What it is
n8n is a visual workflow builder for connecting apps, APIs and AI models. You drag nodes onto a canvas, link them, and drop into JavaScript or Python when a step needs custom logic. It has built-in nodes for AI agents, MCP and language models, so many teams use it to build agents that call tools and other services.
The Community Edition is free to self-host from GitHub. n8n Cloud and the paid self-hosted plans are billed by executions, where one execution is one full run of a workflow no matter how many steps it has. Every plan includes unlimited users, workflows and integrations.
Cloud plans include an AI Assistant that helps build and debug workflows, metered in Assistant credits. Self-hosted users bring their own API key instead, so no credit limits apply.
Our review
n8n wins on the economics of long workflows. It bills per execution, one full run of a workflow however many steps it has, so a 20-step lead-enrichment flow costs the same as a two-step one. Zapier and Make meter each step or operation, which is why n8n gets cheaper as automations grow more complicated. The self-hosted Community Edition has no execution cap at all.
The Cloud pricing has one cliff worth knowing. Starter at €20 a month gives 2,500 executions and 5 concurrent runs; Pro from €50 gives 10,000 and 20. The next step is Business at €667 a month for 40,000 executions, and it is self-hosted only, with a hosted version still on a waitlist. Above that, extra executions come in buckets of 300,000 for €4,000. A team at 15,000 runs a month has no published middle option.
Self-hosting is real but not free of work. The docs recommend Docker Compose for production, Postgres rather than SQLite, and queue mode with Redis and separate workers once volume grows; each worker runs 10 jobs at a time by default. Multi-main high availability is Enterprise-only. The licence matters too: the Sustainable Use License allows use for your own internal business purposes, not reselling n8n as a hosted service, and files marked ".ee" need a paid Enterprise licence.
The AI side is broad but partly unfinished. Agents, MCP and model nodes sit on the same canvas as code steps and HTTP calls, but the pricing page still marks the Assistant, agents, end-user credentials and OpenTelemetry tracing as preview. The editor assumes you can read JSON, and non-technical users consistently report a steeper climb than with Zapier. With more than 200,000 GitHub stars and releases shipping almost daily on the 2.x line, the project is in no danger of stalling; the risk is the opposite, keeping a self-hosted instance current.
Where it earns its place
A RevOps engineer at a 50-person B2B SaaS company
Enrich new leads from HubSpot with Clearbit-style data and an LLM summary
A 15-step workflow per lead counts as one execution, so 8,000 leads a month fits Pro from €50. On per-step tools the same flow would bill every step.
A platform team at a European insurer
Run internal automations on their own infrastructure for data-protection reasons
Self-host the Community Edition in Docker with Postgres; add queue mode with Redis workers as load grows. Software cost is zero; SSO, environments and log streaming need a Business or Enterprise licence key.
An operations manager at a 12-person agency
Automate client onboarding without a dedicated developer
Starter at €20 a month covers 2,500 runs and 5 concurrent executions. Expect a week of learning the data model; logs are kept 7 days, so failed runs need checking promptly.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Cloud runs in the browser immediately; self-hosting starts with a one-line install script or Docker Compose, and production needs Postgres.
- Integrations
- Hundreds of app nodes plus HTTP Request, JavaScript and Python code nodes, webhooks, MCP and LLM nodes.
- Data and privacy
- SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3, GDPR DPA; Cloud keeps execution logs 7 days on Starter, 30 on Pro and without a time limit on Enterprise; self-hosting keeps all data on your own servers.
- Cost at scale
- Business is €667 a month for 40,000 executions, then €4,000 per 300,000; a self-hosted Community instance costs only the server and the engineering time to run it.
- Limits
- Concurrency 5 on Starter and 20 on Pro; queue mode needs Postgres and Redis, binary data must go to S3, and multi-main HA is Enterprise-only.
What's good
- Billed per workflow run, not per step
- Free self-hosted Community Edition with no execution cap
- Code, HTTP and AI agent nodes on one canvas
- SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 reports; pre-signed DPA
- Unlimited users and workflows on every plan
What's not
- Steep jump from Pro (€50) to Business (€667) with no published middle tier
- Business plan is self-hosted only; Cloud version on a waitlist
- Sustainable Use License bars reselling it as a hosted service
- Assistant, agents and tracing still marked preview
Best for
Technical teams that run many or complex automations, or need to self-host.
Alternatives
Head to head
n8n: common questions
- Is n8n worth it?
- For a team with an engineer to spare, n8n is the cheapest serious automation platform there is, and self-hosting it costs nothing but a server and some patience. We rate it 4.6 out of 5.
- How much does n8n cost?
- Free self-hosted Community Edition; Cloud Starter €20/month (2,500 executions) and Pro from €50/month (10,000 executions), billed yearly; Business €667/month (40,000 executions, self-hosted, 50% off for start-ups under 20 staff); Enterprise custom.
- What are the downsides of n8n?
- Steep jump from Pro (€50) to Business (€667) with no published middle tier; business plan is self-hosted only; Cloud version on a waitlist; sustainable Use License bars reselling it as a hosted service; assistant, agents and tracing still marked preview.
- Who is n8n best for?
- Technical teams that run many or complex automations, or need to self-host.
- How much does n8n cost for a team or in production?
- Business is €667 a month for 40,000 executions, then €4,000 per 300,000; a self-hosted Community instance costs only the server and the engineering time to run it.
- Is n8n safe for company data?
- SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3, GDPR DPA; Cloud keeps execution logs 7 days on Starter, 30 on Pro and without a time limit on Enterprise; self-hosting keeps all data on your own servers.
- What are the best n8n alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Zapier, Make and Gumloop.
Answers checked Oct 22, 2026.
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