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Microsoft Agent 365 vs n8n

Microsoft Agent 365

Microsoft 365 control plane to discover, manage, govern, and secure AI agents

n8n

Platform for AI agents and workflows you can see and control, built visually or with code

Short answer

Microsoft Agent 365 is a Microsoft 365 control plane for agents built and run elsewhere; n8n says it is for building AI agents and workflows, on n8n Cloud or self-hosted.⁠Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5 Agent 365 is licensed per user, with agent identities in Microsoft Entra Agent ID; n8n prices by workflow executions, and each has features in preview.⁠Source 6, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9, Source 10, Source 11

By Blocks.ai teamLast checked

Where each one sits

Six layers of running AI agents at a company, and what each product’s own public sources say it covers.

These aren’t the same kind of product

Where they overlap
Both have tool-use controls: Agent 365 lets admins set which tools agents can access tenant-wide, and n8n workflows can require human approval before an AI Agent runs a tool.⁠Source 1, Source 12
Where they differ
Teams build and run agents and workflows in n8n; Microsoft says the Agent 365 SDK doesn’t build, host, or run agents, or select models.⁠Source 3, Source 4, Source 5
Running both
n8n’s docs say that in an early preview needing Microsoft’s Frontier program, an n8n node lets n8n act as the backend for Agent 365 agents.⁠Source 13
Public sources · checked 2 October 2026
  • Offered
  • Preview
  • Not included
  • Not publicly documented

Microsoft Agent 365

  • Build agents: Not includedUse your chosen framework⁠Source 2
  • Host and run agents: Not includedYou host your agent⁠Source 3
  • Identity and access: OfferedEntra Agent ID⁠Source 6
  • Registry and governance: OfferedAgent registry in admin center⁠Source 14
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: PreviewTooling Gateway for MCP servers⁠Source 15
  • Agents across organizations: Not publicly documented

n8n

  • Build agents: OfferedLangChain-based AI Agent node⁠Source 16
  • Host and run agents: OfferedYour infrastructure or n8n’s⁠Source 4
  • Identity and access: Not publicly documented
  • Registry and governance: PreviewAgents stored in projects⁠Source 11
  • Traffic between agents, tools, and models: OfferedMCP client for external tools⁠Source 17
  • Agents across organizations: Not publicly documented

At a glance

TopicMicrosoft Agent 365n8n
Builds and runs agentsMicrosoft says the Agent 365 SDK doesn’t build, host, or run the agent.⁠Source 3n8n says teams can build agents and workflows visually or with code.⁠Source 4 They run on n8n Cloud or self-hosted.⁠Source 5
Where it runsA Microsoft 365 service.⁠Source 1 Agents connected with its SDK stay where they run today, such as Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, or on premises.⁠Source 3n8n Cloud, currently hosted on Microsoft Azure in the EU, or self-hosted on your own infrastructure, on premises, or in a private cloud.⁠Source 5, Source 18, Source 19
Agent identityAgent identities live in Microsoft Entra Agent ID; the inventory also lists agents without one.⁠Source 6, Source 20n8n says access to agents, in preview, follows n8n roles, and each agent tool runs with its attached credential.⁠Source 21 An identity per agent issued by n8n itself is not publicly documented.
Pricing modelLists at $15 per user per month, or in Microsoft 365 E7.⁠Source 7 Basic identity and inventory come with Microsoft Cloud subscriptions; enterprise customers need Microsoft 365 E5, or E3 with the Defender and Purview suites.⁠Source 7By monthly workflow executions, with unlimited users on paid plans.⁠Source 8 The self-hosted Community edition is free; Enterprise is priced through sales.⁠Source 8, Source 22
MaturityGenerally available since 1 May 2026 for the Commercial segment.⁠Source 23 Registry sync and multi-tenant management are in preview.⁠Source 9, Source 10The Agents feature is in preview; n8n’s changelog dates it to September 2026.⁠Source 11, Source 24 A new minor version ships most weeks.⁠Source 24

What each one is

Microsoft Agent 365

Microsoft Agent 365 is a Microsoft 365 service that provides a centralized control plane to discover, manage, govern, and secure AI agents.⁠Source 1 It works with Microsoft and third-party agents; admins can manage their lifecycle through the Microsoft 365 admin center, Microsoft Entra, and Microsoft Purview.⁠Source 1, Source 23

n8n

n8n says it is a platform for building AI agents and workflows visually or with code, on n8n Cloud or self-hosted.⁠Source 4, Source 5 Its AI nodes are built on LangChain’s JavaScript framework.⁠Source 16 Agents, a preview feature, live in n8n projects alongside workflows.⁠Source 11

