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Comparison

Hawfinch
vs n8n.

n8n is a flexible workflow automation tool you can run in its cloud or on your own servers, and many agencies use it to post leads to buyers. Hawfinch is narrower. It sells leads to buyers, and comes with the routing, checks and record-keeping for that already set up.

Quick verdict

How they differ.

The main points, before the detail.

Hawfinch
Buyer routing already built.
  • Buyer order, fall through, round-robin and weighted routing built in
  • Caps per buyer, reset at UK midnight
  • Dedup, suppression and HLR before any buyer sees a lead
  • Returns, revenue and every delivery attempt recorded per lead
  • From £249 a month, 24/7 UK-based support, data in London
n8n
Flexible, and you can host it yourself.
  • Self-hosted edition available on GitHub
  • Cloud from €20 a month billed yearly, with 2,500 executions
  • Over 500 integrations, plus a webhook node
  • Retry on fail and error workflows
  • Cloud data stored in Frankfurt, Germany

Side-by-side

The lead-selling parts, compared.

n8n can post a lead to a buyer as easily as Hawfinch can. Most of the rows below are about the logic around that post, and who has to build it.

Hawfinch n8n
What it does
Main jobLead distribution: sell and deliver leads to buyersGeneral workflow automation
IntegrationsAny HTTP endpoint; no native integrationsOver 500 integrations
Selling leads to buyers
Post a lead to a buyerYes, with an HTTP or app node you set up
Buyer order, fall through when a buyer rejectsBuilt in: the next buyer gets itNot built in; you build and maintain it
Round-robin and weighted between buyersNot built in; you build and maintain it
Ping postOne buyer at a timeNot built in; you build and maintain it
Daily, weekly and monthly buyer capsBuilt in, reset at UK midnightNot built in; you build and maintain it
Dedup and suppressionEmail dedup at 3 levels; suppression on email and phoneNot built in; you build and maintain it
HLR phone checksBuilt in, charged per lookupNot built in; you build and maintain it
Returns and revenue reversalNot built in; you build and maintain it
Revenue by buyer, supplier and campaignNot built in; you build and maintain it
Reliability and records
History of each leadEvery attempt stored against the lead, with request and responseExecution logs: 7 days on Starter, 30 on Pro
Pricing, hosting and support
Pricing modelFrom £249/mo with 10,000 leads, up to £1,499/mo UnlimitedBy executions; cloud Starter €20/mo billed yearly (2,500)
Free option3 months, full platformSelf-hosted edition on GitHub; cloud free trial
HostingStored in LondonCloud in Frankfurt, or your own servers
Mobile appiOS app with push alertsNone found on the App Store or Google Play
Support24/7 UK-based, every planForum; dedicated support with SLA on Enterprise

Last checked: October 2026. n8n details come from its public website and documentation, listed under Sources below. Check with n8n for anything not shown here.

Build or buy

Which to use, and when.

It depends on whether you want to build and host the routing yourself or have it run for you.

Pick n8n when

You want full control, your own hosting, or automation well beyond leads.

n8n is very flexible: you can write code in a workflow, run it on your own servers, and connect it to hundreds of services. If you have developers and want to own every detail of your routing, or keep everything on infrastructure you control, n8n gives you that.

Its cloud plans start low, and its source code is available under its Sustainable Use License, so you can see exactly how it works.

Pick Hawfinch when

You need reliable buyer routing and don't want to build it yourself.

With several buyers you need a fixed order, a fallback when one rejects or times out, caps that reset at midnight, dedup, suppression, HLR checks, returns and revenue per buyer. n8n leaves you to build, host and maintain each of those, whereas Hawfinch has them as settings on a campaign.

We run the servers, backups and upgrades, every attempt is stored against the lead, and our UK team is on hand 24/7 on every plan.

Together

Using n8n with Hawfinch.

n8n as a destination

Forward leads to an n8n workflow.

An n8n Webhook node gives you a URL. Hawfinch can deliver to any HTTP endpoint (with field mapping, static fields, body templates and custom headers), so that URL can be added as a destination like any other buyer.

You set this up as a plain webhook delivery. Hawfinch has no native n8n integration.

Where each fits

n8n for everything after the lead is routed.

Hawfinch takes care of intake from suppliers, checks, buyer order, caps and revenue. n8n can then pick up the jobs around it, such as copying a sold lead into a spreadsheet, a CRM or a chat channel.

Routing then lives in Hawfinch, and the workflows you maintain in n8n stay small.

Hawfinch vs n8n FAQ

Is Hawfinch an n8n alternative?

If the job is routing leads to buyers, yes. Buyer order, fall through, caps, dedup, suppression, HLR, returns and per-buyer revenue are built in, and we run it for you. As a general automation tool, or one you can self-host, n8n does far more, and Hawfinch does not replace it there.

Can I use n8n and Hawfinch together?

Yes. Add an n8n Webhook node URL as a destination in a campaign and Hawfinch will deliver to it, as it does to any HTTP endpoint. It is a generic webhook delivery, and there is no native n8n integration.

How does pricing compare?

n8n Cloud charges by workflow executions: Starter is €20 a month billed yearly for 2,500 executions, and Pro is €50 for 10,000. A self-hosted edition is on GitHub, though you run the servers. Hawfinch charges by leads, from £249 a month with 10,000 leads, fully managed.

Is n8n open source?

n8n describes itself as fair-code: the source is available, under its Sustainable Use License and an Enterprise License, with limits on commercial use. Check the licence against how you plan to use it.

More reading

Other comparisons and sources.

Sources

Switch to
Hawfinch.

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