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Self-hosting n8n: what it actually costs (checked November 2026)
The n8n software is free to self-host, so the real bill is the server and the work of keeping it running. Below is what n8n's pricing page and docs, and three server providers' own pricing pages, said on November 14, 2026, followed by a worked example against n8n's hosted plans. If you are still choosing between n8n and other automation tools, start with our n8n vs Make vs Zapier pricing comparison.
The short answer
- License: the self-hosted Community edition is free. n8n's docs call it "the free edition" and say you can stay on it indefinitely.
- Server: the n8n docs we read give no minimum RAM or CPU. Its Hetzner guide says the CPX11 type "is enough" for most usage levels; its DigitalOcean guide says a basic shared CPU plan is. Plans with 2 GB of RAM were $12.00 a month on DigitalOcean and Akamai, and from €9.99 a month excl. VAT on Hetzner.
- What you take on: updates, backups, HTTPS and a domain, and the database. n8n "recommends self-hosting for expert users."
- Paid self-hosted: SSO, Git version control and sharing are not in the Community edition. The Business plan, self-hosted only, was 667€ a month billed annually.
What the free Community edition leaves out
n8n's docs say it "includes almost the complete feature set of n8n," but not:
- Custom variables, environments, and version control using Git
- External secrets, and external storage for binary data
- Log streaming and multi-main mode (logging and queue mode are included)
- Projects, and SSO (SAML, LDAP)
- Sharing: a workflow or credential is visible only to the account that created it and to the instance's main admin account, not to other users
Registering with an email address gets a free license key that adds folders, debug in editor and custom execution data. Neither the editions page nor the pricing page listed an execution quota for the Community edition.
n8n's own plans, for contrast
| Plan | Price | Workflow executions | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community edition | Free | No quota listed | Self-hosted |
| Starter | 20€/month billed annually | 2.5K | Hosted by n8n |
| Pro | 50€/month billed annually | 10K | Hosted by n8n |
| Business | 667€/month billed annually | 40K | Self-hosted only |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Custom | Hosted by n8n or self-hosted |
Notes on the table:
- Currency and billing: the n8n pricing page showed euros when we checked, and its annual toggle says annual billing saves 17%. Monthly-billing prices were not in the page text we received. "An execution is a single run of your entire workflow," however many steps it has.
- Business license: on a self-hosted instance, the license key "must ping our license server daily," and the ping includes the number of production executions. Companies under 20 employees may qualify for a Startup plan with 50% off Business.
What n8n says about the server
- Memory: n8n "doesn't restrict the amount of data each node can fetch and process," and giving a self-hosted instance more memory "may incur additional costs with your hosting provider." The docs name the Code node and manual executions as raising memory use.
- Sizing: the Hetzner guide names CPX11, which Hetzner's page lists as 2 vCPU and 2 GB RAM. If you add the n8n Assistant sandbox, both guides say at least 4 GB RAM / 2 vCPU.
- Database: self-hosted installs use SQLite by default. PostgreSQL 17 and 18 (as of July 2026) are supported, plus 16 for compatibility. The Hetzner guide's setup has "no separate database service."
Server prices from the providers' own pages
| Provider | Plan | vCPU | RAM | Disk | Per month | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hetzner | CPX02 | 1 | 1 GB | 20 GB NVMe | €5.49 (HEL1), €6.49 (FSN1, NBG1), €7.99 (SIN1) | €0.0088 |
| Hetzner | CPX12 | 1 | 2 GB | 40 GB NVMe | €9.99 (HEL1), €11.99 (FSN1, NBG1), €15.99 (SIN1) | €0.0160 |
| Hetzner | CPX11 | 2 | 2 GB | 40 GB NVMe | €17.99 (US locations HIL1, ASH1 only) | €0.0288 |
| DigitalOcean | Basic, Regular CPU | 1 | 1 GiB | 25 GiB SSD | $6.00 | $0.00893 |
| DigitalOcean | Basic, Regular CPU | 1 | 2 GiB | 50 GiB SSD | $12.00 | $0.01786 |
| Akamai (Linode) | Nanode 1 GB | 1 | 1 GB | 25 GB | $5.00 | $0.0075 |
| Akamai (Linode) | Linode 2 GB | 1 | 2 GB | 50 GB | $12.00 | $0.0180 |
Notes on the table:
- Hetzner: prices in euros, "excl. VAT", under a "Price incl. IPv4" label; monthly prices vary by location, with one hourly price per plan. A server's bill "will never exceed its monthly price cap," and servers are billed until you delete them. CPX11, the type n8n's guide names, was listed only at the two US locations. See Hetzner's pricing page.