The differences that matter

  1. Building and running agents

    Microsoft Agent 365

    Agents are built with a framework of your choice or, for low-code, Microsoft’s separate Copilot Studio; the Agent 365 SDK doesn’t host or run them.⁠Source 2, Source 3, Source 25

    n8n

    Teams build agents in n8n’s Agent Builder, in preview, or with LangChain-based AI nodes in workflows, and run them on n8n Cloud or self-hosted.⁠Source 5, Source 11, Source 16

    Microsoft says the Agent 365 SDK doesn’t call or select models; n8n workflows can combine models from providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.⁠Source 3, Source 26

  2. Which agents each one governs

    Microsoft Agent 365

    The Agent 365 registry covers Microsoft and non-Microsoft agents; agents built outside Microsoft 365 channels and Entra Agent ID need extra steps to appear.⁠Source 20, Source 27

    n8n

    Agents, in preview, live in n8n projects alongside workflows; managing agents built outside n8n is not publicly documented.⁠Source 11

    Microsoft says premium capabilities may vary in depth or availability by agent type, platform, or level of integration.⁠Source 7

  3. Hosting and pricing

    Microsoft Agent 365

    A Microsoft 365 service, licensed per user: standalone at a $15 per user per month list price, or within Microsoft 365 E7; agents aren’t licensed.⁠Source 1, Source 7

    n8n

    n8n Cloud or self-hosted, priced by monthly workflow executions with unlimited users on paid plans; the self-hosted Community edition is free.⁠Source 5, Source 8, Source 22

    Agent 365’s enterprise customers also need Microsoft 365 E5, or E3 plus Defender Suite and Purview Suite; an n8n agent turn, in preview, counts as one execution.⁠Source 7, Source 11

For security teams

What a security review asks, answered from each vendor’s public documentation.

TopicMicrosoft Agent 365n8n
Network exposureNotifications (preview) need an endpoint Agent 365 sends to.⁠Source 28 Agent 365’s private networking is not publicly documented.Can run on premises or in a private cloud.⁠Source 19 Its MCP server needs public access for cloud clients, n8n says.⁠Source 29
IdentityAgent identities are Microsoft Entra service principals, managed with Conditional Access and consent; the inventory also lists agents without one.⁠Source 6, Source 20SAML sign-in on Business and Enterprise plans, OIDC on Enterprise.⁠Source 30, Source 31 Per-agent identity issued by n8n itself is not publicly documented.
Access changes and revocationBlock agents organization-wide (Copilot Chat only for SharePoint and Foundry agents), or disable an Entra blueprint’s agents in one operation.⁠Source 6, Source 32n8n disconnects a revoked OAuth MCP client at once.⁠Source 29 In preview, unpublishing stops users, channels, and schedules running an agent.⁠Source 11
Audit trailSupported agents’ activity shows in Defender, Purview, and the admin center; Purview’s agent audit logs need E7 or Agent 365.⁠Source 1, Source 2, Source 33Enterprise plans can stream logs to syslog, a webhook, or Sentry.⁠Source 34 Agent sessions, in preview, show messages and tools used.⁠Source 11
ComplianceNot yet a Core Online Service; runs on SOC- and ISO-audited services.⁠Source 33 Microsoft announced FedRAMP High authorization is pending.⁠Source 1n8n says the company holds a SOC 2 Type 2 report, available to enterprise customers; others get SOC 3.⁠Source 18, Source 35

Full comparison

18 criteria in five groups. Every cell links to its source, or says no public source answers it.

