# n8n Cloud vs self-hosted: plans, editions and licence

> Choose between n8n Cloud and self-hosting: plans, executions, the Sustainable Use License and what the free Community edition lacks.

Source: https://mentionx.ai/learn/n8n/n8n-cloud-vs-self-hosted  
Author: Dipuck Jones, founder of MentionX  
Updated: 4 November 2026  
Level: Practitioner

**You can use n8n as a hosted service (n8n Cloud) or run it yourself. Cloud is quicker and someone else maintains it; self-hosting is cheaper per run and gives you control, but makes you responsible for updates, backups and security.**

> **Key takeaways**
>
> - n8n Cloud prices by monthly workflow executions, with unlimited users and workflows on every plan.
> - The free Community edition is fair-code, allowed for internal business use, and lacks SSO, projects, sharing and environments.
> - Self-hosting means owning updates, backups, uptime and security.
> - Pick the option your team can actually maintain, not the cheapest on paper.

*Checked 4 November 2026 (CET) against n8n documentation and the n8n pricing page. n8n ships updates often and node options, plan limits and prices change, so confirm in your own instance and on the pricing page. "Our view" marks MentionX opinion. Ledgerline is a fictional company used for illustration.*

## What do the n8n Cloud plans include?

As listed on the n8n pricing page on 4 November 2026, with prices billed annually:

| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | €20/month | 1 shared project, 5 concurrent executions, 1,600 AI Workflow Builder (Assistant) credits |
| Pro | €50/month | 3 shared projects, up to 50 concurrent executions, up to 9,600 credits, workflow history |
| Business | €667/month | Self-hosted with SSO, environments, queue mode and Git version control |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | Custom terms |

The pricing page also lists a startup plan with 50% off Business for companies with fewer than 20 employees, and a free trial. Execution allowances vary by plan and tier, so read them on the pricing page rather than from a summary.

Limits that matter to marketing workflows, from the same page:

| Limit | Starter | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum execution duration | 5 minutes | 40 minutes |
| Saved executions | 2,500 | 25,000 |
| Execution log retention | 7 days | 30 days |

The execution duration matters for AI workflows. A loop that calls a model for 200 rows can run for several minutes. On Starter, long jobs should be split into batches or sub-workflows.

n8n Cloud stores data in Frankfurt, Germany, according to the pricing page. That helps EU teams with data-residency questions, but your legal team should still review the data processing terms.

## When does self-hosting make sense?

The n8n docs page "Choose how to use n8n" compares the options. Self-hosting suits you when:

- Someone on the team (or in IT) is comfortable with Docker, a server, TLS certificates, backups and upgrades.
- You need data to stay inside your own infrastructure.
- Your execution volume is high enough that Cloud plans become expensive.
- You want to change instance settings such as data table size limits or execution pruning.

The docs offer a quick install script, and recommend Docker Compose for production use. The npm installation route is deprecated from n8n 3.0, according to the hosting docs.

Self-hosting is not "free" in practice. You pay for a server, and for someone's time. If nobody owns upgrades, you'll fall behind on security fixes. If nobody owns backups, a failed disk takes your workflows and credentials with it.

## Business and Enterprise: when do marketers need them?

The features that push teams up a tier are about governance rather than automation:

- **SSO** so staff use company logins.
- **Environments and Git** so workflows go through a test instance before production.
- **Projects and role-based sharing** so the paid-media team can't edit the CRM sync.
- **Queue mode** for high volumes on self-hosted Business.

*Our view:* most marketing teams of under ten people do well on Cloud Starter or Pro. Move to Business when several teams share n8n and you need SSO, environments and proper access control, not before.

> **Pro move:** whatever you choose, put the owner and the billing contact in a shared doc. Instances without an owner are how API keys end up in former employees' hands.

## The licence in plain English

n8n's Community edition uses the Sustainable Use License. The n8n docs call it fair-code and are clear that it isn't an OSI-approved open source licence. n8n created it in 2022; before 17 March 2022, n8n used Apache 2.0 with the Commons Clause.

According to the n8n License FAQ, these uses are fine without a commercial licence:

- Running n8n for your own company's internal business purposes, such as syncing your CRM or automating reporting.
- Building workflows for a client, as long as you don't host n8n for them in a way that lets them build their own workflows.
- Using n8n inside your product as a backend for a feature, where your users can't edit workflows.

And these need a commercial agreement with n8n:

- Hosting n8n and charging people to use it, or letting your customers build workflows in it.
- White-labelling n8n.

For most in-house marketing teams the internal-use case is the relevant one. Agencies that build workflows for clients should read the FAQ closely and, if in doubt, ask n8n or their own lawyer. This lesson is not legal advice.

