# Best LLM API for n8n, measured

Updated November 07, 2026. Built-in providers checked against n8n's documentation (https://docs.n8n.io/integrations/builtin/cluster-nodes/sub-nodes/) on 2026-11-07.

As of November 07, 2026, of the 11 LLM APIs built into n8n that we measure, OpenRouter answers fastest: 68 ms median time to first byte, averaged over 4 regions. By region, Google Gemini is fastest from Europe (90 ms) and US Central (41 ms), OpenRouter from Tokyo (54 ms) and São Paulo (62 ms). 4 of 11 hosts answered every probe over the 90 days since 2026-08-09; the lowest was OpenAI at 99.1%.

Median time to first byte (24 h) per region, host uptime over 90 days since 2026-08-09, outages attributed to the provider in the last 30 days (host, and real requests to one model where we hold a key). Measured at the exact host n8n calls, directly.

| Provider | Id | Host | Europe | US Central | Tokyo | São Paulo | Host uptime 90 d | Outages 30 d |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| OpenRouter Chat Model | - | openrouter.ai | 98 ms | 59 ms | 54 ms | 62 ms | 100% | 0 |
| Google Gemini Chat Model | - | generativelanguage.googleapis.com | 90 ms | 41 ms | 63 ms | 137 ms | 100% | 119 requests to gemini-flash-lite-latest |
| Anthropic Chat Model | - | api.anthropic.com | 197 ms | 95 ms | 227 ms | 194 ms | 100% | 0 |
| xAI Grok Chat Model | - | api.x.ai | 221 ms | 110 ms | 165 ms | 224 ms | 99.9% | 0 |
| Groq Chat Model | - | api.groq.com | 213 ms | 126 ms | 161 ms | 232 ms | 100% | 0 |
| OpenAI Chat Model | - | api.openai.com | 215 ms | 139 ms | 208 ms | 244 ms | 99.1% | 0 |
| Mistral Cloud Chat Model | - | api.mistral.ai | 117 ms | 196 ms | 322 ms | 264 ms | 99.9% | 0 |
| Moonshot Kimi Chat Model | - | api.moonshot.ai (region International) | 309 ms | 266 ms | 130 ms | 341 ms | 99.9% | 0 |
| DeepSeek Chat Model | - | api.deepseek.com | 290 ms | 317 ms | 183 ms | 432 ms | 99.9% | 0 |
| MiniMax Chat Model | - | api.minimaxi.com (China endpoint; region China; International calls api.minimax.io, not measured) | 312 ms | 343 ms | 223 ms | 478 ms | 99.9% | 0 |
| Qwen Cloud Chat Model | - | dashscope-intl.aliyuncs.com (region Singapore) | 358 ms | 415 ms | 167 ms | 706 ms | 99.9% | 0 |

Not shown — the agent calls a host we do not measure:

- Cohere Chat Model: n8n calls api.cohere.ai, our probe measures api.cohere.com (https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/packages/@n8n/nodes-langchain/credentials/CohereApi.credentials.ts)

Any other OpenAI-compatible API: the Base URL field of the OpenAI credential, which accepts any OpenAI-compatible API (https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/packages/nodes-base/credentials/OpenAiApi.credentials.ts).

## What is the best LLM API for n8n?

It depends on what the agent waits for and where it runs. On measured speed, as of November 07, 2026 the fastest of the 11 built-in APIs we probe is OpenRouter at 68 ms median time to first byte across 4 regions; by region, Google Gemini is fastest from Europe (90 ms) and US Central (41 ms), OpenRouter from Tokyo (54 ms) and São Paulo (62 ms). On reliability, 4 of 11 hosts answered every probe over the last 90 days. Model quality and price are separate questions this measurement does not answer.

## Which LLM providers does n8n support out of the box?

n8n's documentation lists built-in providers; 11 of them are measured here at the exact host n8n calls: OpenRouter, Google Gemini, Anthropic, xAI Grok, Groq, OpenAI, Mistral Cloud, Moonshot Kimi, DeepSeek, MiniMax, Qwen Cloud. Any other OpenAI-compatible API can be added as the Base URL field of the OpenAI credential, which accepts any OpenAI-compatible API.

## Is there a free LLM API for n8n?

Yes, with limits. Google Gemini: free input and output tokens on a limited set of Gemini models (rate-limited; content sent on the free tier is used to improve Google's products; apps for users in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK must use paid services (terms: https://aistudio.google.com/docs/terms)). OpenRouter: model variants whose ID ends in :free (20 requests a minute; 50 a day, or 1,000 a day once you have bought at least 10 credits). Groq: a Free plan; a payment method is needed only to move up to the Developer tier (per-model rate limits, published on Groq's rate-limits page). All are built into n8n; terms checked 2026-11-07 on each provider's own page, full list at https://llmlatency.dev/free-llm-api.

## Does the VPS region matter for n8n?

For some APIs a lot. Qwen Cloud answers in 167 ms from Tokyo and 706 ms from São Paulo, and every model call waits at least that long before the model starts. Put the agent where the API you use is fastest.

Source: https://llmlatency.dev/self-hosted-agents/n8n · CC BY 4.0