Community
Free software; hosting extra
Self-hosted core automation
Workflow Management
n8n pricing, features & alternatives
Visual workflow automation with code, API integrations and self-hosting options.
- Price checked
- Verified on vendor site
- Confidence: High
Choose it if
Technical operations teams combining APIs, custom data transformations and multi-step automations
Skip it if
You need a fully managed business process with minimal technical ownership or free shared workflow governance
Starting price
€20/month billed annually; Community Edition software is free
Free self-hosted Community Edition; hosted trial available
n8n overview
Decision checklist
- Buying consideration: Annual amounts are monthly equivalents. Execution count, runtime, saved history and AI credit allowances are distinct limits. External API and model charges can be additional. Business infrastructure is not included.
- Operational fit: n8n Cloud or self-hosted; support: Community forum; Enterprise offers dedicated support with SLA.
- Evidence context: Verified on vendor site, with facts checked 5 Oct 2026.
Common n8n Use Cases
n8n connects application events, transformations and API actions in a visual canvas. It is useful when a lead enrichment or reporting workflow needs branches and custom logic that would otherwise live in scripts. A technical owner should document what each workflow changes and how failed runs are handled.
How n8n cloud pricing affects your workload
Hosted plans meter workflow executions, so measure how often each workflow starts. A daily report and a webhook for every incoming lead have very different usage patterns. The Starter example below assumes 60 starts per day. External services still have their own quotas, so an affordable n8n plan does not guarantee an affordable AI or enrichment workflow.
Cloud versus self-hosted automation
Choose Cloud when maintaining infrastructure would slow the team. Choose self-hosting when deployment control justifies responsibility for updates, credentials, backups and monitoring. The free Community Edition is a practical starting point for an individual operator, but its sharing limits matter once several people maintain the same workflows.
A useful evaluation
Build a small lead-to-CRM flow using representative records. Try missing fields, duplicate leads and a failed downstream request. Record how the team detects and resolves each failure. This is a proposed evaluation, not a test we performed. Compare Make or Zapier if a less technical owner will maintain the automation.
n8n pricing
Official pricing page (opens in a new tab)Starting price: €20/month billed annually; Community Edition software is free. Model: Cloud subscription by workflow executions; paid self-hosted licenses; infrastructure extra.
Worked exampleA team with 60 workflow runs/day uses about 1,800 runs in a 30-day month. Starter is €240/year at the advertised €20 monthly equivalent, before tax and external API usage.
Starter
€20/month billed annually
2,500 executions, one shared project
Pro
€50/month billed annually
10,000 executions, three shared projects
Business
€667/month billed annually
40,000 executions, self-hosted only
Enterprise
Contact sales
Custom usage and governance
Annual amounts are monthly equivalents. Execution count, runtime, saved history and AI credit allowances are distinct limits. External API and model charges can be additional. Business infrastructure is not included.
Key features
- Visual node editor
- HTTP and GraphQL requests
- JavaScript and Python steps
- Webhook triggers
- AI Agent and MCP nodes
- Execution logs and error workflows
- Cloud and self-hosted editions
n8n pros and cons
Strengths
- Complex workflows are billed per execution rather than each step
- Code and APIs extend prebuilt integrations
- Self-hosting can place data on chosen infrastructure
Limitations
- Self-hosting requires updates, backups and monitoring
- Cloud runtime and concurrency limits matter
- Advanced collaboration requires a paid edition
Biggest limitation: Free self-hosting does not include shared projects, workflow/credential sharing, SSO or Git version control.
n8n at a glance
- Pricing model
- Cloud subscription by workflow executions; paid self-hosted licenses; infrastructure extra
- Free access
- Free self-hosted Community Edition; hosted trial available
- Support
- Community forum; Enterprise offers dedicated support with SLA
- India readiness
- Cloud data is hosted in Frankfurt, Germany. Self-hosting offers deployment choice. Budget currency conversion and applicable taxes.
- Deployment
- n8n Cloud or self-hosted
- Use cases
- API integration, Data synchronisation, Workflow automation
- Industries
- Agencies, Professional services, Technology
n8n alternatives
Closest alternative: Make. Here is how the shortlist compares on price and fit.
| Compare |  n8n |
 Make |
 Pabbly Connect |
 Cal.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Technical operations teams combining APIs, custom data transformations and multi-step automations | Operations teams, technical marketers and automation specialists who need visual multi-step scenarios, branching logic and broad SaaS connectivity | Small businesses and automation consultants with predictable workflows, substantial filtering or formatting logic, and a preference for lower recurring cost or a one-time plan | Consultants, recruiters and sales teams coordinating appointments across connected calendars |
| Starting price | €20/month billed annually; Community Edition software is free | $12/month | ₹1,138/month | $12/user/month billed yearly for Teams; Individuals free |
| Free plan / trial | Free self-hosted Community Edition; hosted trial available | Yes | Yes | One individual user with unlimited event types and calendars |
| Biggest limitation | Free self-hosting does not include shared projects, workflow/credential sharing, SSO or Git version control. | Credit use can multiply as bundles pass through modules, and some AI or advanced features consume variable credits, making costs harder to predict from event volume alone. | Each external application action consumes a task, so multi-action workflows can exhaust an allowance much faster than the number of business events suggests. | Round-robin and routing need Teams, while SAML SSO and SCIM require Organizations or higher. |
Prices are taken from each vendor's own pricing page on the dates shown. Taxes and add-ons may apply; confirm before you buy.
n8n FAQs
Does a 20-step workflow cost 20 executions?
The vendor bills one full workflow run as one execution, regardless of the number of steps. Check separately triggered or called workflows when estimating usage.
Is Community Edition a free hosted plan?
No. It is free software you host and maintain yourself. Server, backup and administration costs remain.
Can free self-hosted users share all workflows and credentials?
Community lacks the paid sharing and project features. Choose an appropriate paid edition when team governance is required.
Can Starter handle a workflow scheduled every five minutes?
A 30-day month contains about 8,640 scheduled runs, above Starter’s 2,500 allowance. Estimate executions before selecting the tier.
Is the Business subscription hosted by n8n?
The current public Business plan is self-hosted only. Cloud Enterprise is a separate sales-led option.
Are Assistant credits the same as workflow executions?
No. Assistant usage has a separate monthly allowance. Confirm the current balance and external model charges rather than treating executions as AI credits.
Sources and how we checked
We read pricing and plan limits from n8n's own pages (listed above) on the dates above. Where a vendor does not publish a price we can verify, we say so rather than estimate. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Profile updated · facts checked 5 Oct 2026
n8n€20/month billed annually; Community Edition software is free