Microsoft Agent 365 and n8n compared on 18 criteria
Microsoft Agent 365n8n
What it is
What it is and who it’s forA Microsoft 365 service that provides a centralized control plane to discover, manage, govern, and secure AI agents, for IT and security leaders.⁠Source 1, Source 27n8n says it is for building AI agents and workflows visually or with code, on its cloud or yours.⁠Source 4 Enterprise targets strict compliance and governance needs.⁠Source 8
MaturityGenerally available since 1 May 2026 for the Commercial segment.⁠Source 23 Registry sync and multi-tenant management are in preview.⁠Source 9, Source 10The Agents feature is in preview; n8n’s changelog dates it to September 2026.⁠Source 11, Source 24 A new minor version ships most weeks.⁠Source 24
Control
Agent registry and discoveryAgent registry in the Microsoft 365 admin center: one inventory of Microsoft and non-Microsoft agents, including agents without an Entra agent identity.⁠Source 14, Source 20Agents, in preview, live in n8n projects; an MCP client can search the agents its user can access.⁠Source 11, Source 36 Listing agents built elsewhere: not publicly documented.
Identity and access controlAgent identities live in Microsoft Entra Agent ID, managed with Conditional Access, permission grants, and consent.⁠Source 6 The inventory also lists agents without one.⁠Source 20n8n says agent access (preview) follows n8n roles.⁠Source 21 Project roles need Cloud or registered self-hosted n8n.⁠Source 37 n8n-issued agent identity: not publicly documented.
Ownership, policy, and revocationEntra agent identities need a sponsor.⁠Source 6 Admins can block agents (SharePoint and Foundry ones only in Copilot Chat), apply templates, and review ownerless ones.⁠Source 14, Source 32, Source 38Agents (preview) can be unpublished and can require approval before sensitive tools run.⁠Source 11 Workflows can require human approval before an AI Agent runs a tool.⁠Source 12
Audit log and observabilitySupported agents’ activity shows in Defender, Purview, and the admin center.⁠Source 2, Source 33 Agent 365 keeps it 30 days; Purview’s agent audit logs need E7 or Agent 365.⁠Source 1, Source 33Enterprise log streaming to syslog, a webhook, or Sentry; MCP audit events cover the instance MCP server only.⁠Source 34 Agent sessions (preview) show tools used.⁠Source 11
Connection
How agents connectThe SDK works with agents on Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, or on premises.⁠Source 2 Agent 365’s private networking is not publicly documented.The MCP Server Trigger node exposes a URL for MCP clients.⁠Source 39 For its instance MCP server, n8n says cloud-based clients need a publicly accessible instance.⁠Source 29
Agents across organizationsA published agent can join a customer tenant through a multitenant Entra blueprint.⁠Source 6 Managing agents across tenants you administer is in preview.⁠Source 10The MCP Server Trigger node can expose n8n tools to external AI agents.⁠Source 17 The Message an Agent node, in preview, lists agents in the workflow’s project.⁠Source 40
Protocol supportTenant-wide tool control; your own MCP servers in preview.⁠Source 1, Source 15 Microsoft documents A2A for its separate Foundry and standard-harness Copilot Studio, not Agent 365.⁠Source 41, Source 42MCP server (a trigger node and a built-in instance server) and MCP client (a tool node).⁠Source 17, Source 29, Source 39 First-party A2A support is not publicly documented.
Frameworks, models, and clouds supportedMicrosoft and third-party agents.⁠Source 1 SDK docs name frameworks such as LangChain, CrewAI, and the OpenAI Agents SDK, and agents keep their own host.⁠Source 3, Source 9AI nodes implement LangChain’s JavaScript framework, with your choice of agent, LLM, and memory.⁠Source 16 Managing agents built outside n8n is not publicly documented.
Operations
Deployment options and data residencyHonors the EU Data Boundary; its observability service stores customer content in the tenant’s default geography.⁠Source 33 Self-hosting it: not publicly documented.n8n Cloud on Microsoft Azure, with data stored in Frankfurt, Germany, or self-hosted, with data wherever you host it.⁠Source 8, Source 18
Compliance attestationsNot yet a Core Online Service; runs on SOC- and ISO-audited services.⁠Source 33 Microsoft announced FedRAMP High authorization is pending.⁠Source 1n8n says the company holds a SOC 2 Type 2 report, with annual independent audits.⁠Source 18, Source 35 Enterprise customers get the SOC 2 report; others, the SOC 3 report.⁠Source 18
Support and SLANo specific SLA for the Frontier preview program.⁠Source 43 An SLA or support plan specific to the generally available service is not publicly documented.Dedicated support on Enterprise only, with guaranteed response times available through SLAs.⁠Source 8 An uptime SLA percentage is not publicly documented.
Time and effort to get runningEnterprise customers need Microsoft 365 E5, or E3 with Defender Suite and Purview Suite, and at least one user with an Agent 365 license.⁠Source 7, Source 23A 14-day n8n Cloud trial with Pro features, or a one-step local setup that needs Docker.⁠Source 19, Source 44 Paid self-hosted plans activate with a license key.⁠Source 22
Pricing model and public pricesPer user, not per agent: lists at $15 per user per month standalone, or in Microsoft 365 E7.⁠Source 7 Microsoft Cloud subscriptions include foundational capabilities.⁠Source 7By monthly workflow executions.⁠Source 8 Cloud Starter is $20 and Pro $50 a month, billed annually.⁠Source 8 Self-hosted Community is free.⁠Source 22
Building
Agent building toolsMicrosoft says the Agent 365 SDK isn’t an agent-building framework.⁠Source 2 For low-code building, the docs point to Microsoft’s separate Copilot Studio.⁠Source 25A visual editor with JavaScript or Python anywhere in a workflow, LangChain-based AI nodes, and the Agent Builder, in preview.⁠Source 4, Source 11, Source 16
Model accessMicrosoft says the SDK doesn’t call or select models; the agent keeps making its own model calls.⁠Source 2, Source 3Bring your own LLM credentials for providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, and combine several models in one workflow.⁠Source 26, Source 45
Integrations and ecosystemMicrosoft says it launched with partner agents and agent factories such as n8n.⁠Source 46, Source 47 Work IQ MCP tools are in preview.⁠Source 48n8n’s homepage states over 500 integrations, and n8n states 600+ community-built templates for agentic workflows.⁠Source 4, Source 49

