What it is
n8n is a visual workflow automation tool, similar in spirit to Zapier, that you can run on your own server. Workflows chain triggers and actions across more than 1,500 integrations and 9,000 templates, and you can drop into JavaScript or Python where nodes fall short.
Its AI nodes let a workflow call language models, run agents with tools and memory, wait for human approval and query vector stores, which has made it a common way to put AI agents into business processes.
n8n is fair-code, not OSI open source. The Sustainable Use License lets you self-host for free for internal use, but you need a commercial licence to host it as a service or let outside users build workflows.
Our review
n8n is the most practical way to put an AI step in the middle of a real business process, but anyone self-hosting it has to treat it as internet-facing software with a heavy patch load. It has about 208,400 GitHub stars and ships constantly; n8n@2.44.6 arrived on 22 October 2026.
The pricing is easy to reason about. Every plan includes unlimited users and workflows, and a run counts as one execution however many steps it has. Billed annually, Cloud Starter is €20 a month for 2,500 executions and five concurrent runs, and Pro €50 for 10,000. SSO, LDAP, multiple environments, Git version control and queue mode need Business, which is self-hosted only at €667 a month for 40,000 executions, with extra buckets of 300,000 at €4,000. Companies under 20 staff can apply for half off Business. The Community Edition has no execution cap at all.
Security is the reason for a lower rating than its popularity suggests. GitHub lists more than 200 advisories for n8n published in 2026, 19 of them critical, with repeated themes: expression-sandbox escapes to remote code execution, the Git and Merge nodes, and credential leaks between users who share workflows. Many require a logged-in user, which makes who can edit workflows a security decision. A self-hosted instance also reports diagnostics, version checks and template requests to n8n by default until three environment variables are set to false.
The licence is the other check. It is source-available: if people outside your company build or edit workflows, or you resell hosted n8n, you need a commercial deal. Reviewers also find the agent nodes less specialised than Dify for retrieval-heavy apps. n8n is cheap to start and costs attention to run, and the attention is the larger bill.
Where it earns its place
A five-person RevOps team on HubSpot and Slack
Enrich and route inbound leads with an LLM classification step
A webhook trigger feeds an LLM node that scores the lead, then HubSpot and Slack nodes act on it. Each lead is one execution regardless of steps, so 2,500 leads a month fits Cloud Starter at €20 a month billed annually, before model API costs.
An internal IT team that cannot send data to another SaaS processor
Run AI agents against internal databases behind the firewall
Self-host the Community Edition with Docker Compose and Postgres; there is no execution cap. Budget for patching on most release cycles and restrict who can edit workflows, since many 2026 advisories needed only a logged-in user. SSO needs Business at €667 a month.
A small automation agency building workflows for clients
Deliver automations that clients can see and adjust
Running workflows for a client on your own instance is not the same as letting the client build them: under the Sustainable Use License, external users editing workflows or resold hosting need a commercial licence. Price that into the proposal or put each client on their own n8n plan.
Before you commit
- Setup
- curl -fsSL https://get.n8n.io | sh on any machine with Docker, or docker run with port 5678; the editor opens in a browser. Docker Compose is the documented production path, and npm installs are deprecated from n8n 3.0.
- Integrations
- More than 1,500 integrations and 9,000 workflow templates, HTTP and webhook nodes for anything else, code nodes with npm packages, and model nodes for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and open models.
- Data and privacy
- Self-hosted instances send diagnostics, version notifications and template requests to n8n by default; N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_ENABLED, N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED and N8N_TEMPLATES_ENABLED set to false stop them. Credentials are stored in your database, and 2026 advisories include several credential leaks between workflow editors.
- Cost at scale
- Self-hosted Community is free beyond your server. Billed annually, Cloud Pro is €50 a month for 10,000 executions; Business is €667 for 40,000, with each extra 300,000 executions at €4,000; Enterprise, with 200+ concurrent executions and log streaming, is quoted.
- Limits
- 1,214 open issues and pull requests. Cloud Starter allows five concurrent executions; Business is not yet offered as a hosted plan; the licence bars external workflow builders without a commercial agreement.
What's good
- 1,500+ integrations plus JavaScript and Python code nodes
- Unlimited users and workflows; one execution per run regardless of steps
- Community Edition has no execution cap
- Agent, memory, approval and vector-store nodes
What's not
- Over 200 security advisories in 2026, 19 critical; self-hosters must patch often
- Fair-code licence, not OSI open source
- SSO and environments start at the €667/month Business plan
Best for
Ops and engineering teams automating business processes that include AI steps.
Alternatives
n8n: common questions
- Is n8n worth it?
- Wide reach for wiring AI steps into business systems at a flat self-hosted cost, offset by a security patch cadence no self-hoster can ignore. We rate it 4.4 out of 5.
- How much does n8n cost?
- Fair-code: Community Edition free to self-host under the Sustainable Use License. Billed annually: Cloud Starter €20/month (2,500 executions), Pro €50/month (10,000); self-hosted Business €667/month (40,000); Enterprise custom.
- What are the downsides of n8n?
- Over 200 security advisories in 2026, 19 critical; self-hosters must patch often; fair-code licence, not OSI open source; sSO and environments start at the €667/month Business plan.
- Who is n8n best for?
- Ops and engineering teams automating business processes that include AI steps.
- How much does n8n cost for a team or in production?
- Self-hosted Community is free beyond your server. Billed annually, Cloud Pro is €50 a month for 10,000 executions; Business is €667 for 40,000, with each extra 300,000 executions at €4,000; Enterprise, with 200+ concurrent executions and log streaming, is quoted.
- Is n8n safe for company data?
- Self-hosted instances send diagnostics, version notifications and template requests to n8n by default; N8N_DIAGNOSTICS_ENABLED, N8N_VERSION_NOTIFICATIONS_ENABLED and N8N_TEMPLATES_ENABLED set to false stop them. Credentials are stored in your database, and 2026 advisories include several credential leaks between workflow editors.
- What are the best n8n alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Dify and Langflow.
Answers checked Oct 23, 2026.
Make n8n? Show this rating on your site
