Open source / Workflow automation
n8n
A node-based workflow automation platform that chains app APIs, webhooks, schedules and AI steps into automated flows. Source-available (fair-code) rather than OSI open source, with a free self-hosted Community edition.
Pricing: Self-hosted Community is free for internal use. Business costs €667 a month with 40,000 monthly workflow executions. Cloud Starter and Pro cost €20 and €50 a month. All listed paid rates are billed annually. Prices checked November 9, 2026.
Does it fit your team?
- Consider it if
- You want to automate internal workflows across APIs, webhooks, schedules and AI steps, and you can run a server with at least 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of RAM.
- Look elsewhere if
- Hosting n8n for others, white-labeling it, or letting clients configure their own workflows requires a commercial license. Self-hosted Business adds workflow sharing, SSO and Git at €667 per month billed annually.
- Can you use it commercially?
- Internal business use only; no paid hosting or resale
The Sustainable Use License 1.0 covers the core, with a separate Enterprise license for .ee code. An agency may build and run workflows on its own instance for clients. Clients can receive outputs or connect their accounts while the agency alone edits the workflow logic. A commercial license is required when external clients can configure workflows through any interface, API, or agent, or when the agency offers hosting or white-labels n8n. Keep copyright notices intact.
- Is it still maintained?
- Active
Last push on 2026-11-04. The repository is not archived.
- How hard is it to deploy?
- Moderate
A single Docker command starts n8nio/n8n on port 5678 using SQLite by default. For production, official Docker Compose templates pair it with PostgreSQL behind a reverse proxy and HTTPS. The official Docker Compose guide requires at least 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of RAM.
Docker Compose guideDocker guideDocker Compose with Postgres
- What does it cost?
- Free Community edition. Business is €667/month billed annually
Self-hosting Community is free with unlimited workflows, executions and users. The server needs at least 2 vCPUs and 4 GB of RAM. The official euro prices checked in November 2026 were €667 per month for self-hosted Business (under 100 employees, 40,000 monthly workflow executions), and €20 or €50 per month for Cloud Starter and Pro (2,500 or 10,000 monthly executions). Those rates are billed annually. Enterprise is quoted separately.
- What to watch out for
- Community omits workflow sharing, SSO and Git version control
According to the official Community edition feature list, Community leaves out Projects and workflow or credential sharing: only the instance owner and the person who created a workflow or credential can access it. SSO (SAML / LDAP), environments, Git version control, custom variables, external secrets, log streaming and multi-main high availability are also paid-only (queue mode with workers is included). Folders, debug data pinning and custom execution data are free, but require registering an email address for a free Community license key.
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