On this page 9 sections
n8n has two prices: a per-execution cloud subscription and a free self-hosted community edition that you run on your own compute. Which one is cheaper depends on how many workflow executions you run a month and what you count as the cost of hosting it yourself.
This post lays out both, with list prices from n8n’s pricing page as of October 2026, and works the break-even.
TL;DR
- n8n Cloud starts at 20 euros a month billed annually (about 24 euros monthly) for 2,500 executions, and 50 euros a month billed annually for 10,000 executions. Every plan meters executions, so a busy automation setup climbs the ladder quickly.
- The self-hosted community edition is free software with no execution cap. The cost is the compute and database it runs on, plus your time operating it.
- On Ownkube a small self-hosted n8n runs for about $10 a month (a $5 Spark box, a $4 database box, about $1 of storage) with unlimited executions and automatic HTTPS. The one-click template sets it up.
- Pick Cloud if you want n8n to run the service for you and your execution count fits the Starter plan. Self-host once executions pass a few thousand a month, or when workflows touch data you want to keep on infrastructure you control.
What n8n Cloud costs
n8n lists its cloud plans in euros, with the headline price billed annually and a higher month-to-month rate. As of 2026-10-13 the n8n pricing page shows:
| Plan | Price (billed annually) | Monthly billing | Executions a month | Concurrency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 20 euros a month | about 24 euros | 2,500 | 5 concurrent |
| Pro | 50 euros a month | about 60 euros | 10,000 | up to 50 concurrent |
| Business | 667 euros a month | about 803 euros | 40,000 | 200 or more |
| Enterprise | contact sales | custom | 200 or more |
All plans allow unlimited steps per workflow and unlimited active workflows. The Business plan is listed as self-hosted only, with the cloud version on a waitlist. Prices move, so treat these as the shape of the model and check the page before you buy.
The number to watch is executions. One execution is one run of one workflow, whether it has three steps or thirty. A webhook that fires on every new order, a polling trigger that checks a mailbox every minute, a schedule that runs hourly: each of those counts against the monthly allowance, and a polling trigger alone can burn through 2,500 executions in two days.
What the self-hosted community edition costs
The community edition is free to run under the Sustainable Use License, with no execution limit and no active-workflow limit. A few features are reserved for paid tiers (for example SSO, environments and some collaboration features), but the editor, every integration node and the execution engine are included.
The cost is whatever you run it on, and it usually takes one of three shapes.
A VPS you manage
A small virtual server is in the $5 to $12 a month range at most providers. You install Docker, run n8n and Postgres from a compose file, put a reverse proxy with a TLS certificate in front, point a DNS record at it, set up database backups, and keep the OS patched. The cash cost is small, and the recurring work is where you pay.
A platform that runs the container for you
A managed app platform takes the container, the database, TLS and the hostname off your plate. You pay for the compute and the database box and nothing for the operations. This is the shape the rest of this post prices.
Your own cloud account
The same container runs in an AWS account you own. This helps when workflows touch customer data that has to stay on your infrastructure. Ownkube’s own-cloud option moves the same n8n deployment there with no rewrite.
Self-hosted n8n on Ownkube: the monthly bill
A production-shaped n8n needs a web container and a Postgres database. On Ownkube both are flat-priced boxes that draw a prepaid wallet:
| Line | Box | Monthly price |
|---|---|---|
| n8n app | Spark 1 (0.25 vCPU, 0.5 GiB) | $5 |
| Postgres | DB 0.5, the smallest database box | $4 |
| Storage | 5 GB at $0.25 per GB | $1.25 |
| Hostname and TLS | included | $0 |
| Total | about $10.25 |
That is with unlimited executions. A busier n8n with many concurrent webhook executions wants more memory, and a Spark 2 (0.5 vCPU, 1 GiB) is $10 a month, which puts the stack at about $15.
Metered billing is also available for the app, where CPU and memory are charged per minute on actual use, which suits an n8n that runs a few schedules a day and idles between them.
Ownkube runs on a prepaid wallet. The Personal plan at $5 a month loads $5 of credit and a top-up covers the rest. Unused credit rolls over and never expires, and the bill carries no execution meter.
The break-even
Put the two side by side at the executions where people actually land:
| Executions a month | n8n Cloud | Self-hosted on Ownkube |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2,500 | Starter, 20 euros a month annually | about $10 |
| 2,500 to 10,000 | Pro, 50 euros a month annually | about $10 to $15 |
| 10,000 to 40,000 | Business, 667 euros a month annually | about $15 to $60 depending on box size |
Self-hosting is cheaper at every row, and the gap widens with volume because the cloud price steps up with executions while the self-hosted price steps up only with the compute the workflows actually need.
The counterweight is that n8n Cloud includes operating the service: upgrades, backups, uptime. On a platform deploy most of that is covered too (the database box includes backups on Personal and Team plans, and upgrades are a tag change and a redeploy), so the remaining difference is who you call when something breaks.
When n8n Cloud is the right call
- You run well under 2,500 executions a month and want zero involvement in hosting.
- You need the cloud-only features on your plan (n8n lists them per tier) and would rather pay for them than build around them.
- Your team already pays for n8n Cloud and the time to migrate credentials and webhook URLs is worth more than the saving.
When self-hosting is the right call
- Execution volume is past a few thousand a month or is unpredictable (polling triggers, high-frequency webhooks).
- Workflows handle data you would rather keep on infrastructure you control, now or later in your own cloud account.
- You want to pin the n8n version, run community nodes, or run several instances (staging and production) without paying per instance.
How to self-host n8n in one click
The n8n template on Ownkube creates the Postgres database, deploys the official n8nio/n8n image with the database wired in, generates the encryption key and gives the app an ownkube.app hostname with automatic HTTPS. The step-by-step guide covers the manual path and the environment variables if you want to pin a version or understand what the template set up.
FAQ
Is n8n free to self-host?
Yes. The community edition is free under the Sustainable Use License with no execution or workflow limits. You pay only for the compute and database it runs on.
How many executions does n8n Cloud Starter include?
As of October 2026 the Starter plan lists 2,500 workflow executions a month with unlimited steps, at 20 euros a month billed annually. Check n8n’s pricing page for the current figure.
Does self-hosted n8n have an execution limit?
No. The community edition runs as many executions as your compute can handle. Concurrency is a setting you control.
What is the cheapest way to host n8n?
A small VPS is the cheapest in cash, at $5 to $12 a month, but you operate the proxy, TLS, backups and updates yourself. A managed deploy on Ownkube is about $10 a month for the app, a Postgres database and storage, with those operations included.
Can I move from n8n Cloud to self-hosted?
Yes. Export workflows from Cloud as JSON and import them into the self-hosted instance. Credentials have to be re-entered (they are encrypted per instance), and webhook URLs change to the new host, so update any third-party service that calls them.
Where Ownkube fits
If execution volume is the reason you are reading an n8n pricing page, self-hosting is the lever, and the operating work is the catch. Ownkube runs the n8n container and its Postgres database as flat-priced boxes from a prepaid wallet, with HTTPS and a hostname included, so the price stays at about $10 a month however many workflows fire. Deploy my first app.