n8n Pricing 2026
Complete pricing guide with plans, hidden costs, and negotiation tips
n8n pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $0 to $60 per month in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
- Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
- Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training
n8n offers 5 pricing tiers: Community Edition (Self-Hosted), Starter (Cloud), Pro (Cloud), Business (Cloud), Enterprise (Cloud). Standard paid plans include Community Edition (Self-Hosted) at $0/month, Starter (Cloud) at $24/month, Pro (Cloud) at $60/month. The Starter (Cloud) plan is small teams wanting managed cloud hosting for light automation without managing infrastructure.
Compared to other ai automation software, n8n is positioned at the mid-market price point.
n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform that connects 400+ apps and services with a visual node-based editor. Unlike cloud-only competitors, n8n offers both self-hosted (free, unlimited executions) and cloud-hosted (paid, managed) options, giving teams full control over data privacy and hosting. It uses a fair-code license, allowing free self-hosting for personal and commercial use, with cloud-hosted managed services available for teams wanting hands-off infrastructure.
Pricing starts at $0/month for self-hosted Community Edition with unlimited executions, workflows, and users. For managed cloud hosting, plans begin at $24/month for Starter (2,500 executions/month), $60/month for Pro (10,000 executions), and $800/month for Business (40,000 executions). Enterprise plans offer unlimited executions with custom pricing.
A critical consideration: n8n counts full workflow executions (start to finish), not per-step operations like competitors. A 10-step workflow that runs 100 times = 100 executions in n8n vs 1,000 operations in Make.com. This makes n8n cost-effective for complex workflows. However, self-hosting requires DevOps expertise (10-20 hours/month), and Cloud plans have strict active workflow limits (5 on Starter, 15 on Pro).
In this 2026 pricing guide, we break down n8n's five tiers, compare self-hosted vs cloud costs, calculate real-world execution needs, expose hidden fees like active workflow limits and resource constraints, and compare n8n to alternatives like Make, Zapier, and Activepieces to help you determine if n8n is the right automation tool for your team.
All n8n Plans & Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Community Edition (Self-Hosted) Executions: UnlimitedWorkflows: Unlimited | Free | Free 0 | Technical teams with DevOps expertise who want full control, data privacy, and unlimited free executions |
| Starter (Cloud) Executions: 2,500/monthActive workflows: 5 | $24 /month | $20 /monthSave 17% | Small teams wanting managed cloud hosting for light automation without managing infrastructure |
| Pro (Cloud) Executions: 10,000/month (scalable to 50,000 at $120/mo)Active workflows: 15 | $60 /month | $50 /monthSave 17% | Growing businesses needing more executions, active workflows, and better performance than Starter |
| Business (Cloud) Executions: 40,000/monthActive workflows: Unlimited | $800 /month | $800 /month | Small and mid-sized companies with higher execution volumes needing security, version control, and SSO |
| Enterprise (Cloud) Executions: UnlimitedActive workflows: Unlimited | Contact | Contact | Large enterprises with heavy automation needs, requiring unlimited executions, on-premises deployment, and dedicated support |
View all features by plan
Community Edition (Self-Hosted)
- Unlimited executions
- Unlimited workflows
- Unlimited users
- All AI nodes and 400+ integrations
- Self-hosted on your infrastructure
- Full source code access (open source)
- Docker, npm, and cloud deployment options
- Community support via forum and Discord
Starter (Cloud)
- 2,500 executions per month
- 5 active workflows
- Cloud-hosted (managed by n8n)
- All 400+ integrations and AI nodes
- 5 concurrent executions
- 320 MiB RAM per execution
- 10 millicore burstable CPU
- Email support
Pro (Cloud)
- 10,000 executions per month (scales to 50,000)
- 15 active workflows
- Cloud-hosted (managed by n8n)
- All 400+ integrations and AI nodes
- 10 concurrent executions
- 512 MiB RAM per execution
- Priority email support
- Version control and workflow history
Business (Cloud)
- 40,000 executions per month
- Unlimited active workflows
- Cloud-hosted (managed by n8n)
- All 400+ integrations and AI nodes
- Advanced security features
- Version control and audit logs
- SSO (SAML)
- Priority support
- Access to n8n community forum
Enterprise (Cloud)
- Unlimited executions
- Unlimited active workflows
- Custom capacity and resources
- Advanced security and compliance
- Dedicated support team
- Custom SLA
- On-premises deployment options
- Advanced audit logs and governance
- SSO (SAML, LDAP)
