What does n8n cost in a company? License, hosting and operation, honestly calculated

Anyone who wants to roll out n8n in their company will find plans on the pricing page ranging from 20 to several hundred euros a month, plus a free version for self-hosting. That sounds like an easy decision. But it is not, because the actual n8n costs rarely sit in the license.

The short answer: what does n8n cost?

In the cloud, n8n costs between 20 and 60 euros per month on the Starter and Pro plans, the Business plan starts at 667 euros a month, and Enterprise is negotiated individually (according to the n8n price list, as of July 2026). Self-hosted, there is no license fee: instead you pay for a server from around 10 to 30 euros a month, plus setup and ongoing maintenance. In both variants the largest cost block is the same: the working time needed to build good workflows and keep them running permanently.

The n8n cloud plans at a glance (as of July 2026)

In the cloud, n8n does not bill per user but per workflow execution. An execution is one complete run of a workflow, regardless of how many steps it contains. That makes the calculation pleasantly predictable. The plans according to the n8n price list, as of July 2026:

• Starter: 20 euros per month with annual payment (24 euros monthly), 2,500 executions, 5 concurrent executions, unlimited users
• Pro: 50 euros per month annually (60 euros monthly), 10,000 executions, plus workflow history, admin roles and global variables
• Business: from 667 euros per month with annual payment, 40,000 executions, SSO/SAML, separate environments and Git versioning
• Enterprise: individual pricing, including an external secret store, log streaming and support with an SLA

For most small and medium-sized businesses, the Starter or Pro plan is more than enough for a long time. 2,500 executions a month equal a good 80 runs a day. Anyone who automates, say, incoming invoices, lead forwarding and a few notifications often stays below the limit for months. Business and Enterprise only become relevant once you need separate test and production environments, single sign-on or contractually guaranteed support.

Self-hosting: what free really means

The self-hosted community version of n8n is free of license cost and has no execution limit. That does not mean it is free by any stretch. A virtual server at a German provider costs, depending on size, around 10 to 30 euros a month, on top of which come the one-off setup with an HTTPS certificate, backups and an update strategy, plus ongoing maintenance: installing security updates, keeping an eye on storage and load, and checking after updates whether all workflows are still running.

From our own projects, we budget two to four hours of care per month for a well-maintained n8n instance, less in quiet months, more after major version jumps. Even at an internal hourly rate of 60 euros, this time costs a multiple of the server. In return you get something the cloud plan does not offer: all data stays on your own infrastructure in Germany, which considerably simplifies the GDPR assessment.

The n8n license model: the Sustainable Use License explained simply

n8n is licensed under the Sustainable Use License, a fair-code license that limits free use to internal business purposes. For normal corporate use this is uncritical: you may host n8n yourself, modify it and use it to automate your own processes, for example synchronizing data between your CRM and your accounting. According to n8n, service providers are also expressly allowed to offer commercial consulting and workflow development for clients without needing a separate license.

What is not allowed is turning n8n itself into a product: white-labeling and selling the software, or offering a hosted n8n instance for money. Anyone who wants to embed n8n into their own product needs the paid Embed License. This is a practical assessment and not legal advice; in borderline cases, n8n answers licensing questions directly at license@n8n.io.

Sample calculation: n8n costs for an SME starting point

A realistic starting point with self-hosted n8n and two to three productive workflows costs roughly, in the first year: around 120 to 360 euros for the server, a one-off one to three days for the clean setup of the instance, and per workflow between one and several days of development, depending on how many systems are connected and how many special cases the process has. On top of that comes ongoing maintenance. Workflow development is therefore almost always the biggest item, not the infrastructure.

Whether this effort pays off depends on how many hours the automated process eats up today. You will find a detailed derivation of what automation costs generally depend on in the article What does automation cost. And with our ROI calculator you can estimate in a few minutes when a workflow starts to pay off for your business.

When support is worth it

Support is worth it when no one internally has the time or experience to run the server and workflows reliably. The typical mistakes do not happen with the first workflow, but in operation: updates that break a connection, missing error handling, workflows that quietly grind to a halt and go unnoticed for weeks. It is precisely these points that ultimately determine the total cost.

We set up n8n on German infrastructure, build the first workflows together with you and hand over in a way that lets your team carry on independently. What that involves in concrete terms is on our page about n8n consulting. You stay in control throughout: your own instance, your own data, transparent workflows.

Frequently asked questions

Can companies use n8n for free?

Yes, the self-hosted version is free under the Sustainable Use License for internal business purposes, including in a commercial setting. Costs arise for the server, setup and maintenance. The only thing not allowed is reselling n8n itself as a product or hosted service.

What does n8n cost in the cloud?

The Starter plan costs 20 euros per month with annual payment, Pro 50 euros and Business from 667 euros (according to the n8n price list, as of July 2026). Billing is by workflow executions, not by users. For an SME starting point, Starter or Pro is usually enough.

Is self-hosting worth it compared to the n8n cloud?

Financially only once you can realistically handle operations, because two to four hours of maintenance a month quickly costs more than a cloud plan. Self-hosting scores above all on data sovereignty: all data stays on your own server in Germany.

Do I need the Business or Enterprise plan?

Usually not at the start. Business and Enterprise mainly bring features for larger organizations such as SSO, separate environments, Git versioning and support with an SLA. Small and medium-sized businesses generally do well with Starter, Pro or a self-hosted instance.

What is the biggest cost factor with n8n?

The working time for workflow development and operation, not the license. A server costs 10 to 30 euros a month, a cloud plan from 20 euros. Developing a robust workflow with error handling, by contrast, takes one to several days depending on complexity.