- DigitalOcean: billed per second with a 60-second minimum; Bundled Plans have a monthly cap. The smallest Basic Droplet (512 MiB) was $4.00 a month. DigitalOcean is "required by law to apply taxes in some countries." See DigitalOcean's Droplet pricing.
- Akamai: egress overage is US$0.005 per GB. Its pricing page says "We collect taxes for customers who are subject to them." See Akamai's CPU pricing.
- Vultr: its pricing page did not load for our checker on November 14, 2026, so it is not included.
The costs that come with running it yourself
Updates
n8n's guides say "n8n releases a new minor version most weeks." The update docs say "Try to update at least once a month" and to take a full backup, including the database and encryption key, first. Switching the image tag back to an older version does not reverse database migrations.
Backups
A full backup has two parts: the .n8n folder, which holds the credential encryption key (and, with SQLite, the database file), and your PostgreSQL database if you use one. Without the key, restored credentials cannot be decrypted. With SQLite, n8n says to stop n8n before copying the folder. Provider backup add-ons cost extra:
- Hetzner: daily backups, seven slots per server, priced in relation to the instance, "starting at" €1.0980 a month excl. VAT.
- DigitalOcean: 20% (weekly) or 30% (daily) of the Droplet cost.
- Akamai: priced per VM; we did not capture a figure.
HTTPS and a domain
n8n's DigitalOcean guide sets up "a real domain and automatic HTTPS," using Caddy, which "automatically creates and manages SSL/TLS certificates." Both guides have you point a DNS record for a subdomain at the server, so they assume you own a domain. Domain prices are not covered here.
Skills and time
Both guides say: "n8n recommends self-hosting for expert users. Mistakes can lead to data loss, security issues, and downtime." For people not experienced at managing servers, n8n recommends n8n Cloud.
Worked example: a workflow every five minutes
n8n's pricing page says a workflow that runs every 5 minutes comes to about 8,600 to 8,900 executions a month.
- n8n Cloud: above Starter's 2.5K, inside Pro's 10K. Pro at 50€ a month billed annually is 600€ a year.
- Community edition on Hetzner CPX12 (HEL1): €9.99 a month excl. VAT, or €119.88 a year, plus backups if you add them.
- Community edition on DigitalOcean (2 GiB): $12.00 a month, or $144 a year; with weekly backups at 20%, $14.40 a month ($172.80 a year).
- Community edition on Akamai (Linode 2 GB): $12.00 a month, or $144 a year, before backups.
We used 2 GB plans because CPX11, the type n8n's guide names, has 2 GB. CPX11 itself was €17.99 a month excl. VAT, US locations only.
The server price does not change with the number of executions, but it leaves out your time, a domain, and the features the Community edition lacks. If you need those features on your own server, Business adds 667€ a month billed annually (8,004€ a year).
Which one fits which situation
These follow directly from the cited pages, not from hands-on testing.
- Many executions, and someone already runs Linux servers: the Community edition has no execution quota listed, and the servers above are priced per month, not per execution.
- You want no server to look after: Starter and Pro are hosted by n8n.
- You need SSO or Git version control on your own servers: that means Business or Enterprise.
- You want to choose where data is stored: n8n's pricing page says hosted plans store data in Frankfurt, Germany, and self-hosted data is wherever you host it.
Might not fit if
- Nobody will apply updates: n8n suggests updating at least once a month, with a backup first.
- Several people need to share workflows and credentials: in the Community edition, other users cannot see a workflow or credential that someone else created.
- You plan to add n8n Assistant: at least 4 GB RAM / 2 vCPU is $24.00 a month on DigitalOcean (4 GiB, 2 vCPUs) and Akamai (Linode 4 GB, 2 CPUs), and from €16.99 excl. VAT on Hetzner (CPX22).
Check the current numbers
Sources
- n8n pricing page — https://n8n.io/pricing/, checked
- n8n docs: Compare editions — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/community-edition-features, checked
- n8n docs: Hetzner setup guide — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/use-a-cloud-provider/deploy-to-hetzner, checked
- n8n docs: DigitalOcean setup guide — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/use-a-cloud-provider/deploy-to-digital-ocean, checked
- n8n docs: Choose n8n's database — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/choose-n8ns-database, checked
- n8n docs: Fix memory issues — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/scaling/fix-memory-issues, checked
- n8n docs: Update n8n — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/keep-n8n-running/update-n8n, checked
- n8n docs: Back up and restore — https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/keep-n8n-running/backup-and-restore, checked
- Hetzner Cloud Regular Performance pricing — https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance/, checked
- DigitalOcean Droplet pricing — https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/droplets, checked
- Akamai Cloud (Linode) CPU pricing — https://www.akamai.com/cloud/pricing/cpu, checked
- Akamai Cloud pricing overview — https://www.akamai.com/cloud/pricing, checked