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n8n Cloud vs self-hosted: the real costs
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The short answer
You want to build automations, not look after a server. That is most one-person businesses.
Try n8n Cloud freeYou run thousands of executions a month, are comfortable on a Linux server, or must keep data in-house.
Self-hosting docsn8n is unusual: the same software runs in n8n's cloud for a monthly fee, or on your own server for free. "Free" is what draws people to self-hosting. It is also the part that needs the most honest maths, because the licence is free but the server, the upkeep and your time are not.
The quick comparison
| n8n Cloud | Self-hosted Community Edition | |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | Starter: €20/month for 2,500 executions. Pro: €50/month for 10,000 (billed yearly) | Free, with no execution limit |
| Server cost | Included | About €5 to €12/month for a small virtual server |
| Setup | Sign up and start building | Server, Docker, database, domain and HTTPS to set up |
| Updates and backups | Handled for you | Your job |
| If it breaks at 2am | n8n's problem | Your problem |
| Team features | Shared projects, workflow history on Pro | Core features only; SSO, environments and Git sync need a paid licence |
What self-hosting really costs
The server is the cheap part. A small virtual server with 2 GB of memory runs a one-person business's workflows happily for around €5 to €12 a month. Add a few euros if you want the provider's automatic backups.
The expensive part is time. Expect to spend:
- Setup: two to four hours the first time, if you follow n8n's Docker guide and have used a command line before. Longer if you haven't.
- Upkeep: about an hour a month for updates, checking backups and glancing at disk space.
- Surprises: the odd evening when an update changes something, a certificate fails to renew, or the disk fills with old execution logs.
Put a price on that hour a month. If your time is worth €30 an hour, self-hosting costs you roughly €40 a month in total, which is more than n8n Cloud Starter. It only comes out ahead when your volume would push you onto a bigger cloud plan, or when you enjoy the tinkering and don't count it as work.
When self-hosting wins
- High volume. Executions are unlimited on your own server. If you would otherwise need Pro or more, the saving is real.
- Data rules. Customer data never leaves a server you control, which can matter for client work or regulated industries.
- Heavy AI or custom code. You can install extra packages and community nodes freely, and run long jobs without cloud time limits.
- You already run servers. If you host other tools on a VPS, n8n is one more container.
When n8n Cloud wins
- You are starting out. The free trial needs no card, and 2,500 executions a month covers a lot of small-business automation, because n8n counts a whole workflow run once however many steps it has.
- Reliability matters more than the bill. A lead form that silently stops working costs more than €20.
- You have no interest in servers. That is a perfectly good reason.
A middle path
Start on n8n Cloud. Build your workflows, see how many executions you really use, and export them if you ever want to move. Workflows are portable JSON files, so switching to a self-hosted copy later is a matter of importing them and reconnecting your accounts. Plenty of people never need to.
And if even n8n Cloud feels like more than you need, Make is cloud-only, friendlier for non-technical owners, and cheap for short automations. Make vs n8n walks through that choice.