- Custom contract terms
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Frequently Asked Questions
01 How much does n8n cost?
n8n costs $0-$800+/month depending on the plan. The Community Edition (self-hosted) is free with unlimited executions. n8n Cloud plans start at $24/month for Starter (2,500 executions/month), $60/month for Pro (10,000 executions), and $800/month for Business (40,000 executions). Enterprise pricing is custom. Annual billing offers ~17% savings (e.g., Starter $20/month, Pro $50/month).
02 Is n8n free?
Yes, n8n offers a free Community Edition (self-hosted) with unlimited executions, workflows, and users. It is fully open source and requires you to host it on your own infrastructure (Docker, cloud VMs, Kubernetes). For managed cloud hosting, paid plans start at $24/month. The free Community Edition is ideal for technical teams with DevOps expertise.
03 What is n8n?
n8n is an open-source workflow automation tool that connects 400+ apps and services with a visual node-based editor. Unlike competitors, n8n offers both self-hosted (free, unlimited executions) and cloud-hosted (paid, managed) options. It emphasizes data privacy, customization, and fair pricing. n8n counts full workflow executions (not per-step), making it cost-effective for complex automations.
04 n8n vs Zapier: which is better?
n8n is significantly cheaper and more flexible than Zapier. n8n Community Edition is free (unlimited, self-hosted); n8n Cloud Starter at $24/month includes 2,500 executions vs Zapier Starter at $29.99/month for 750 tasks. n8n is open-source and self-hostable for data privacy. Choose n8n for cost-effectiveness, data control, and technical flexibility. Choose Zapier for simplicity and pre-built templates.
05 n8n self-hosted vs cloud: which should I choose?
Choose self-hosted n8n (Community Edition) if you have DevOps expertise, want unlimited free executions, or need full data control. Choose n8n Cloud if you prefer managed hosting, want automatic updates, or lack infrastructure expertise. Self-hosted is free but requires 10-20 hours/month for maintenance. Cloud starts at $24/month but is fully managed.
06 How do n8n executions work?
n8n counts each workflow run from start to finish as one execution, regardless of how many steps (nodes) are in the workflow. A 10-step workflow that runs 100 times = 100 executions (not 1,000 like Make.com operations). This makes n8n cost-effective for complex workflows. Self-hosted Community Edition has unlimited executions; Cloud plans limit executions by tier.
07 What are n8n active workflows?
Active workflows in n8n are workflows that are turned on and can be triggered (via webhooks, schedules, or manual execution). Starter allows 5 active workflows; Pro allows 15; Business and Enterprise allow unlimited. Inactive (paused) workflows do not count toward this limit. Teams with many scheduled automations need Pro or Business tiers.
08 Can I upgrade or downgrade n8n Cloud plans?
Yes, n8n Cloud allows upgrades and downgrades between Starter, Pro, and Business plans at any time. Upgrades are immediate; downgrades take effect at the next billing cycle. Unused executions do not roll over. For Enterprise plans, changes require contacting sales. Self-hosted Community Edition has no usage limits to upgrade from.
09 Does n8n have a free trial?
n8n Cloud does not offer a traditional free trial. However, the self-hosted Community Edition is permanently free with unlimited executions, workflows, and users, allowing teams to fully test n8n before committing to Cloud plans. To trial n8n Cloud features (managed hosting, support), you must subscribe to Starter ($24/month).
10 What hidden costs exist with n8n?
Hidden costs include: DevOps time for self-hosted maintenance (10-20 hours/month = $750-$1,500), execution limit overages requiring immediate upgrades, active workflow limits (5 on Starter, 15 on Pro, requiring $800/month Business for unlimited), concurrent execution throttling, and RAM/CPU limits on lower tiers. Budget conservatively for execution growth.