Self-Hosted n8n vs n8n Cloud: Real Costs Compared (2026)

Short answer: n8n Cloud costs €24 a month for 2,500 executions on Starter and €60 a month for 10,000 on Pro (monthly billing, n8n's pricing page, read 2026-11-05). Self-hosted n8n Community edition costs nothing in licence fees and has no execution meter, so a small server from about €6.50 a month can carry it. The catch is the bill you don't see: patching, backups, upgrades and on-call. Self-host when you have someone to own a production server or your volume is high. Pick Cloud when your volume is low and nobody on the team wants to run infrastructure.

This guide uses n8n's own pricing page and docs, read on 5 November 2026. You get the current tiers, what self-hosting really costs, the point where a paid self-hosted licence comes back into the picture, and a four-question test to make the call for your team.

What is the difference between self-hosted n8n and n8n Cloud?

Both run the same workflow editor, the same nodes and the same integrations. The difference is who runs the server.

• n8n Cloud is hosted by n8n. You sign up, build, and pay a monthly fee sized by workflow executions. n8n's pricing FAQ says hosted data is stored in the EU, on servers in Frankfurt, Germany.
• Self-hosted n8n is the same software running on your own server, installed with Docker, Docker Compose or a cloud provider template (n8n's docs mark the npm install as deprecated from n8n 3.0). n8n's hosting docs say that without a licence key it runs as the free Community edition, and that adding a Business or Enterprise key unlocks those editions on the same install.

Your workflows are portable between the two. What moves is responsibility: uptime, upgrades, security fixes, backups and the alert when a workflow fails at night.

Key takeaway: "Self-hosted" does not always mean "free". Community edition is free. The self-hosted Business and Enterprise plans are paid, and they are metered by executions just like Cloud.

n8n Cloud pricing in November 2026

n8n bills on workflow executions. Its pricing page defines one execution as "a single run of your entire workflow", however many steps it has. Every plan includes unlimited users, unlimited workflows and every integration.

Source: n8n pricing, read 2026-11-05. The page showed euro prices; annual figures are the yearly price divided by 12.

The plan limits matter as much as the price. n8n's comparison table lists, for Starter, Pro and Enterprise:

• Concurrent executions: 5 on Starter, 20 or 50 on Pro, 200+ on Enterprise.
• Maximum run time per execution: 5 minutes on Starter, 40 minutes on Pro and Enterprise.
• Saved execution history: 2,500 executions and 7 days on Starter, 25,000 and 30 days on Pro.
• Overage fees: listed as "Capped" on Starter and Pro.

Two things surprise people. First, the Business plan is not on Cloud yet: n8n's FAQ says "The Business plan is currently only available for self-hosted n8n." Second, a long-running AI agent workflow can hit the 5-minute ceiling on Starter before it hits any execution limit.

How many executions will you actually use?

n8n's FAQ gives the rule of thumb: a daily schedule is 30 or 31 executions a month, and a workflow that runs every 5 minutes is "about 8,600–8,900 executions monthly". Webhooks count once per incoming event. A chatbot counts once per message.

So one polling workflow on a 5-minute schedule almost fills Pro's 10,000. Two of them push you to the 50,000 tier at €145 a month. This is the usual moment teams start asking about self-hosting.

What does self-hosted n8n really cost?

Three lines go into the real number: the server, the licence (if you need one) and the time to run it.

1. The server

n8n runs fine on a small virtual server for most small-team workloads. As a reference point, Hetzner's cloud page (read 2026-11-05) lists shared Regular Performance plans from €6.49 a month and dedicated-vCPU plans from €43.49 a month, all excluding VAT. Add storage for Postgres backups and you are still in low double digits for a single instance.

Size the server for your heaviest workflow, not your average one. n8n's docs warn that it "doesn't restrict the amount of data each node can fetch and process", that the Code node and manual runs raise memory use, and that the result can be a "JavaScript heap out of memory" error. Big files and large API pulls need more RAM, or queue mode with separate workers.

2. The licence

Community edition is free, and n8n's docs say it "includes almost the complete feature set of n8n". The list of what it leaves out is short but important for teams:

• SSO (SAML, LDAP)
• Sharing workflows and credentials (only the instance owner and the creator can access them)
• Projects and environments
• Version control using Git
• External secrets, log streaming and external binary storage

If your security or IT team needs SSO, shared credentials or Git-based deployment, you are buying the self-hosted Business plan: €800 a month on monthly billing for 40,000 executions, or about €667 a month billed yearly. That licence pings n8n's licence server daily with your production execution count, and n8n says combined usage across every instance using the key counts toward your quota. At that tier you self-host for control over data and network, because the licence costs more than Cloud Pro.

n8n also lists a Startup plan with 50% off Business for companies under 20 employees, if you qualify.

3. The time

This is the line most comparisons skip. A self-hosted instance is a production service, and someone has to:

• Upgrade n8n regularly and test that custom nodes and existing workflows still behave after each release.
• Apply security fixes fast. On 14 October 2026 n8n published 15 security advisories on GitHub, 4 rated High; we broke down what to patch and a patch policy you can copy. When the July sandbox escape rated CVSS 8.7 landed, n8n patched its own Cloud infrastructure, while self-hosters had to upgrade on their own clock.
• Back up Postgres and the encryption key, and test a restore at least once.
• Watch for failed executions with an error workflow or external monitoring, because nobody else is watching.
• Keep TLS, the reverse proxy and the OS patched too.

We won't give you a universal hours-per-month figure, because it depends on how many workflows you run and how often n8n ships. Price it with your own numbers instead.