## Free self-hosted: what's missing?

The n8n "Compare editions" page lists features that the free Community edition lacks. The ones marketers notice:

| Missing in Community | Why you'd miss it |
|---|---|
| Projects and sharing | Hard to give a colleague access to one workflow without sharing everything |
| SSO | Staff log in with separate passwords |
| Environments and Git | No safe dev-to-production promotion |
| External secrets | API keys live in n8n rather than your vault |
| Custom variables | Repeated values such as Slack channel IDs must be hard-coded |
| Log streaming | Harder to monitor centrally |

The same page notes that registering a Community instance (free) unlocks a few extras, including folders, debug in editor and custom execution data. If you self-host, register.

## Questions to settle before you choose

| Question | Points to Cloud | Points to self-hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Who will patch and upgrade it? | Nobody on the team wants to | IT or a developer owns it |
| Where must data live? | Frankfurt-hosted Cloud is acceptable | Policy requires your own infrastructure |
| Do you need community nodes or custom code packages? | Not really | Yes, regularly |
| How many runs a month? | Within plan limits | Very high volume |
| How fast do you need to start? | This week | You can wait for setup |

## A decision record

Write a short decision record: which option, why, who owns it, and when you'll review it. Teams often start on Cloud, prove value, then revisit self-hosting once workflows matter enough to justify the operations work. Workflows export as JSON, so moving later is possible, though credentials must be recreated and webhook URLs change.

## Licence questions marketers ask

The Sustainable Use License allows internal business use, including automating your own marketing. It restricts things like selling n8n itself as a hosted service. If you're an agency building workflows for clients, read the licence FAQ carefully or ask legal, because the answer depends on how you deliver the work.

## Worked example: Ledgerline's hosting decision

*Ledgerline is a fictional accounts-payable software company. Details are illustrative.*

Ledgerline's marketing team had no engineer of its own. IT offered to host n8n, but couldn't commit to monthly upgrades. The team estimated three scheduled workflows and roughly 30 lead webhooks a day.

They chose n8n Cloud Pro rather than Starter for two reasons: workflow history, so they could roll back a bad edit, and the longer execution duration for their AI visibility monitor, which runs a list of prompts in one go. Data stored in Frankfurt satisfied their EU customers' questions.

They agreed to revisit in six months. If execution volume grew a lot, or if sales and customer success wanted their own workflows, they would ask IT to reconsider a self-hosted Business setup with SSO.

### Walkthrough

1. Open the n8n pricing page and note today's plan prices, the concurrency limits and which plan includes workflow history and the insights dashboard. Don't rely on this lesson for numbers; prices change.
2. Open the "Choose how to use n8n" page in the docs and read its comparison table.
3. Write down who will own the instance: who patches it, who holds the admin login and who gets alerted when it fails.
4. Estimate your monthly executions (lesson 19 explains how) and compare against the plan you're considering.
5. If you want to self-host, open "Install using Docker Compose" and check whether your team can maintain it. If not, pick Cloud.

## Try it yourself

Write a one-page decision note for your team: Cloud or self-hosted, which plan, who owns it, the estimated monthly executions, and which licence situation applies (internal use, client work or something that needs a commercial licence). Share it with whoever approves software spend.

## Quick quiz

**1. Is the Community edition OSI open source?**

*Answer:* No. It uses the Sustainable Use License, which n8n describes as fair-code.

**2. Can you white-label self-hosted n8n under the Community licence?**

*Answer:* No. White-labelling needs a commercial agreement, according to the License FAQ.

**3. Where is n8n Cloud data stored?**

*Answer:* Frankfurt, Germany, according to the n8n pricing page.

## What should you check before the next lesson?

- You know which plan or edition you will use.
- Your licence situation is clear.
- Someone owns updates, backups and billing.

Next: [Your first workflow: triggers, items and publishing](https://mentionx.ai/learn/n8n/n8n-first-workflow-basics). Or return to the [n8n for Marketers track](https://mentionx.ai/learn/n8n/n8n-for-marketers).

## Common questions

**Is self-hosted n8n free?** The Community edition is free for internal business use. You pay for your own server and your time to run it.

**Which Cloud plan should a small team start on?** Check the pricing page. Starter suits light use; Pro adds more concurrency, projects and workflow history.

**Does n8n Cloud charge per user?** No. The pricing page says all plans include unlimited users and workflows.

## Sources

- n8n, [Plans and pricing](https://n8n.io/pricing/)
- n8n Docs, [Choose how to use n8n](https://docs.n8n.io/choose-how-to-use-n8n)
- n8n Docs, [Compare editions](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/community-edition-features)
- n8n Docs, [Community license](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license/community-license)
- n8n Docs, [License FAQ](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license/community-license/license-faq)
- n8n Docs, [Install using Docker Compose](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/install-using-docker-compose)
- All accessed 4 Nov 2026.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is self-hosted n8n free?

The Community edition is free for internal business use. You pay for your own server and your time to run it.

### Which Cloud plan should a small team start on?

Check the pricing page. Starter suits light use; Pro adds more concurrency, projects and workflow history.

### Does n8n Cloud charge per user?

No. The pricing page says all plans include unlimited users and workflows.

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Written and reviewed by Dipuck Jones for MentionX Learn. The HTML version of this page: https://mentionx.ai/learn/n8n/n8n-cloud-vs-self-hosted