n8n Cloud starts at 20 euros a month billed annually (Starter, 2,500 workflow executions), or 24 euros billed monthly. Pro starts at 50 euros (60 euros monthly) for 10,000 executions, Business runs self-hosted only and starts at 667 euros (800 euros monthly) for 40,000 executions, and Enterprise is priced on request. The self-hosted Community Edition has no licence fee: it is released under the Sustainable Use License, which allows use for your own internal business purposes. It is still not free to run, because you pay for the server, database, backups, and upkeep yourself. Billing counts executions of a whole workflow, no matter how many steps it has. All prices come from n8n.io/pricing, retrieved on 31 October 2026 from Germany, where the page shows euros.
I ran n8n in my own Kubernetes cluster for a long time and built processes in it. This article covers cost only; the comparison with Make is in n8n, Make, or Claude: What For?, and how an agent comes together in n8n is in n8n AI Agent: What I Learned Building One. How to set n8n up yourself is in n8n Self-Hosted: Docker or Kubernetes. Everything on agents is collected on my AI agents page.
n8n pricing: all plans at a glance
As of 31 October 2026. Annual billing saves 17 percent, says n8n. The page does not say whether sales tax is added, and from Germany it shows no dollar prices for the plans.
Every plan includes unlimited users, workflows, and integrations. The differences:
- Starter: one shared project, 5 concurrent executions, 1,600 credits a month for the Assistant that helps you build.
- Pro: three projects, 20 concurrent executions on 10,000 and 50 on 50,000, 4,000 or 9,600 Assistant credits, admin roles, workflow history.
- Business: six projects, SSO and LDAP, multiple environments, queue mode, Git version control, forum support only. The largest fixed tier is 500,000 executions for 4,371 euros a month billed annually (5,245 monthly). Companies under 20 employees can qualify for a Startup plan with 50 percent off Business.
- Enterprise: unlimited projects, 200 or more concurrent executions, log streaming, support with an SLA.
Cloud data is stored in the EU, on servers in Frankfurt, says n8n. Business is not yet available in the cloud; there is a waitlist.
What an execution is, and what does not count
The docs define an execution as "a single run of a workflow", whatever the number of nodes. Only production executions count towards the quota: runs started by a trigger, a schedule, or polling. These do not count:
- manual test runs in the editor,
- sub-workflows (only the parent workflow counts),
- error workflows,
- polls that find no new data,
- webhook requests that fail before the workflow starts.
A schedule counts every time it fires, even if nothing happens. Per the pricing page, a workflow running every 5 minutes comes to about 8,600 to 8,900 executions a month, more than three times Starter. For a chatbot, every message counts.
Starter and Pro are "capped" according to the pricing page and have no overage fees. On Business, workflows keep running past the limit, but each additional 300,000 executions costs 4,000 euros or 4,800 dollars (stated that way since 26 October 2026). Enterprise overage fees are set in the order form.
What the Community Edition costs: licence and limits
Per the docs, the Community Edition is free, has "almost the complete feature set", and is what n8n runs without a licence key. Only paid plans have an execution quota. Missing features include SSO, multiple environments, projects, sharing workflows and credentials, log streaming, and Git version control. Registering the instance with your email adds folders and debugging in the editor for free.
The licence is the Sustainable Use License. Its text allows you to use and modify the software "only for your own internal business purposes or for non-commercial or personal use". You may only distribute it free of charge for non-commercial purposes. That is why n8n does not call itself open source, but "fair-code".
According to n8n's licence FAQ, you may, among other things:
- use n8n to help run your own business,
- build automations for clients on your own instance, as long as clients cannot create or edit them,
- charge clients for setup, maintenance, training, and consulting,
- use n8n behind the scenes in your own product, where users trigger ready-made automations.
You may not offer n8n as a service in which clients build their own workflows, white-label n8n, or use enterprise features without a licence. What matters, according to n8n, is who controls the workflow logic. I am a developer, not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice; for edge cases, n8n lists a contact address in its FAQ.