Self-hosted n8n vs n8n Cloud: worked cost examples

Here is the same decision at three volumes, using the list prices above. Server costs use the Hetzner reference plans. Your time is the variable you fill in.

Prices: n8n pricing and Hetzner Cloud, both read 2026-11-05, excluding VAT. Server ranges are our sizing estimate, not a vendor quote.

The break-even test is simple: (Cloud price − server cost) ÷ the hourly cost of the person who maintains it = the hours a month self-hosting can take before it costs more.

Take the 30,000-execution row. If Cloud is €145 and your server is €20, the gap is €125 a month. If your engineer costs €75 an hour (use your own rate), self-hosting pays off only if upkeep stays under about 1.7 hours a month. That is tight for a busy instance, but it widens quickly as volume grows, because the Community edition never meters executions while Cloud keeps stepping up.

At 1,000 executions the gap is under €20 a month. Almost any amount of maintenance time makes Cloud the cheaper choice there.

Watch out: If you need SSO, compare self-hosted Business against Cloud Enterprise, not Community against Cloud Pro. On n8n's page SSO first appears on Business, and the self-hosted Business licence alone starts at €800 a month on monthly billing.

Who should self-host n8n?

Self-hosting fits when:

• Someone on the team (even part-time) already runs Docker, Postgres and a Linux server in production.
• Data must stay on infrastructure you control: client data under contract, regulated data, or workflow logic you treat as IP. n8n Cloud stores data in Frankfurt, which settles EU residency for some teams but not all.
• Your volume is past Pro's 10,000 executions and climbing, and you don't need SSO, shared credentials or Git on your own server.
• You need custom nodes, private network access to internal systems, or an air-gapped install.
• You want to bring your own AI keys. n8n says self-hosted Assistant (in preview) runs on your own key, so no credit limits apply.

n8n Cloud fits when:

• Nobody wants to own upgrades, backups and security fixes. This is the most common way self-hosted instances end up unpatched.
• You need a workflow live today, not after a day of server setup.
• Your volume is under 10,000 executions a month, where the saving from self-hosting rarely covers more than an hour of upkeep.
• You want n8n to run the infrastructure, upgrades and execution storage without hiring for it.

The middle option: self-host and hand off the ops

Plenty of teams want what self-hosting gives them (their own data, no execution meter on Community, their own network) without anyone on staff doing the on-call. That is a managed self-hosted setup: the instance stays on your server and your account, and an outside team handles upgrades, patching, backups and monitoring.

That is the work our automation maintenance and support service covers, on a retainer instead of a new hire. If you are still deciding between Cloud and self-hosted, or planning a migration, n8n consulting is the shorter engagement. For new builds on either setup, our n8n development team designs the workflows and the infrastructure under them.

It is not always the right buy. If your volume fits Starter or Pro and you have no residency constraint, n8n Cloud is cheaper than paying anyone, us included, to run a server.

A four-question decision test

1. Does anyone on the team want to own a production server? If no, use n8n Cloud or a managed self-hosted setup.
2. Do you need SSO or Git deployment? If yes, price self-hosted Business against Cloud Enterprise. Community edition won't do it, and it can't share credentials either.
3. Must data stay on your own infrastructure? If yes, self-host.
4. Are you past about 10,000 executions a month? Run the break-even formula above with your real rate. Below that, Cloud usually wins.

If you land on Cloud now, you are not locked in. Workflows export as JSON and import into a self-hosted instance later. n8n's docs say the JSON carries credential names and IDs, not the secrets, so plan to re-enter each credential.

FAQ

Is self-hosted n8n free?

Yes, the Community edition is free to self-host with no execution limit. You still pay for the server (Hetzner lists shared plans from €6.49 a month excluding VAT) and for the time spent on upgrades, backups and security fixes. Features like SSO, credential sharing and Git version control need a paid Business or Enterprise licence.

How much does n8n Cloud cost?

n8n Cloud Starter is €24 a month for 2,500 executions and Pro is €60 a month for 10,000, or €145 for 50,000, on monthly billing. Annual billing cuts that to €20 and €50 a month. Prices are from n8n's pricing page, read on 5 November 2026; Enterprise is quoted by sales.

Is self-hosted n8n cheaper than n8n Cloud?

At high volume it usually is, at low volume it usually isn't. Divide the Cloud price minus your server cost by your engineer's hourly rate: that is how many hours of upkeep a month self-hosting can take before it costs more. Under 10,000 executions a month, the margin is rarely worth the work.

Does self-hosted n8n have execution limits?

The Community edition has no execution meter; your server's CPU and memory are the limit. The self-hosted Business and Enterprise plans are priced by executions, and n8n's licence server counts production executions across every instance using the same key.

Is the n8n Business plan available on n8n Cloud?

No, not yet. n8n's pricing FAQ says the Business plan is only available for self-hosted n8n and offers a waitlist for a hosted version. On Cloud, the step above Pro is Enterprise.

Who patches a self-hosted n8n instance?

You do, or whoever you hire to. n8n fixes its Cloud infrastructure itself, but self-hosters must upgrade on their own schedule, and the October 2026 batch had 15 advisories. Our self-hosted n8n patch guide has a policy you can copy, and our maintenance service can take it off your plate.

Can I move from n8n Cloud to self-hosted later?

Yes. Workflows export as JSON and import into a self-hosted instance, so starting on Cloud and moving once volume or compliance demands it is a common path. The exported JSON holds credential names and IDs, not the secrets, so budget time to reconnect each app.

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Sources: n8n pricing (read 2026-11-05), n8n hosting docs, n8n Community edition features, n8n memory errors, n8n export and import, Hetzner Cloud (read 2026-11-05), GitHub security advisories for n8n