Quick verdict
Choose n8n Cloud if you want to start today without managing servers. You pay by workflow executions: 2,500 a month on Starter, 10,000 on Pro. Choose self-hosted n8n for high volume or full control. The Community edition is free, but you pay for the server and the time to maintain it.
Prices and limits as of November 2026. See sources.
n8n Cloud vs self-hosted at a glance
Both options run the same n8n editor and the same integrations. The difference is who runs the infrastructure and how you pay. n8n Cloud is a subscription priced by monthly workflow executions. Self-hosted n8n is software you install on your own server, and the Community edition costs nothing to license.
| n8n Cloud | Self-hosted n8n | |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | n8n hosts, updates and scales the instance. | You provide and maintain the server, database, backups and updates. |
| How you pay | Plan price by monthly workflow executions (Starter, Pro, Enterprise). | Community edition: free. Paid Business or Enterprise licence key unlocks extra features. |
| Entry price | Starter: €20/month, billed annually, 2,500 executions. | €0 for the software. Server and maintenance costs are yours. |
| Execution limits | 2.5K (Starter), 10K (Pro), custom (Enterprise) per month. | No licence limit on the Community edition. Your server capacity sets the limit. |
| Concurrency | 5 concurrent executions on Starter; up to 50 on Pro; 200+ on Enterprise. | Depends on your hardware; queue mode is included in the Community edition. |
| Max execution time | 5 minutes on Starter, 40 minutes on Pro and Enterprise. | Set by your own configuration. |
| Custom nodes and bash scripts | Not available on Cloud plans (listed as self-hosted only). | Available. |
| SSO, Git version control, environments | Enterprise plan. | Business or Enterprise licence; not in the free Community edition. |
| Users | Unlimited users on all plans. | Unlimited, but the Community edition does not share workflows or credentials between users. |
| Best for | Teams without server skills, early projects, low to medium volume. | High execution volume, data control, custom code and client automation at scale. |
n8n pricing in November 2026
n8n Cloud plans
n8n's pricing page showed these prices in euros, billed annually. The page offers a monthly option and says annual billing saves 17%. All plans include unlimited users, unlimited workflows and every integration.
- Starter, €20/month: 2,500 workflow executions, 5 concurrent executions, 1 shared project, 7 days of execution log retention.
- Pro, €50/month: 10,000 workflow executions, up to 50 concurrent executions, 3 shared projects, admin roles, workflow history, 30 days of execution log retention.
- Enterprise, contact sales: custom executions, 200+ concurrent executions, SSO and LDAP, log streaming, external secrets and dedicated support with an SLA. Available hosted by n8n or self-hosted.
The free trial of n8n Cloud needs no credit card. It gives Pro-level features for 14 days with a limit of 1,000 executions and Starter-level computing resources.
Self-hosted editions
- Community edition, free: what n8n runs without a licence key. n8n describes it as having almost the complete feature set.
- Registered Community edition, free: register with your email to get a free licence key that unlocks extra features, such as folders.
- Business, €667/month billed annually: 40,000 workflow executions, 6 shared projects, SSO and LDAP, multiple environments and Git version control. n8n's FAQ says Business is only available for self-hosted n8n at the moment. Companies with fewer than 20 employees can apply for n8n's Startup plan, which gives 50% off Business.
- Enterprise, contact sales: self-hosted or Cloud.
What an execution is
n8n bills an execution as one run of a whole workflow. A 3-step workflow and a 30-step workflow each use one execution per run. Polling triggers add up quickly: n8n's own FAQ says a workflow on a five-minute schedule uses about 8,600 to 8,900 executions a month. That one workflow is more than three times the Starter allowance.
The real cost of self-hosting
The Community licence is free, but self-hosting is not free to run. Budget for a virtual server, a production database, off-server backups, monitoring, SSL and your time to apply n8n updates and security patches. n8n's own guidance is to choose Cloud if you do not have technical expertise or do not want to manage infrastructure.
A real example: VibraMedia
VibraMedia ran high-volume prospecting, Apollo enrichment and Airtable database workflows entirely on n8n Cloud. At over 100,000 workflow executions per month, they paid more than £1,000 per month in n8n Cloud fees, plus £300 per month in OpenAI API costs.
