Dust icon

Dust

French AI platform for deploying AI assistants across your company's knowledge and tools

vs
n8n icon

n8n

Fair-code workflow automation platform with AI capabilities and self-hosting option

Dust
92%Excellent
23/25
n8n
96%Excellent
24/25

Score Breakdown

DimensionDustn8n
Data Residency
Where is your data stored and processed?
Dust: Data hosted exclusively in EU (France). French SAS incorporation means EU law governs by default. Internal company data connected to Dust stays in EU infrastructure.
n8n: Cloud hosted in EU (AWS Frankfurt). Self-hosted option enables any infrastructure choice—maximum data sovereignty. German incorporation means EU law governs by default. Multiple data residency options from good to excellent.
5/5
5/5
Legal Jurisdiction
Which laws govern the company and your data?
Dust: French SAS under French and EU law. GDPR applies as corporate law. CNIL oversight. No US parent company, no CLOUD Act exposure. Founded by ex-OpenAI researchers building for EU sovereignty.
n8n: German GmbH under German and EU law. GDPR applies as corporate law. Headquartered in Berlin with EU legal jurisdiction. No CLOUD Act exposure. Strong EU sovereignty story for AI workflow automation.
5/5
5/5
Data Retention & Training
Is your data used for model training?
Dust: Company data indexed by Dust is not used to train shared models. Data remains within the organisation's workspace. GDPR-compliant DPA available. Configurable data access controls per assistant.
n8n: Workflow execution data and API credentials not used for model training. Self-hosted deployments provide full data lifecycle control. n8n Cloud provides configurable retention. GDPR-compliant DPA available.
5/5
5/5
Certifications
ISO 27001, SOC 2, Cyber Essentials, etc.
Dust: ISO 27001 certification. As a fast-growing startup, the certification portfolio is expanding. SOC 2 Type II would further strengthen enterprise procurement credibility.
n8n: ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications. Strong certification posture for a workflow automation platform. Well-positioned for enterprise procurement in regulated industries.
3/5
4/5
Regulatory Fit
Suitability for regulated industries and professional services
Dust: Excellent regulatory fit for European enterprises building internal AI agent infrastructure. French incorporation, EU hosting, GDPR-native design, and support for EU-sovereign LLM providers (Mistral) make Dust a top choice for sovereignty-conscious EU organisations.
n8n: Excellent regulatory fit for EU organisations building AI workflows and automation. German jurisdiction, ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, EU data hosting, and self-hosting option make n8n one of the most sovereignty-friendly AI workflow platforms available.
5/5
5/5
Total Score
23/25
24/25

Best For

Dust iconDust

Best for EU-headquartered organisations needing maximum data sovereignty; regulated industries (CNIL, BaFin); privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; organisations that need self-hosted or on-premise deployment.

n8n iconn8n

Best for EU-headquartered organisations needing maximum data sovereignty; regulated industries (BaFin, CNIL); privacy-conscious teams who need strong data retention controls; organisations that need self-hosted or on-premise deployment; teams on a tight budget.

Detailed Comparison

Dust vs n8n: Trust & Compliance Comparison

Dust (Dust, FR) scores 23/25 overall with a Gold (Excellent) trust badge. French AI platform for deploying AI assistants across your company's knowledge and tools. n8n (n8n, DE) scores 24/25 with a Gold (Excellent) trust badge. Fair-code workflow automation platform with AI capabilities and self-hosting option.

Dimension-by-Dimension Breakdown

#### Data Residency

Both score equally at 5/5.

Dust (5/5): Data hosted exclusively in EU (France). French SAS incorporation means EU law governs by default. Internal company data connected to Dust stays in EU infrastructure.
n8n (5/5): Cloud hosted in EU (AWS Frankfurt). Self-hosted option enables any infrastructure choice—maximum data sovereignty. German incorporation means EU law governs by default. Multiple data residency options from good to excellent.

#### Legal Jurisdiction

Both score equally at 5/5.

Dust (5/5): French SAS under French and EU law. GDPR applies as corporate law. CNIL oversight. No US parent company, no CLOUD Act exposure. Founded by ex-OpenAI researchers building for EU sovereignty.
n8n (5/5): German GmbH under German and EU law. GDPR applies as corporate law. Headquartered in Berlin with EU legal jurisdiction. No CLOUD Act exposure. Strong EU sovereignty story for AI workflow automation.

#### Data Retention & Training

Both score equally at 5/5.

Dust (5/5): Company data indexed by Dust is not used to train shared models. Data remains within the organisation's workspace. GDPR-compliant DPA available. Configurable data access controls per assistant.
n8n (5/5): Workflow execution data and API credentials not used for model training. Self-hosted deployments provide full data lifecycle control. n8n Cloud provides configurable retention. GDPR-compliant DPA available.

#### Certifications

n8n leads with 4/5 vs 3/5.

Dust (3/5): ISO 27001 certification. As a fast-growing startup, the certification portfolio is expanding. SOC 2 Type II would further strengthen enterprise procurement credibility.
n8n (4/5): ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II certifications. Strong certification posture for a workflow automation platform. Well-positioned for enterprise procurement in regulated industries.

#### Regulatory Fit

Both score equally at 5/5.

Dust (5/5): Excellent regulatory fit for European enterprises building internal AI agent infrastructure. French incorporation, EU hosting, GDPR-native design, and support for EU-sovereign LLM providers (Mistral) make Dust a top choice for sovereignty-conscious EU organisations.
n8n (5/5): Excellent regulatory fit for EU organisations building AI workflows and automation. German jurisdiction, ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, EU data hosting, and self-hosting option make n8n one of the most sovereignty-friendly AI workflow platforms available.

Certifications at a Glance

CertificationDustn8n
ISO 27001YesYes
SOC 2 Type IINoYes

Overall Verdict

Dust and n8n are closely matched on trust and compliance, with scores of 23/25 and 24/25 respectively. The right choice depends on your specific regulatory requirements and existing technology stack.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for EU compliance, Dust or n8n?

Dust has a TrustKit score of 23/25 while n8n scores 24/25. n8n currently rates higher across data residency, legal jurisdiction, data retention, certifications, and regulatory fit.

How do Dust and n8n compare on data residency?

Dust scores 5/5 for data residency (Data hosted exclusively in EU (France). French SAS incorporation means EU law governs by default. Internal company data connected to Dust stays in EU infrastructure.), while n8n scores 5/5 (Cloud hosted in EU (AWS Frankfurt). Self-hosted option enables any infrastructure choice—maximum data sovereignty. German incorporation means EU law governs by default. Multiple data residency options from good to excellent.).

Are Dust and n8n GDPR compliant?

Both tools are assessed across five compliance dimensions. Dust has a regulatory fit score of 5/5 and n8n scores 5/5. Check the full comparison above for a detailed breakdown.

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