Hidden costs of self-hosting
The licence is free, running it is not. n8n's own docs name these items:
- Server: per the docs, n8n is not CPU-intensive; memory needs depend on your workflows and data. If memory runs short, a bigger server helps, with "additional costs" at your host. For a sense of price: Hetzner lists "Regular Performance" cloud servers from 7.72 euros a month including 19 percent German VAT (retrieved 31 October 2026).
- Database: the default is SQLite. Postgres is optional; n8n supports versions 16, 17, and 18. If you use Postgres, you run and back up a second component.
- Backups: a complete backup, per the docs, is the
.n8n folder with the key that encrypts your credentials, plus the external database. Without that key, backed-up credentials are useless. n8n recommends a full backup before every update; for clusters see Kubernetes Backup: etcd and Volumes.
- Upkeep: update "at least once a month", read the release notes for breaking changes first, and ideally test in a separate environment. The "Environments" feature for that is not part of the Community Edition, so you build the test instance yourself.
- Security: the docs say self-hosting requires knowledge of servers, containers, scaling, and security, and "Mistakes can lead to data loss, security issues, and downtime". The server holds the access to your systems; what securing it involves is in Securing Your Own Server: Linux and Windows.
- AI models: language models cost extra, through your own API keys with the provider or, in the cloud, through prepaid Gateway credits. How the Claude API bills is in Claude API Key: Setup, Pricing, First Call.
Worked example: cloud or self-hosted
This example is a calculation based on assumptions, not a measurement. A small team has three workflows: one that runs every 15 minutes (96 a day), one webhook with 50 requests a day, and one daily report. Over 30 days that is 2,880 + 1,500 + 30 = 4,410 executions a month.
The gap between Pro billed annually and the server is 42.28 euros a month, which you trade for your own time on updates, backups, and security. If that takes two hours a month (an assumption), the cloud is cheaper in this example once your hour is worth more than 21.14 euros. Two caveats: the server price includes VAT, n8n's page leaves that open. And whether an entry-level server is enough only shows in operation.
When cloud, when self-hosted
This is my assessment, not a measurement.
The cloud fits if you want to start quickly, do not run servers, and your volume fits Starter or Pro. According to the docs, the trial lasts 14 days with Pro features and 1,000 executions; if you do not subscribe afterwards, the instance is deleted, but you can download your workflows for 90 days.
Self-hosting pays off if you already run servers, have many executions, or want to decide where your data lives. Business is currently self-hosted only. Per the pricing page, the licence key of a Business or Enterprise instance reports production execution counts to n8n daily; telemetry is on by default and can be switched off.
I took the second route: n8n ran in my own cluster, and for a while Claude Code triggered n8n processes there. I still like n8n today; why my employees are folders now anyway is in After the AI Course: What Runs Every Month.
After setup, build a first workflow with real inputs and error cases: Create an n8n Workflow: Tutorial with Examples.
Frequently asked questions
Is n8n free?
The Community Edition has no licence fee and may be used for your own internal business purposes; server, database, backups, and upkeep still cost money. n8n Cloud offers a free 14-day trial only.
How much does n8n cost per month?
In the cloud from 20 euros (Starter) or 50 euros (Pro) billed annually, 24 or 60 euros billed monthly. Business, self-hosted, starts at 667 euros, or 800 euros monthly. As of 31 October 2026.
Can I use self-hosted n8n commercially?
For your own business, yes, including automations for clients who cannot edit the workflows themselves. A service where clients build their own workflows needs a separate agreement with n8n. This is not legal advice.
What happens when I hit the limit?
Starter and Pro are capped according to n8n and have no overage fees. On Business, workflows keep running, but overage fees of 4,000 euros per additional 300,000 executions may apply unless you move to the next tier.
What to do next
Count your executions first: list your workflows and how often each starts per month. Then you know whether Starter is enough. If you are not sure you need a workflow builder at all, read n8n, Make, or Claude: What For?. Free ways to build your first agent are in Build an AI Agent for Free: What Works?.
If you want to work through your own case with others, bring it to my community AI Employee Framework.
