n8n Pricing in 2026: Cloud vs Self-Hosting vs 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, self-hosting can be free but takes work, and managed Docker hosting sits somewhere in the middle. As of June 2026, here is the practical breakdown.

n8n Cloud

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

As of June 2026, n8n Cloud 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, and more admin features. Business is a self-hosted paid plan starting at €667/month billed annually for teams that need features like SSO, environments, scaling options, and Git version control.

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.

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.