We moved their workflows and credentials to a self-hosted n8n instance on a DigitalOcean droplet, simplified the workflows, and added an LLM router that sends simple tasks to a lower-cost model. Their n8n hosting cost fell by about 95% and their OpenAI costs by about 75%: a total saving of about £1,175 per month. Read the VibraMedia case study.
The lesson is about volume. Self-hosting removed the per-execution cost, which mattered because VibraMedia ran a very large number of executions. At low volume, the time you spend on maintenance can cost more than a Cloud plan.
When to choose each option
Choose n8n Cloud if
- You want to start today, with no server set-up.
- Nobody on your team is comfortable with Docker, databases or Linux updates.
- Your volume fits within the Starter or Pro execution allowance.
- You want n8n to handle updates, scaling and availability.
Choose self-hosted n8n if
- You run, or expect to run, more executions than the Cloud plans include.
- You need custom nodes, bash scripts or longer-running workflows.
- Your data must stay on infrastructure you control.
- You have someone who can own backups, monitoring and updates, or a partner who does it for you.
If you are an agency, read the licence terms before you choose. n8n's licence FAQ lets you run client automations on your own instance as long as the clients cannot create or edit the workflows. Our agency automation service works within those terms.
Run n8n on your own server
Our free guide takes you through a self-hosted n8n set-up step by step. If you have a large Cloud bill, we can review it with you.
Moving from n8n Cloud to self-hosted
- Make a list of all workflows and credentials. Write down the trigger type and monthly execution count for each workflow. Use this list as your test checklist.
- Set up the new instance. n8n's docs list Docker Compose for production deployments with a database. Add backups and monitoring before you move live traffic.
- Export the workflows. Download each workflow as JSON from the editor, or use the n8n CLI to move packages of workflows between instances (n8n marks packages as Preview). Owners of n8n Cloud instances can also download workflows from a backup in the Cloud console.
- Recreate credentials. Cloud backups contain workflows only, never credentials. Exported workflow JSON includes credential names and IDs, so reconnect each credential on the new instance and check every node that uses one.
- Update webhook URLs. Webhook URLs include your instance's domain. Update every external service that calls them.
- Run both instances in parallel, then switch. Activate workflows on the new instance one group at a time, compare outputs, then deactivate them on Cloud.
If you are leaving after a free trial, note that n8n gives you 90 days to download your workflows after the trial ends. After that, n8n deletes them permanently.
Frequently asked questions
Is self-hosted n8n really free?
The software is. n8n's docs describe the Community edition as the free edition that runs without a licence key, with almost the complete feature set, and you can register it with your email to unlock extra features at no cost. You still pay for the server, database, backups and the time to keep it updated and secure.
What counts as an execution on n8n Cloud?
n8n defines an execution as a single run of an entire workflow. The number of steps and the amount of data in that run do not change the count. A workflow on a five-minute schedule uses about 8,600 to 8,900 executions a month, according to n8n's pricing FAQ.
Can I move my workflows from n8n Cloud to a self-hosted instance?
Yes. You can download each workflow as JSON from the editor, use the n8n CLI to move packages of workflows between instances, or download workflows from a Cloud backup in the Cloud console. Cloud backups contain workflows only, never credentials, so plan to recreate credentials on the new instance.
Which features does the free Community edition leave out?
n8n's docs list custom variables, environments, external secrets, external storage for binary data, log streaming, multi-main mode, projects, SSO (SAML and LDAP), sharing of workflows and credentials, and version control using Git. These are available on the paid self-hosted Business and Enterprise plans.
Can an agency use self-hosted n8n for client work?
Under n8n's Sustainable Use License FAQ, you can build automations for clients on your instance as long as the clients cannot create or edit them, and you can charge for setup, maintenance, training and consultancy. You cannot host n8n as a service that lets clients build their own workflows.
What happens when I reach my n8n Cloud execution limit?
n8n's pricing page lists overage fees on Starter and Pro as capped. On Business and Enterprise, n8n says workflows keep running when you pass your quota, but overage charges may apply unless you move to the next usage tier.
Sources
We checked every price, plan limit and feature on this page against the vendors' own pages in November 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm current figures before you buy.