Which to choose

Choose Microsoft Agent 365 if

  • You want one registry for your organization’s Microsoft and non-Microsoft agents, in the Microsoft 365 admin center.⁠Source 14, Source 20
  • You want agent identities in Entra, managed with the same Conditional Access, consent, and lifecycle controls as the rest of your tenant.⁠Source 6
  • You use Microsoft’s separate Copilot Studio or Microsoft Foundry, which Microsoft says can provide built-in Agent 365 integration for some scenarios.⁠Source 9, Source 50
  • You want named accountability: each Entra agent identity needs a sponsor, and admins can block or delete agents without owners.⁠Source 6, Source 14

Choose n8n if

  • You want to build agents and workflows visually, which n8n says it supports, with JavaScript or Python where you need it.⁠Source 4
  • You need to self-host on premises or in a private cloud, with data wherever you host it.⁠Source 8, Source 19
  • You want pricing by workflow executions with unlimited users on paid plans, and a free self-hosted Community edition to start.⁠Source 8, Source 22
  • You want many connections: n8n’s homepage states over 500 integrations, and n8n can act as an MCP client and server.⁠Source 4, Source 17, Source 39

Questions buyers ask

Does n8n work with Microsoft Agent 365?

Microsoft’s partner page lists n8n as an agent factory and says n8n agents deploy as AI teammates, a Frontier preview.⁠Source 46 n8n’s Microsoft Agent 365 Trigger node, an early preview needing Microsoft’s Frontier program, lets n8n act as the backend for Agent 365 agents.⁠Source 13

How is each one priced?

Agent 365 lists at $15 per user per month standalone or comes in Microsoft 365 E7; Microsoft says there are no consumption-based costs yet.⁠Source 7 n8n prices plans by monthly workflow executions, and with Agents, in preview, one turn counts as one execution.⁠Source 8, Source 11

Do they support MCP and A2A?

Agent 365 lets admins control agents’ tool access tenant-wide, including Microsoft MCP servers; bringing your own is in preview.⁠Source 1, Source 15 n8n can act as an MCP client and server.⁠Source 17, Source 39 A2A isn’t publicly documented for either; Microsoft documents it for its separate Foundry and standard-harness Copilot Studio.⁠Source 41, Source 42

Can either one be self-hosted?

Agent 365 is a Microsoft 365 service; self-hosting it is not publicly documented.⁠Source 1 n8n can be self-hosted on premises or in a private cloud.⁠Source 19 Air-gapped self-hosted installs use a license certificate; otherwise the license key must ping n8n’s license server daily.⁠Source 8, Source 51

How we compare

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We re-check every fact at least every 90 days. This page was last checked .

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Sources

56 public sources, each with the date we checked it. Every one opens in a new tab.

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