Self host n8n: what to know before you leave n8n Cloud

What does self-hosting n8n actually change?

It moves three things at once: the bill, the technical responsibility and the location of your data. The n8n Community Edition is free to self-host, with no usage limits stated by n8n, while n8n Cloud starts at €24 a month (€20 a month billed yearly) for 2,500 workflow executions. In exchange, installation, upgrades, backups and access control become your job. That is what sits behind the 3 out of 5 we give n8n for ease of use: it asks for a real technical background, more than the mainstream automation platforms do. Its overall Stacknota score stays at 4.3 out of 5, carried by 5 out of 5 on features and 5 out of 5 on data protection.

One billing detail matters before you compare anything. n8n charges for a complete workflow execution rather than each step, and allows unlimited users on every plan. A fifteen-step workflow counts as one execution.

What does self-hosted n8n cost next to n8n Cloud?

Here are the published amounts, as they appear on the official pricing page. n8n displays them in euros; a dollar version may exist depending on your location, and we have not verified that.

The cost of a server able to run your instance is not in our verified data: n8n does not publish it, and it depends entirely on your host, so we do not put a number on it. In our reading, that missing line is where most self-hosting math goes wrong. Setting free against €24 a month ignores half of the real cost, which is admin time plus an infrastructure invoice.

What do you give up when you leave n8n Cloud?

The governance items n8n files under its Business plan: SAML and LDAP SSO, separate environments, Git version control and six shared projects. Pro, at €60 a month (€50 billed yearly), brings admin roles, global variables and workflow history instead. Neither Starter nor Pro mentions SSO or Git version control.

You also give up support as the lineup describes it. Forum support is named in the Starter plan, and dedicated support with an SLA is reserved for the Enterprise plan, available on request. Which features are present or absent in the Community Edition is not documented in our data: we have not checked it line by line, and we will not infer it.

Watch the price step. Between Pro at €60 and Business at €800 a month there is no published rung in between, and that is the most structural weakness in the n8n lineup. If your reason for self-hosting is to get SSO and Git version control without moving to Business, the public documents do not answer that question. Our guide to what is actually free at n8n and what n8n Cloud costs goes through the plans one by one.

Where does your data sit in each setup?

On the cloud plans, n8n states that data is stored in the European Union, on servers located in Frankfurt, Germany. Self-hosted, the data sits wherever you install the instance, which can mean your own premises. That is why we rate n8n 5 out of 5 on data and GDPR: both routes lead to an answer a European buyer can defend.

On paperwork, n8n provides a pre-signed DPA you can download and has an annual SOC 2 audit run by an independent auditor. The SOC 3 report is public, and the full SOC 2 report is reserved for Enterprise customers. ISO 27001 is not mentioned on the pages checked. One nuance worth holding on to: when you self-host, those contractual assurances cover the software, not hosting that n8n would operate for you. Documenting your own chain, including for your clients, is on you.

What maintenance are you taking on?

Everything n8n Cloud absorbs on your behalf: server availability, version upgrades, backups and restores, encryption, access management and watching for workflows that fail. The cloud plans publish explicit guardrails, such as the 5 concurrent executions on Starter and 20 on Pro. Self-hosted, the ceiling is not contractual, it is physical: your server is the limit, and nobody will warn you on its behalf.

A simple decision marker: if nobody in your organization already keeps a production server alive as part of their job, self-hosting shifts an operations risk rather than removing a cost.

Which security points matter most on a self-hosted instance?

The same ones as for any service exposed to the internet, with one twist. An n8n instance concentrates the credentials of every tool it connects. The stored connections reach your mailbox, your CRM, your databases and your webhooks, so a compromised instance does not expose n8n alone.

Three habits hold regardless of any number: do not leave the interface publicly reachable without strong authentication, encrypt and back up the stored credentials, and treat updates as a recurring obligation rather than an option. Separate environments, which let you test a workflow before it goes live, are only listed from the Business plan, so without a Business license that separation is yours to build.

Which setup fits your profile?

It comes down to your technical bench and how strict you are about data location.

You have an in-house technical team or a managed hosting provider, plus a firm constraint on where data lives. Self-hosting is consistent: the Community Edition is free, the data never leaves your infrastructure, and unlimited users mean you are not paying per seat.

You are a small business with no systems person on staff. n8n Cloud at €24 a month (€20 billed yearly) for 2,500 executions stays the sensible option, with storage stated in Frankfurt that already covers most European requirements. You can also weigh the alternatives in our automation tools comparison.

You are mainly after AI agents. Note that AI credits are quantified on the cloud plans, with 2,300 AI credits a month on Starter. Our guide to building an AI agent for your business covers that ground, and the full n8n profile collects the prices, the limits and our score for each criterion.

You want SSO, separate environments and Git version control. Those arrive with Business, at €800 a month (€667 billed yearly), whether you run in the cloud or host it yourself. Above that, the Enterprise plan is priced on request, with a custom execution volume, 200 or more concurrent executions and dedicated support with an SLA.