Quick answer: n8n Cloud starts at €20/month for 2,500 workflow executions (Pro is €50/month for 10,000), and — unlike Zapier and Make — an "execution" is one complete workflow run no matter how many steps it has. Self-hosted n8n (Community Edition) is free: your only cost is a server, typically $6–$20/month for unlimited executions. That metering difference is why teams running multi-step workflows routinely cut their automation bill 80–95% by switching. All prices verified against the official pricing pages on July 19, 2026.
n8n Cloud pricing (2026)
| Plan | Price (billed annually) | Executions / month | Users & workflows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | €20/mo | 2,500 | Unlimited |
| Pro | €50/mo | 10,000 | Unlimited |
| Business | €667/mo | 40,000 | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Unlimited |
Two things make n8n's cloud pricing unusual. First, every plan includes unlimited users, unlimited workflows, and every integration — you're only paying for executions. Second, n8n bills in euros everywhere; at recent exchange rates Starter works out to roughly $22/month. Startups under 20 employees can apply for 50% off the Business plan.
The metering difference that changes everything
Most pricing comparisons miss this, and it's the entire ballgame: n8n charges per workflow run; Zapier and Make charge per step.
- n8n: one execution = one complete run of a workflow, whether it has 3 steps or 300.
- Zapier: every action step that runs consumes a task (triggers and a handful of built-in utilities are free).
- Make: every module operation consumes a credit — reads, searches, writes, transforms all count.
Here's what that means for a realistic automation — say, a lead-intake workflow with 20 steps (enrich the lead, score it, write to CRM, notify Slack, draft a follow-up, log it) that runs 1,000 times a month:
| Platform | Units consumed / month | Plan you'd need | Approx. monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n Cloud | 1,000 executions | Starter (2,500 execs) | €20 (~$22) |
| n8n self-hosted | 1,000 executions (unmetered) | Community Edition + a VPS | $6–$20 (server only) |
| Make | ~20,000 credits | Above the 10k base tier | ~$30–$60+ |
| Zapier | ~19,000 tasks | Professional, ~20k-task tier | ~$150–$250+ |
The gap widens as workflows get more sophisticated — which is exactly the direction every business's automations evolve. Add an AI-agent step that loops five times and a Zapier bill grows fivefold; the n8n execution count doesn't move.
Self-hosted n8n: the real math
The Community Edition is the same core product, self-hosted, with no license fee and no execution metering. What it actually costs:
- Server: a $6–$20/month VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean, Lightsail) comfortably runs tens of thousands of executions.
- Setup: a few hours with Docker if you know your way around a server — SSL, backups, and updates are on you. Our step-by-step self-hosted n8n guide covers the whole install.
- Honest overhead: budget 1–2 hours a month for updates and monitoring, or have it professionally set up once with automated backups and never think about it.
Run 50,000 executions a month self-hosted and your bill is still the price of the server. On n8n Cloud that volume is Business-tier (€667/month); on Zapier's per-task meter it can clear $1,000/month. This is why we deploy self-hosted n8n for most client builds — it's the difference between renting your automation and owning it. One-time setup, your infrastructure, your data, no meter running.
When each option actually makes sense
- n8n Cloud Starter (€20): you want zero server responsibility and run under ~2,500 workflow runs a month. Great starting point.
- n8n Cloud Pro (€50): same, at real production volume.
- Self-hosted n8n: you run serious volume, care about data staying on your infrastructure, or simply refuse to pay a permanent meter. Best cost-per-execution in the industry, by far.
- Zapier: you need its enormous app catalog (8,000+) for simple 2–3 step zaps at low volume — its free 100 tasks and polish are genuinely good there.
- Make: visually-built mid-complexity scenarios at moderate volume; cheaper than Zapier, more managed than n8n.
n8n pricing FAQ
Is n8n really free?
The self-hosted Community Edition is genuinely free — full workflow engine, all integrations, unlimited executions. You pay only for the server it runs on. n8n Cloud (the hosted version) starts at €20/month.
Is n8n cheaper than Zapier?
