desktop · Self-hosted · Local
- Where it runs
- Web · Desktop
- Memory
- Long term
Models it runs on
- GPT-6.1 Sol
- Claude Opus 5.5
- Gemini 4 Argon
- Gemini 3.8 Flash
- Local models of your choice
Systems it connects to
| System | Type |
|---|---|
| Gmail | Native |
| Slack | Native |
| Notion | Native |
| Google Drive | Native |
| Google Calendar | Native |
| Telegram | Native |
| Native | |
| n8n | API |
Benchmark scores
- Nod capability evals, task completion (vendor-run, 226 errands x3, GPT-6.1 Sol, simulated accounts)
- 98 / 100
- LongMemEval-S accuracy (vendor-run, GPT-6.1 Sol)
- 93.2 / 100
- WhisperBench memory injections that planted a false memory (vendor-run, lower is better)
- 0 / 216
What Nod does
Nod is an open-source personal agent from n8n Labs, released as a research preview on 10 November 2026. It runs on macOS and Windows with its own sandbox and browser, works in connected apps and on websites, and uses the AI provider you choose. A server-side check asks you before any action your request does not cover.
Own sandbox and browser
Works in a local sandbox with a browser of its own, so it can finish jobs on websites that have no integration.
Connected apps and chat channels
Connects to Gmail, Slack, Notion, Google Drive and Calendar, and takes requests from the app, Telegram or WhatsApp in one conversation.
Approval check outside the model
A server-side check compares each action with your request and asks when it is not covered; every payment waits for your approval.
Vault for logins and cards
Saved logins and cards are encrypted on your machine and entered through private forms, so the model never receives them.
Show all 8 features
Memory you can edit
Remembers months of conversation, scoring 93.2% on LongMemEval-S in the vendor's own run (its benchmarks docs page), and lets you view, edit or forget each stored note.
Schedules and proactive jobs
Runs repeating jobs such as a morning brief on a schedule, and reads connected apps to suggest jobs it could take off your plate.
Spend tracking
Shows what each task cost, ends it with a receipt, checks in once a task passes $5 by default and supports a monthly spending limit.
Open code and self-hosting
The full code is on GitHub under Apache 2.0, and it can run on a server for one person instead of a laptop.
Strengths and limits
Strengths
- The rules for what it may do sit in code anyone can read in its GitHub repository (github.com/n8n-io/nod), so a security team can audit the decision logic before installing it.
- Its database, memory and saved logins stay on the computer or server that runs it, apart from what the model provider and connected apps receive for each task.
- The Usage page lists every app action, sign-in, card use and model cost, which makes a mistaken action easy to trace afterwards.
- The vendor's benchmarks docs page (nod.n8n.io/docs/how-it-works/benchmarks) states how it tested: the 226-errand suite, the October 2026 run dates, the model used (GPT-6.1 Sol) and the grader, and says the 98% figure is rounded and uses simulated accounts.
Limits
- It stops when the computer running it sleeps, so scheduled jobs need an always-on Mac mini or your own server; this affects anyone who expects unattended work from a laptop.
- The Windows build is a preview that needs Windows 11 with WSL 2, and macOS needs version 14 or later, which rules out older machines.
- WhatsApp connects through an unofficial client, and the vendor's docs warn of a small risk of account restrictions and of breakage after a WhatsApp update.
- No independent review or user rating exists yet: it launched on 10 November 2026, each install has a single owner, and every benchmark figure is the vendor's own.
Nod alternatives
| Agent | Where it runs | Price | Maturity | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nod This page | Your machine | Free | Research | 3.3 |
 OpenClawPick Nod if you want a desktop app with its own browser, an action check and a spending limit; pick OpenClaw if you want a self-hosted gateway that connects many chat apps to the model you choose. | Cloud · Your machine · API | Free | Beta | -- |
 Hermes AgentPick Nod if you want a packaged app with approvals and a Usage ledger; pick Hermes Agent if you want Nous Research's model-agnostic self-hosted agent with optional cloud hosting. | Cloud · Your machine · API | Free plan | Available | 3.7 |
 MusePick Nod if you want the agent and its data on your own computer with a model you choose; pick Muse if you want Meta's hosted agent on its own cloud computer, open in the US, Canada, Japan and Singapore. | Cloud | Free plan | Available | -- |
Also compared
OpenAI dotsPick Nod if you want a free open-source agent that runs locally; pick OpenAI dots if you want an always-on cloud agent included with ChatGPT Pro and need no machine of your own.
