How Much Does n8n Cost?
n8n's real price, Cloud and self-hosted, no fluff.
Short answer: n8n Cloud starts at $20/month billed annually ($24 monthly), with a free trial and no card required. But the real edge is the other path: the Community Edition is open source and free, running on your own server. There you only pay for the VPS, around $4 to $7/month for unlimited executions. And unlike Zapier or Make, n8n bills per execution (one full workflow run), not per step. We walk through both models, every plan, and what you actually pay based on your setup.
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n8n, the key numbers
What each n8n plan costs
n8n Cloud bills per execution: a 20-node workflow that runs once counts as 1 execution, not 20. All 400+ integrations are included on every plan, the free self-hosted one too. Prices shown annually, the lowest; monthly runs about 17% higher. Active workflows and users are unlimited everywhere.
Prices in USD, billed annually. Checked June 2026 on n8n.io/pricing.
Self-hosted (Community)
Open source, on your server
$4 to $7/month of VPS
- Unlimited executions
- Unlimited active workflows
- 400+ native integrations included
- JavaScript and Python code nodes
- No SSO, Git or multi-environment
Cloud Starter
To get started on Cloud
$24/month monthly
- 2,500 executions per month
- 5 concurrent executions
- 1 shared project
- 50 AI credits
- Free trial, no card required
Cloud Pro
To scale up
$60/month monthly
- 10,000 executions per month
- 20 concurrent executions
- 3 shared projects
- Admin roles, global variables, 7-day history
- 150 AI credits, trial with no card
Cloud Business
SSO, Git and environments
$800/month monthly
- 40,000 executions per month
- 6 shared projects
- SSO / SAML / LDAP, Git version control
- Dev / staging / prod, 30-day history
- 14-day trial, card required
Enterprise
Cloud or self-hosted, custom quote
- Unlimited executions (custom)
- 200+ concurrent executions
- Unlimited projects, dedicated support with SLA
- Log streaming, external secrets, 365-day history
- Cloud or self-hosted deployment
Prices checked June 2026 on n8n.io/pricing and cross-referenced across sources. 17% discount on all Cloud plans billed annually. A Startup plan (50% off Business, around $333/month annually) exists for companies under 20 employees. Heads up: per-execution billing also counts manual tests, error retries and sub-workflows.
Cloud or self-hosted?
This is the choice that sets your price. Cloud means zero infra but an execution quota. Self-hosted means free software but you run the server. Here's how to decide.
Self-hosted (Community Edition)
The software is open source and costs nothing. You install it via Docker on a VPS (Hetzner at ~$4.51/month, managed PikaPods at ~$3.80/month). Unlimited executions, 400+ integrations, code nodes. The flip side: you handle the OS, SSL and backups, and you lose SSO, Git and multi-environment, which are reserved for Enterprise self-hosted.
n8n Cloud
No server to manage, automatic updates, and you're running in minutes. Price tracks your execution volume: 2,500/month on Starter ($20), 10,000/month on Pro ($50). Best if you don't have a DevOps profile, or if the time spent running a server is worth more than the subscription.
The hidden cost of self-hosting
The server is trivial, but your time isn't. Expect 4 to 8 hours of setup for an experienced dev (Docker, nginx, SSL, backups), then 1 to 4 hours of maintenance per month. At $100/hour for a senior engineer, that hidden time can outweigh the Cloud subscription. Self-hosting wins mostly when the team is already technical.
- Comfortable with Docker? Self-hosted at $4-7/month is unbeatable.
- No technical profile? Cloud saves you the maintenance.
- High execution volume? Self-hosted stays free in software.
- Need SSO or Git? Budget Cloud Business or Enterprise self-hosted.
- Heavy polling workflows? Self-hosted dodges the quota that halts everything.
- Want to test risk-free? The Cloud Starter trial is free, no card.
How we price the real cost
n8n's sticker price doesn't tell the full story, because the real cost depends on how you host. To compare honestly, we put Cloud Pro (10,000 executions) head to head with an equivalent self-hosted setup on a Hetzner VPS. Here's the breakdown.