At any meaningful workflow complexity, dramatically — because n8n charges per run while Zapier charges per step. A 20-step workflow consumes one n8n execution but ~19 Zapier tasks. For multi-step automations, n8n Cloud typically comes out 5–10× cheaper, and self-hosted n8n 20–50× cheaper.
How many executions do I actually need?
Count workflow runs, not steps. A lead workflow that fires 30 times a day is ~900 executions a month — inside the €20 Starter plan even if the workflow is huge. Most small businesses run 1,000–10,000 executions a month across all automations.
What's the catch with self-hosting?
You're the ops team: updates, SSL, backups, uptime. It's a few hours a month if you're comfortable with Docker, or a one-time professional setup if you're not. Some cloud-only conveniences (managed scaling, built-in SSO tiers) also stay on the paid plans.
Can I start on n8n Cloud and move to self-hosted later?
Yes — workflows export as JSON and import into any n8n instance. Starting on Cloud and migrating to self-hosted once volume justifies it is a common and sensible path.
How to estimate YOUR n8n bill in five minutes
The reason n8n pricing confuses people is that they count the wrong thing. Don't count steps, integrations, or users — n8n includes all of those. Count workflow executions: how many times, in total, do all your automations fire in a month? A workflow that runs every time a form is submitted, firing 30 times a day, is ~900 executions a month — no matter whether that workflow has 3 steps or 30. Add up the run frequency of every automation you plan to build, and that total is the only number that determines your tier.
For most small businesses that total lands between 1,000 and 10,000 executions a month, which puts you comfortably in the €20 Starter or €50 Pro plan on n8n Cloud — or on a $6–$20 self-hosted server with no execution ceiling at all. The mistake that inflates people's estimates is mentally pricing n8n like Zapier (per action) when it's priced per run; once you internalize that, n8n almost always comes out cheaper than you feared.
Cloud or self-hosted: the honest decision
Choose n8n Cloud if you want zero server responsibility and your volume fits the plans — it's the faster, lower-maintenance path, and for many businesses the €20–€50/month is well worth not thinking about infrastructure. Choose self-hosted if you run serious volume, want your data on your own infrastructure, or simply refuse to pay a recurring meter — the software is identical and free, and the only real cost is the hours (a few a month) for updates, backups, and uptime, or a one-time professional setup that handles all of that for you.
The migration path between them is painless, which removes most of the risk from the decision: workflows export as JSON and import into any n8n instance, so starting on Cloud and moving to self-hosted once your volume justifies it (or vice versa) is a common, low-drama path. You're never locked in either direction — which is exactly the ownership property that makes n8n our default engine for client builds.
Does n8n charge for the number of steps in a workflow?
No — and this is the single most important thing to understand about n8n pricing. It charges per workflow execution (one complete run), regardless of how many steps that workflow contains. A 50-step workflow and a 3-step workflow each count as one execution per run. This is the opposite of Zapier and Make, and it's why n8n gets dramatically cheaper as your automations grow more sophisticated.
Is self-hosted n8n really the same as the paid Cloud version?
The core workflow engine, all integrations, and unlimited executions are identical — the Community Edition is the same product, self-hosted. What the paid Cloud adds is managed hosting, automatic updates, and some enterprise conveniences (managed scaling, built-in SSO tiers). For most SMBs, the self-hosted edition does everything they need for the price of a small server.
What hidden costs should I watch for?
With n8n there are refreshingly few — no per-user fees, no per-integration fees, no premium-app surcharges. The only real "hidden" cost is on self-hosting: your time (or a one-time setup fee) for maintenance, and the server itself. On Cloud, watch your execution count against your tier so a busy month doesn't push you into overage; it's the one number that matters.
Where this fits: we build client automations on n8n (usually self-hosted) precisely because of this pricing model — a one-time build on infrastructure you own, with no per-task meter. If you're weighing platforms, our n8n vs Zapier vs Make comparison goes deeper on capability, and the free automation audit will tell you what your actual execution volume — and bill — would look like. Our on-premise build for a law firm shows the fixed-cost model taken to its conclusion.