TaskletPick Nod if you need a personal agent that drives a browser on your own machine; pick Tasklet if you need cloud agents for a team that run on a schedule or when an event fires.
Nod facts
- Minimum skill level
- Intermediate
- Budget fit
- Low
- Open source
- Yes
- Ships
- Daily
- Last major update
What changed
Questions about Nod
How much does Nod cost to run?
Nod itself is free to download and open source, and the vendor lists no Nod subscription. You pay your AI provider for the requests Nod makes with your API key, or you use a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan you already have. Nod shows each task's estimated cost in Usage and supports a monthly limit.
Can I use Nod without paying for an AI plan?
The app is free but needs a model connection to work. The vendor's docs say Gemini 3.8 Flash has a free tier through a Google AI Studio key, subject to quotas and different data-use terms, and a model running on your own computer costs only your hardware. A ChatGPT Plus or Pro sign-in also works.
Where does my data go when I use Nod?
Nod stores its database, files, memory and saved logins on the computer or server that runs it. The model service you pick, your connected apps and the websites involved receive the data each task needs, and app connections go through n8n and Composio by default. Usage data goes to n8n unless you turn it off in Settings, and the vendor says it is stored in an EU project.
Which AI providers can Nod connect to?
Nod connects to OpenAI with an API key or ChatGPT sign-in, Anthropic with an API key, Google Gemini and Vertex AI, OpenRouter, Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Cloudflare and many other providers, or to a local model server. A Gemini app subscription is not a sign-in option, and the vendor says Anthropic's terms require an API connection for Claude.
Will Nod send email or pay for things without asking?
Reading your inbox or calendar and drafting replies run without asking. Sending an email, adding an event or deleting files runs after a review checks that it matches your request, and Nod asks you when it does not. Every payment waits for your approval with your card's security code, which Nod never saves, and the vendor says the check is a model and can make mistakes.
About Nod
Nod is a personal agent from n8n Labs, an experimental team inside the company behind the n8n workflow tool. It launched as a research preview on 10 November 2026 as a standalone app for macOS and Windows, separate from n8n and from the AI Assistant inside it, and it needs no n8n account. You describe a job in the app, on Telegram or on WhatsApp, and it works in your connected apps and on websites until the job is done: cancelling a trial, chasing an invoice, pulling statements from a supplier portal each month.
Read the full background
Nod runs its own sandbox, a private virtual machine on your computer with its own browser, and plans each job with the model you connect. The vendor's docs name GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Opus 5.5 and Gemini 4 Argon among the starting choices, and a model on your own machine also works. A separate check, itself a model, compares each send, payment or deletion with your own words and asks you when they do not cover it. Saved logins and cards are entered through private forms the model cannot read, and repeating jobs such as a morning brief or a price watch run on a schedule.
It fits people who run their own work: freelancers, solo operators and small teams with recurring admin such as client call briefs, month-end paperwork and refund requests. The vendor also describes household errands like booking a hotel once you say go.
It is the wrong pick if you want a hosted assistant that keeps working while your laptop sleeps, because Nod stops with the computer that runs it and the vendor lists a managed version only as a roadmap item. Setup also expects an API key or a ChatGPT Plus or Pro plan. If you want a chat-first agent on a vendor's cloud computer, Muse is closer, as is OpenAI dots if you already pay for ChatGPT Pro. For a self-hosted gateway into many chat apps, start with OpenClaw, with Hermes Agent as the second option. Teams that want scheduled cloud automations should look at Tasklet.
What Hokai saw in the public record on 11 November 2026: the GitHub repository held 1,052 commits and an Apache-2.0 LICENSE file, and release 0.6.2, published that morning, listed Mac Intel, Mac ARM and Windows installers plus a signature file. Three desktop releases landed on consecutive days, 0.6.0 on 9 November, 0.6.1 on 10 November and 0.6.2 on 11 November, covering cheaper background work, clearer model errors and onboarding changes. Browse its peers in the personal assistant agents list.
Verdict: install Nod if you run your own work, are comfortable adding an API key and can leave a computer on for scheduled jobs. Skip it for now if you want a hosted assistant, an agent shared by a team or phone calls, none of which it offers yet.
Sources and guides
Official sources
- Nod official site Vendor
- GitHub repository GitHub
Autonomy, guardrails, integrations and pricing on this page are read from n8n Labs's own documentation. The verdict is Hokai's reading of them, not the vendor's claim.
Lists that include Nod
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