- Cloud Pro (annual)10,000 executions, updates included, zero infra$50/mo
- Self-hosted VPS HetznerUnlimited executions, but maintenance is on you~$4.51/mo
- Self-hosted managed (PikaPods)Platform handles everything, no maintenance~$3.80/mo
- Gap over a yearCloud Pro at $600/yr vs ~$60/yr self-hosted~$540
The self-hosted figure excludes maintenance time (1-4 hrs/month). If that time has a value for you, add it before deciding.
What you actually pay per month
The price depends on your profile and how you host. Three typical cases, assumptions stated, checked June 2026.
Estimates in USD. Any LLM costs (AI calls inside workflows) not included.
Solo, self-hosted
Dev comfortable with Docker
- Hetzner CX22 VPS at $4.51/month
- Unlimited executions, 10-20 workflows
- About $60/yr vs $600/yr on Cloud Pro
Solo, Cloud
No DevOps, wants simplicity
- Cloud Pro annual, 10,000 executions
- Zero infra, automatic updates
- Watch polling so you don't burn the quota
Team / agency
SSO, Git, complex workflows
- Cloud Business annual at $667
- $333/month via the Startup plan (< 20 staff)
- 20,000 to 35,000 executions, SSO and Git included
Estimates billed annually (June 2026). Self-hosted stays free in software at any volume: only the server is billed. For a team that needs SSO and Git without paying $667/month, Enterprise self-hosted (custom quote) or the Startup plan are the two paths to explore.
n8n's price against Make and Zapier
It all comes down to the billing model. n8n bills per execution (one full run = one execution), Make per credit (one module action) and Zapier per task (one action per run). On complex workflows, the gap gets huge. Entry prices checked June 2026.
Entry prices in USD, June 2026. Competitors are listed for comparison only, with no sign-up link.
n8n
Per execution · self-hosted free
- Self-hosted free (from $4/month of VPS)
- Cloud from $24/month, 2,500 executions
- 20 steps = always 1 execution counted
Make
Per credit (ex-operations)
- Free plan: 1,000 credits/month
- Core from $9/month, 10,000 credits
- 1 run of 5 modules = 5 credits
Zapier
Per task
- Free plan: 100 tasks, 5 Zaps
- Starter from $19.99/month, 750 tasks
- A 10-step workflow = 10 tasks per run
For simple workflows (2-3 steps), Make is often cheaper than n8n Cloud. For complex workflows (8+ steps) at high volume, n8n Cloud comes out 2 to 5 times cheaper than Make and 5 to 15 times cheaper than Zapier. Self-hosted n8n is in a class of its own: near-zero software cost. Make renamed its operations to credits in August 2025, and AI actions burn more of them.
So, is n8n expensive?
Our take after running it on Cloud and self-hosted: n8n is one of the cheapest automation tools out there, as long as you pick the right mode. Here's when it's worth it, and when it stings.
Great value if…
Your workflows are complex (lots of steps) and you run at high volume. Per-execution billing makes n8n 2 to 15 times cheaper than Make or Zapier on that ground. And if your team is technical, self-hosted at $4-7/month for unlimited executions is simply unbeatable.
It stings if…
You need SSO or Git but not the 40,000 executions of Business. The jump from Pro ($60) to Business ($800) is a 13x factor, the infamous pricing chasm. Another trap: on Cloud, blowing past your quota halts every workflow at once, with no warning and no grace period.
Paying less
Pay yearly for 17% off. If you're technical, self-host: it's the biggest lever by far. Swap polling workflows for webhooks so you don't burn your quota. And if you have under 20 employees, ask for the Startup plan (50% off Business).
- Pay yearly: 17% off every Cloud plan.
- Technical team? Self-host for unlimited executions at near-zero cost.
- Prefer webhooks over polling to save your execution quota.
- Under 20 staff? Ask for the Startup plan (50% off Business).
- Test the Cloud Starter free, no card, before committing.
Frequently asked questions about n8n's price
How much does n8n cost per month?
