How Much Does n8n Cost?

If you’re exploring workflow automation and ask how much does n8n cost, you’re in the right place. As a HubSpot consultant with 15 years of experience, I’ve seen many organisations adopt automation tools. Whether you’re planning n8n integrations between your CRM, marketing stack, and back-office systems or you’re comparing how much does n8n cost per month vs enterprise pricing this guide breaks it all down in clear, practical terms.

What is n8n and Why Its Cost Matters

n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform that lets you connect apps, automate logic, and orchestrate tasks with little manual intervention. The platform is particularly compelling when you’re using it for complex workflows: connecting CRM data, marketing tools, SaaS platforms, and custom APIs.

Because you want to integrate multiple systems for example, HubSpot data flowing into your ERP system or automated lead-enrichment feeding back into HubSpot the cost of n8n matters. It’s not just license fees, but also usage, infrastructure, execution counts, and support that determine the total cost.

Cloud (Hosted by n8n) – How Much Does n8n Cloud Cost

Basic Cloud Pricing Overview

As of 2025, n8n’s pricing for cloud-hosted plans is structured around monthly workflow executions rather than the number of users or nodes.

Here are the key tiers:

• Starter: around €20/month (when billed annually) for up to 2,500 executions/month.

• Pro: around €50/month (when billed annually) for up to 10,000 executions/month.

• Business / Enterprise: Custom pricing for higher execution volumes.

What per month Means in Practice

When you ask “how much does n8n cost per month,” you should consider:

• The number of workflow executions you’ll use. One execution equals one workflow run from trigger to finish.

• The possibility of over-usage or needing to scale beyond your plan. For example, 100,000 monthly executions could push costs into the thousands per month.

• Annual-billing discounts: the listed cloud rates (20€/50€) apply to annual billing; monthly billing may cost slightly more.

Real-Life Scenario

A small digital agency automates:

• Lead capture → HubSpot contact creation

• Data enrichment via API call

• Email workflow triggered in HubSpot

If they expect 3,000 workflow runs each month, the Starter plan (2,500 executions) may not suffice, so they’d likely move to the Pro plan (10,000 executions) at about €50/month.

If they scale to 50,000 executions/month (many triggers, frequent workflows), they’d need Business/Enterprise pricing, which could reach hundreds or thousands of euros per month.

Self-Hosted (Community Edition & Beyond) – How Much Does n8n Cost to Use

Free Software, but Real Costs

The software itself Community Edition of n8n is free to download and self-host. However, when people ask “how much does n8n cost to use,” they forget the indirect costs of hosting, maintenance, and monitoring.

Infrastructure & Operational Costs Breakdown

• Basic hosting (small server): roughly US $50-150/month for limited workflows.

• For production use with many workflows: hardware, database, monitoring, backups, and DevOps labour can push monthly costs to US $300-500 or more.

• Hidden costs include security, high availability, and disaster recovery.

When Self-Hosting Makes Sense (and When It Doesn’t)

Scenario A: A startup automates a few workflows, internal tools, and limited trigger volumes → a VPS + self-hosted n8n might cost US $20-100/month (plus setup time).
Scenario B: A mid-sized company handles thousands of workflows across marketing and operations → self-hosting costs (infrastructure + DevOps) may become significant. In that case, the managed cloud plan could be cheaper.

Real-Life Self-Hosting Scenario

An e-commerce firm automates order-to-warehouse flows with about 10 workflows triggering hundreds of times per day. If they self-host, server, database, backups, and monitoring might total US $300/month plus engineer time. They must weigh “how much does n8n cost to use” against staff and maintenance costs.

Enterprise Pricing – How Much Does n8n Enterprise Cost

When your organisation has large-scale automation needs, compliance, SSO, or dedicated support, you’ll need an Enterprise licence.

What Enterprise Covers

• High execution volumes (hundreds of thousands/month or more)

• Advanced security, audit logs, single-sign-on (SSO)

• SLA, priority support, and dedicated account management

• Option for self-hosted or hybrid frameworks

Cost Indicators

• Rough estimates show about €4,000 for every additional 300,000 executions above the base level.

• Some organisations have reported costs increasing significantly with heavy execution volumes.

• Pricing is custom and depends on usage, infrastructure, and compliance requirements.

Example Scenario

A logistics company automates workflows across transport, warehouse, and customer notification systems. They estimate 1 million workflow executions per month. With an Enterprise plan priced per execution, they might pay tens of thousands of dollars monthly, depending on usage.

Key Cost Drivers & How to Budget

When determining “how much does n8n cost,” your budget should account for:

• Execution Volume – The more workflows you run, the higher the cost.

• Workflow Complexity – Each run counts as an execution regardless of the number of steps.

• Hosting Type – Cloud vs self-hosted vs hybrid, each with different cost structures.

• Maintenance & DevOps Effort – Particularly for self-hosting.

• Support & Compliance – Enterprise features cost more but include extra benefits.

• Growth & Scaling – As automation expands, expect higher execution volumes and costs.

Should You Choose Cloud or Self-Hosted?

When Cloud Makes Sense

• You prefer predictable billing and minimal infrastructure overhead.

• Your workflow volumes are moderate (under 10,000 executions/month).

• You want quick deployment with minimal DevOps work.

When Self-Hosted Makes Sense

• You already have DevOps resources and infrastructure.

• You want complete control over your data and environment.

• You run high-volume workflows and prefer to optimise costs internally.

Practical Advice from a Consultant

• Start small: Choose a plan covering your expected usage plus a buffer.

• Monitor execution usage: Re-evaluate your plan as your automations grow.

• Calculate total ownership cost: Factor in server, maintenance, and support for self-hosting.

• For enterprise: Request a breakdown of pricing per execution and over-usage penalties.

• Plan for growth: As you expand integrations with n8n, your pricing needs will evolve.

Summary: How Much Does n8n Cost?

• The primary cost metric is workflow execution count.

• Cloud-hosted plans: From €20-50/month for smaller teams, up to custom pricing for enterprises.

• Self-hosting: Software is free, but total costs start around US $50/month and can exceed US $300-500 for production.

• Enterprise plans: Custom quotes that can reach thousands of dollars/month.

• Choose based on your usage, infrastructure capacity, and growth goals.

FAQs

Q1: How much does n8n automation cost?

n8n automation costs depend on how you deploy it. For cloud users, pricing starts around €20 per month for 2,500 workflow executions, while higher-volume plans or enterprise tiers can go into the hundreds or thousands of euros. Self-hosting is free to use but comes with added server and maintenance costs.

Q2: Is n8n completely free?

Yes, n8n offers a completely free self-hosted Community Edition. However, you’ll still pay for hosting, infrastructure, and any technical resources needed to maintain it. The cloud version has monthly pricing tiers based on workflow executions.

Q3: Is n8n cheaper than Zapier?

In most cases, yes. n8n is generally more cost-effective than Zapier, especially for teams with high automation volume. Zapier charges per task, while n8n counts one entire workflow run as a single execution — offering better value for complex automations.

Q4: How much does it cost to host n8n?

Hosting costs for self-hosted n8n typically range from US $50 to $150 per month for small setups, depending on your server provider and usage. Larger or production environments can cost upwards of US $300–500 per month when factoring in backups, monitoring, and DevOps labour.

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