n8n Pricing in 2026: Cloud, Self-Hosting, and Managed Hosting

n8n is still one of the strongest automation tools for people who want more control than Zapier or Make. You can build AI workflows, internal automations, data syncs, webhooks, and custom code steps without turning every workflow into a full software project.

The tricky part is pricing. n8n Cloud charges by workflow executions, the Community Edition can be self-hosted for free, the Business self-hosted plan unlocks paid team features, and managed Docker hosting sits somewhere in the middle. As of July 2026, here is the practical breakdown.

Quick Answer

• Best if you want official hosted n8n: n8n Cloud Starter at €20/month billed annually.
• Best if you want the lowest raw infrastructure cost: self-host Community Edition on a VPS for roughly €4-€12/month.
• Best if you want managed self-hosting: Sliplane from €9/month per server.
• Avoid the raw VPS route if you do not want to own updates, HTTPS, backups, monitoring, and recovery.
• Updated: 2026

Decision Matrix

n8n Cloud

n8n Cloud is the easiest official option. You sign up, choose a plan, and n8n handles hosting.

As of July 2026, n8n pricing starts at €20/month billed annually for Starter, with 2,500 workflow executions, unlimited users, unlimited workflows, 1 shared project, and 5 concurrent executions. Pro starts at €50/month billed annually with 10,000 workflow executions, 3 shared projects, 20 concurrent executions, insights, admin roles, global variables, workflow history, and execution search.

Best for: teams that want official hosting and do not want to think about servers.

Watch out for: execution limits, plan-gated features, and higher cost once automations become production-critical.

n8n Business Self-Hosted

n8n Business is the paid self-hosted plan for companies that want to run n8n themselves but need business features. As of July 2026, it starts at €667/month billed annually with 40,000 workflow executions, 6 shared projects, SSO/SAML/LDAP, 30 days of insights, different environments, scaling options, and Git version control.

Best for: companies that need official paid self-hosted features, procurement-friendly licensing, and team controls.

Watch out for: it is still much more expensive than Community Edition self-hosting. You pay for the business feature set and license model, not just infrastructure.

Local n8n

You can run n8n locally with Docker or Node.js for free. This is great for testing workflows, learning the UI, or building prototypes.

Best for: experiments and personal workflow building.

Watch out for: your laptop is not production infrastructure. Workflows stop when the machine sleeps, inbound webhooks need tunnels or port forwarding, and backups are easy to forget.

Self-Hosting On A VPS

Running n8n on a VPS gives you the most control. Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Netcup, and other VPS providers can run a small n8n setup for roughly €4-€12/month, depending on region, RAM, disk, backups, and traffic.

That price looks great, but it is not the full cost. You still need to handle Docker, Postgres or SQLite decisions, reverse proxy config, TLS, updates, backups, monitoring, and security patches.

Best for: developers who enjoy owning the whole stack.

Watch out for: backups, upgrades, webhooks, disk growth, and downtime caused by small config mistakes.

We have a full guide for self-hosting n8n on an Ubuntu server if you want the DIY route.

Managed Self-Hosting With Sliplane

Sliplane is the middle path: you still run your own n8n container, but you do not have to manage the server by hand.

Sliplane starts at €9/month per server, not per app. That means you can run n8n and other small tools together on the same server, with HTTPS, health checks, persistent storage, and backups handled from the platform.

Best for: builders who want the ownership of self-hosting without spending their weekend on server admin.

Watch out for: it is still self-hosting. You own your instance and app-level configuration, which is exactly the point for many teams.

Start with the easy n8n deployment guide or deploy directly from the n8n hosting page.

Pricing Comparison

Which Option Should You Pick?

If you want the official hosted product and execution limits are fine, n8n Cloud is the cleanest option. If you want maximum control and enjoy server work, use a VPS. If you want the self-hosted version without babysitting Linux, Sliplane is usually the best value.

The important thing is to price your time too. A €5 VPS is not cheap if it costs you a night of debugging backups, SSL, or a broken upgrade.

FAQ

Is n8n free to self-host?

Yes. n8n Community Edition can be self-hosted for free, but you still pay for the server, storage, backups, monitoring, and your own maintenance time.

How much does n8n Cloud cost?

As of July 2026, n8n Cloud Starter starts at €20/month billed annually and Pro starts at €50/month billed annually. Both include unlimited users and workflows, but execution limits and team features differ by plan.

Why is n8n Business more expensive than self-hosting?

n8n Business is a paid self-hosted product with features like SSO, environments, scaling options, Git version control, and business licensing. Raw self-hosting with Community Edition is cheaper, but you do not get that paid feature set.

Is Sliplane cheaper than n8n Cloud?

For many small self-hosted setups, yes. Sliplane starts at €9/month per server, while n8n Cloud Starter starts at €20/month billed annually. The tradeoff is that n8n Cloud is the official hosted product, while Sliplane gives you a managed way to run your own container.

What is the cheapest production-ready way to run n8n?

A small VPS can be the cheapest on paper, but only if you are comfortable managing Docker, updates, HTTPS, backups, and security yourself. Sliplane is usually the cheaper practical option if you want self-hosting without doing server admin by hand.