It depends on how you host. On Cloud, n8n starts at $20/month on the Starter plan billed annually ($24/month monthly) for 2,500 executions, then $50/month on Pro (10,000 executions) and $667/month on Business (40,000 executions, SSO and Git). Self-hosted, the software is free: you only pay for your server, around $4 to $7/month on a VPS. That's the cheapest path if your team is comfortable with Docker.Is n8n self-hosting really free?
Yes, the software is. n8n's Community Edition is open source (under the Sustainable Use License) and entirely free: unlimited executions, unlimited workflows, 400+ integrations and code nodes included. The only cost is infrastructure: a VPS at around $4.51/month on Hetzner, or a managed platform like PikaPods at around $3.80/month. What the free version leaves out: SSO, Git, multi-environment and advanced audit logging, all reserved for Enterprise self-hosted.How does n8n's per-execution billing work?
One execution is one full run of a workflow, no matter how many nodes it contains. A 20-step workflow that runs 500 times a month counts as 500 executions, not 10,000. That's the opposite of Zapier, which bills each action as a task. One caveat: on Cloud, manual tests from the editor, automatic retries after an error and sub-workflows all count toward your monthly execution quota too.Is n8n cheaper than Make or Zapier?
It depends on how complex your workflows are. For simple workflows (2-3 steps), Make is often cheaper, from $9/month. But for complex workflows (8 steps and up) at high volume, n8n Cloud comes out 2 to 5 times cheaper than Make and 5 to 15 times cheaper than Zapier, thanks to per-execution billing. Example: a 10-step workflow run 1,000 times costs about $50 on n8n Pro versus $69 to $103 on Zapier Professional. And self-hosted n8n is in a class of its own, near-free.What does n8n self-hosting actually cost to run?
The server alone is cheap: $4 to $7/month all in on a Hetzner VPS, or around $3.80/month on a managed platform like PikaPods. The real cost is elsewhere: 4 to 8 hours of setup for an experienced dev (Docker, nginx, SSL, backups), then 1 to 4 hours of maintenance per month. At $100/hour for a senior engineer, that hidden time can mean $100 to $400/month of real cost. So self-hosting is unbeatable if the team is already technical, less obvious otherwise.Is there a discount for paying yearly on n8n?
Yes. Annual billing saves 17% on every Cloud plan. Starter drops from $24 to $20/month ($48 saved per year), Pro from $60 to $50/month ($120 per year) and Business from $800 to $667/month ($1,596 per year). There's also a Startup plan for companies under 20 employees, with 50% off Business, around $333/month annually. Still, the biggest saving lever is self-hosting, which makes the software free.How much does n8n cost for a team?
For a team that needs SSO, Git and multi-environment, budget the Cloud Business plan at $667/month annually (40,000 executions). If the company has under 20 employees, the Startup plan cuts that by 50%, to around $333/month. Good news: users are unlimited on every plan, so you don't pay per seat. For a technical team that wants to dodge the bill, Enterprise self-hosted (custom quote) adds SSO and Git to a self-hosted install.What happens if I exceed my execution quota?
On Cloud, it's brutal: the moment you hit your monthly execution limit, every workflow stops immediately, with no warning, no alert email and no grace period. They only resume at the next billing cycle, and unused executions don't roll over. That's Cloud's main trap, especially with polling workflows: a Gmail check every 10 minutes already burns 4,320 executions a month. The fix: favor webhooks, or move to self-hosted where executions are unlimited.Does n8n have a free trial or a free plan?
Both, depending on the mode. Cloud Starter and Cloud Pro offer a free trial with no card required (the exact length isn't uniformly stated across sources, so confirm on the official page), while Business gives a 14-day trial with a card required. On self-hosting, it's not a trial but permanent free use: the open-source Community Edition runs with no time or execution limit, for the price of your server only.Can I cancel or switch n8n plans easily?
Yes, the Cloud subscription is managed from your account and you can switch plans or cancel with no long commitment on monthly. Remember to export your workflows before closing a Cloud account. One n8n strength: because the format is open, you can take your workflows and move from Cloud to self-hosted (or back) without starting over, which limits lock-in. That's one of the perks of the open-source model versus a fully proprietary tool.
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