n8n pricing: Cloud vs self-hosted, real monthly cost
I read every price below off the vendor’s own page on Oct 21, 2026 and linked it, so you can check me. I went back over the page on Oct 22, 2026. Prices move, so look at the source before you pay for anything. Where something is my opinion rather than a published number, I say so.
Disclosure: we may later add affiliate links to some providers on this page. There are none yet; all links below are plain links. How we make money.
The short version
- n8n Cloud: Starter ≈ $22/mo (€20), Pro ≈ $56/mo (€50), both billed annually (n8n pricing). n8n looks after the servers, upgrades and backups for you.
- Self-hosted Community edition: $0 license. You pay for a VPS, roughly $10–24/mo for a 2–4 GB server on Vultr or DigitalOcean, plus your own time on updates, backups and security.
- Self-hosted Business: ≈ $749/mo (€667) billed annually, for SSO, environments, Git version control and queue mode on your own servers.
n8n Cloud and license plans
| Plan | Price | What you get (from n8n’s page) |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | ≈ $22/mo €20/mo (official) | billed annually; 5 concurrent executions, 2.5k saved executions, 1 shared project, forum support |
| Pro | ≈ $56/mo €50/mo (official) | billed annually; up to 50 concurrent executions, 25k saved executions, 3 shared projects, admin roles |
| Business | ≈ $749/mo €667/mo (official) | billed annually; self-hosted only (license key); SSO/LDAP, environments, Git version control, queue mode |
| Enterprise | Contact sales (official) | cloud or self-hosted; SLA support, log streaming, external secrets |
| Community edition | $0 €0 license (official) | self-hosted; you pay for the server and your time |
Source: n8n.io/pricing, checked Oct 21, 2026. n8n lists Cloud prices in euros, billed annually; it bills by workflow executions (one run of a whole workflow, however many steps). All plans include unlimited users, workflows and integrations. I didn’t verify the monthly-billing price, so I’ve left it out.
USD shown at the ECB reference rate of 1.1234 on Oct 21, 2026; providers bill in EUR, so your card charge may differ.
What server does self-hosted n8n need?
- n8n’s own Hetzner guide: “For most usage levels, the CPX11 type is enough” (2 vCPU, 2 GB). If you add n8n Assistant, choose “at least 4 GB RAM / 2 vCPU”.
- n8n’s Kubernetes guides list the resources behind its own Cloud tiers: Starter 320 MB RAM, Pro (10k executions) 640 MB, Pro (50k executions) 1,280 MB.
- The default Docker setup uses SQLite. n8n’s docs say to use Postgres for production instances with more than a handful of users or round-the-clock workflows. That can run on the same server.
My take: a 2 GB server is plenty for a small team’s workflows. I’d go to 4 GB if you want Assistant, plan to run Postgres on the same box, or lean on heavy code steps. That’s my judgment from n8n’s numbers above, not something I load-tested.
Self-hosting: VPS prices that fit
| Host | Plan | Spec | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner | CX23 (Cost-Optimized) | 2 vCPU · 4 GB · 40 GB NVMe | from ≈ $6.73/mo €5.99/mo excl. VAT (official) | listed as "not available" when checked |
| Hetzner | CPX22 (Regular Performance) | 2 vCPU · 4 GB · 80 GB NVMe | from ≈ $22/mo €19.99/mo excl. VAT (official) | |
| Hetzner | CPX11 (US locations) | 2 vCPU · 2 GB · 40 GB NVMe | ≈ $20/mo €17.99/mo excl. VAT (official) | the type n8n’s Hetzner guide names |
| DigitalOcean | Basic Droplet | 1 vCPU · 2 GiB · 50 GiB SSD | $12.00/mo | |
| DigitalOcean | Basic Droplet | 2 vCPU · 4 GiB · 80 GiB SSD | $24.00/mo | meets the 4 GB / 2 vCPU guidance for Assistant |
| Vultr | Cloud Compute, Regular | 1 vCPU · 2 GB · 55 GB SSD | $10.00/mo | |
| Vultr | Cloud Compute, Regular | 2 vCPU · 4 GB · 80 GB SSD | $20.00/mo | |
| Vultr | Cloud Compute, High Performance | 2 vCPU · 4 GB · 100 GB NVMe | $24.00/mo |
Sources, checked Oct 21, 2026: Hetzner Cost-Optimized, Hetzner Regular Performance, DigitalOcean Droplets, Vultr. Hetzner prices are in euros, excluding VAT, and vary by location. USD shown at the ECB reference rate of 1.1234 on Oct 21, 2026; providers bill in EUR, so your card charge may differ. Add-ons cost extra: DigitalOcean backups are 20% (weekly) or 30% (daily) of the Droplet price; Vultr automatic backups add 20%. A domain name is extra too.
Cloud vs self-hosted at a glance
- Cheapest Cloud plan: ≈ $22/mo (€20) (Starter, annual).
- A 4 GB self-hosted server: $20/mo (Vultr Regular) or $24/mo (DigitalOcean Basic), before backups.
- A 2 GB self-hosted server: $10/mo (Vultr Regular) or $12/mo (DigitalOcean Basic).
Here’s what surprised me: the server bill on its own is close to the price of Starter. So if Starter’s limits fit you, I don’t think self-hosting is worth it just to save money. It starts to pay off when you’d otherwise need Pro, or when you run a lot of workflows, because Community edition has no execution quota of its own. The server is your only limit.
License: the Sustainable Use License
n8n is “fair-code”, not OSI open source. Its Sustainable Use License lets you use and modify n8n “only for your own internal business purposes or for non-commercial or personal use”, and distribute it only “free of charge for non-commercial purposes”. Files marked .ee need a paid Enterprise license. As I read it, running n8n for your own company is fine and reselling it to clients as a hosted service is not. I’m not a lawyer, so if your case is borderline, read the license yourself or ask n8n.
What you give up by self-hosting
From n8n’s edition comparison, the free Community edition does not include:
- Sharing workflows and credentials (only the owner and creator can access them)
- Projects, custom variables and environments
- SSO (SAML, LDAP), external secrets, log streaming
- Git version control, multi-main mode, external storage for binary data
Registering your instance by email (free) adds folders, debug in editor and custom execution data. You also take on the work: n8n’s own guide says self-hosting “requires technical knowledge” and recommends n8n Cloud if you aren’t experienced at managing servers, since “mistakes can lead to data loss, security issues, and downtime”. n8n ships a new minor version most weeks, so budget real time for updates. Honestly, that upkeep is the part people underestimate.
It isn’t all loss, though. Per n8n’s pricing page, running bash scripts and custom nodes only works self-hosted.
FAQ
How much does n8n cost per month?
On n8n Cloud, Starter is about $22/mo (€20) and Pro about $56/mo (€50), both billed annually (n8n.io/pricing, checked Oct 21, 2026). Self-hosting the Community edition has no license fee; you pay for a server, which starts around $10–24/mo on DigitalOcean or Vultr for a 2–4 GB machine.
Is self-hosted n8n free?
The Community edition is free to self-host under the Sustainable Use License, for your own internal business purposes or personal use. Features like SSO, environments, Git version control and workflow sharing need a paid Business or Enterprise license.
What server do I need for n8n?
n8n’s Hetzner guide says the CPX11 type (2 vCPU, 2 GB) is enough for most usage, and recommends at least 4 GB RAM and 2 vCPU if you add n8n Assistant. n8n’s docs list its own Cloud Starter tier at 320 MB RAM.
n8n on SelfHost Office
