Complete n8n pricing breakdown for 2026 — Cloud Starter, Pro, Enterprise, and self-host. Real cost economics at 1K, 10K, 50K, and 200K monthly executions vs Zapier and Make. Plus the crossover point where self-host becomes the obvious choice.
Quick Answer
n8n Cloud Starter €20/mo (2,500 executions). Cloud Pro €50/mo (10K). Enterprise custom. Self-host: completely free forever. Self-host wins above ~3,000 monthly executions. Crossover vs Zapier: n8n is 5-10x cheaper at any scale because it charges per-execution, not per-task.
All n8n Plans (2026)
| Plan | Price | Executions/Month | Workflows | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-host | $0 (hosting only) | Unlimited | Unlimited | Anyone with technical skills |
| Cloud Starter | €20/mo (~$22) | ~2,500 | 5 active | Solo / small projects |
| Cloud Pro | €50/mo (~$55) | ~10,000 | 15 active | Agencies / SMBs |
| Enterprise | €500+/mo (custom) | Custom (50K+) | Unlimited | Large orgs (SSO, audit, SLA) |
Self-Host: The Best Deal in Automation
n8n is open-source under Apache 2.0 — fully free forever. Self-host gives you:
- Unlimited workflow executions — no per-task or per-execution charges
- Unlimited active workflows — no “5 max” like Cloud Starter
- Full data ownership — secrets and customer data stay on your infrastructure
- Custom node development — write any integration n8n doesn't natively support
- Air-gapped deployment — required for HIPAA, regulated industries, government
Hosting cost: $5-$20/month on a VPS (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode). 1 vCPU + 2GB RAM handles ~10K executions/day. Larger workloads need 2-4 vCPU.
Cloud Starter — €20/month
The default entry point. €20/month (or €17/mo annual). Includes:
- ~2,500 workflow executions/month
- 5 active workflows (test workflows count separately)
- 5 concurrent executions
- 5 days execution history
- Standard support via community forum
Best for solo operators, freelancers, and small projects. Hits limits around 80-100 executions/day.
Cloud Pro — €50/month
The agency / SMB sweet spot.
- ~10,000 workflow executions/month
- 15 active workflows
- 10 concurrent executions
- 14 days execution history
- Priority email support
Best for marketing agencies running client automations, AI agencies orchestrating LLM calls, SMBs with multiple integration needs.
Enterprise — Custom Pricing
For large organizations needing:
- SSO (SAML, OAuth)
- Audit logs + compliance certifications
- Custom execution limits (50K-millions/month)
- Dedicated infrastructure / private deployment
- Unlimited active workflows + concurrent executions
- Dedicated support / SLA
- External secrets manager integration
Pricing starts at €500+/month, typically negotiated. Many Enterprise customers run hybrid: Cloud for prototyping + self-hosted for production.
Real Cost at Different Volumes
| Volume / Mo | n8n Cloud | n8n Self-Host | Zapier | Make.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 executions | €20 (Starter) | $5 hosting | $30 (Pro 750 tasks) | $11 (Core) |
| 5,000 executions | €20 (Starter) | $10 hosting | $74 (Pro 5K) | $35 (Pro) |
| 10,000 executions | €50 (Pro) | $15 hosting | $104 (Pro 10K) | $53 (Pro 10K) |
| 50,000 executions | €200+ (Pro overage) | $25 hosting | $330+ (Pro 50K) | $165 (Teams) |
| 200,000 executions | €500+ (Enterprise) | $50 hosting | $1,000+ (Pro 200K) | $500+ (Enterprise) |
Note: Zapier charges per-task. A workflow with 10 steps = 10 tasks per run. n8n charges per-execution (one workflow run = 1 execution regardless of step count). The real cost gap is wider than the table suggests.
When to Pick Each Plan
- Cloud Starter (€20): Solo creator, <2,500 monthly executions, want zero ops overhead. Default entry point.
- Cloud Pro (€50): Marketing agency or SMB running client automations, 5-10K executions, multiple workflows.
- Self-host (free): Anyone with 1-2 hours to set up Docker. Wins above ~3K executions/month or for data-sensitive workloads.
- Enterprise: 50K+ executions, SSO required, regulated industry, >5 simultaneous developers.
vs Zapier and Make.com
See our deep comparisons:
- n8n vs Zapier — full feature + cost breakdown
- n8n vs Make.com — visual UX + AI nodes + scale
Short version: n8n wins on AI/LLM workflows and at scale. Zapier wins on simple cross-app automations with non-technical users. Make sits between.
Master n8n + AI Automation
Pricing is one constraint. Building and operating useful client automations is the real work. AI Automations Reimagined covers service design, N8N implementation, client acquisition, and delivery operations.
AI Automations Reimagined
A five-module course covering agency foundations, core services, N8N, acquisition, and scaling.
Explore the Course →