n8n Cloud starts at €20/month (~$22 USD) for 2,500 workflow executions and scales to €50/month for 10,000 executions and €120/month for 50,000 executions. Self-Hosted n8n is 100% free under the Community license—your only cost is a VPS server ($5–$20/mo) capable of running unlimited executions.
Unlike Zapier and Make, n8n meters usage by complete workflow executions rather than individual node steps. This architectural distinction makes n8n dramatically more predictable and affordable for multi-step data pipelines.
n8n Cloud vs Self-Hosted: Total Cost Comparison
| Metric | n8n Cloud (Starter / Pro) | n8n Self-Hosted (VPS / Docker) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Software Cost | €20 – €120 / month | $0.00 (Free Community License) |
| Infrastructure Cost | Included (Fully managed) | $5 – $20 / month (e.g. Hetzner, DigitalOcean) |
| Execution Limit | 2,500 to 50,000 / month | Unlimited (hardware bound only) |
| Multi-step Pricing Penalty | None (1 execution = all steps) | None |
| Maintenance Required | Zero (Automated updates & backups) | Requires basic Linux & Docker maintenance |
| Data Storage Location | n8n EU / US Cloud Data Centers | Your Private Cloud / On-Premise VPC |
Self-Hosting Hardware Blueprint
How much server hardware does n8n actually require in production? We benchmarked n8n across multiple VPS tiers:
- Entry Level (1 vCPU, 2GB RAM — ~$5/mo): Handles up to 50,000 executions per month with SQLite or Postgres. Ideal for small businesses and hobbyists.
- Production Sweet Spot (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM — ~$10–$15/mo): Easily processes 250,000+ executions per month. Can run PostgreSQL alongside n8n with automated Docker volume backups.
- High-Throughput Queue Mode (4 vCPU, 8GB RAM + Redis — ~$35/mo): Multi-worker distributed mode handling millions of concurrent webhook events with sub-50ms latency.
12-Month Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Case Study
For a business running 50,000 workflow executions per month:
- Zapier: ~$389/month → $4,668 / year
- Make (50k ops): ~$29/month → $348 / year
- n8n Cloud (Pro): €120/month → ~$1,500 / year
- n8n Self-Hosted VPS: $12/month VPS → $144 / year
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