Self-Hosted n8n Cost in 2026: VPS vs Managed vs n8n Cloud
The n8n software is free to self-host. What you pay for is the server: from $6.49 per month on the cheapest Hostinger n8n VPS (renewing at $11.99) to about €9 to €45 per month on a managed container host, or $20 to $50 per month for a fully managed instance from OpsThrive. n8n Cloud, where n8n runs everything, starts at €20 per month billed annually for 2,500 workflow executions. Prices checked 28 October 2026.
The short answer
| Option | What you pay (per month) | Who maintains it | Execution limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-host on a VPS | $6.49 intro / $11.99 renewal (Hostinger KVM 1); €9 (Sliplane Starter) | You | Only your server's capacity |
| Managed n8n hosting | €9 to €45 (Sliplane); $20 to $50 (OpsThrive); Hosted Power on quote | The provider | Only your server's capacity |
| n8n Cloud Starter | €20 billed annually | n8n | 2,500 workflow executions |
| n8n Cloud Pro | €50 billed annually | n8n | 10,000 workflow executions |
| n8n Business | €667 billed annually (self-hosted only; hosted version on waitlist) | You, with n8n support | 40,000 workflow executions |
| n8n Enterprise | Contact sales | Either | Custom |
Every figure above comes from the vendors' own pricing pages on 28 October 2026 (links in Sources at the bottom). n8n prices its Cloud plans in euros and by workflow executions, "regardless of complexity", with unlimited steps, users and workflows on every plan. Monthly billing is available; n8n's own toggle says annual billing saves 17%.
What self-hosted n8n actually costs
1. The software: $0
n8n's pricing page states that "a standard, self-hosted version of n8n is available on GitHub" (208,853 stars at the time of checking). There is no licence fee for that edition. Business-tier features (such as SSO or environments) are the part you pay for, and the Business plan is currently self-hosted only, at €667 per month billed annually for 40,000 executions.
2. The server: $6.49 to about $50 a month
Two providers with public, n8n-specific price lists:
| Provider / plan | vCPU | RAM | Storage | Price per month | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger KVM 1 | 1 | 4 GB | 50 GB NVMe | $6.49 intro, $11.99 renewal | 24 months paid upfront ($155.76); 4 TB bandwidth |
| Hostinger KVM 2 | 2 | 8 GB | 100 GB NVMe | $8.79 intro, $14.99 renewal | $210.96 upfront; 8 TB bandwidth |
| Hostinger KVM 4 | 4 | 16 GB | 200 GB NVMe | $12.99 intro, $28.99 renewal | $311.76 upfront; 16 TB bandwidth |
| Hostinger KVM 8 | 8 | 32 GB | 400 GB NVMe | $25.99 intro, $49.99 renewal | $623.76 upfront; 32 TB bandwidth |
| Sliplane Starter | 1 | 1 GB | 20 GB | €9.00 (excl. VAT) | Hourly, monthly (-20%) or yearly (-33%) billing |
| Sliplane Base | 2 | 2 GB | 20 GB | €17.80 | Regions: Germany, US East/West, Finland, Singapore |
| Sliplane Medium | 3 | 4 GB | 20 GB | €28.80 | |
| Sliplane Large | 4 | 8 GB | 20 GB | €45.00 | Extra NVMe from €5 per 50 GB |
Hostinger lists "unlimited workflows" and "unlimited concurrent executions" on all plans, and flags "n8n with queue mode" (the setup you need to scale workers) as an add-on. Note the Hostinger intro prices only apply when you pay 24 months upfront; the renewal column is the number to budget with.
3. Your time: the cost nobody puts on the invoice
n8n's documentation is blunt about the trade: on n8n Cloud, infrastructure is "fully hosted by n8n" and maintenance is "handled by n8n". Self-hosted, you "must provide and manage infrastructure" and maintenance is "your responsibility". In practice that means n8n version updates, database backups, SSL renewals, disk space and the occasional 2 a.m. restart. If nobody on your team wants that job, that is exactly the gap managed hosting fills.
n8n Cloud pricing (if you would rather not host at all)
- Starter: €20 per month billed annually, 2,500 workflow executions, hosted by n8n.
- Pro: €50 per month billed annually, 10,000 workflow executions, hosted by n8n.
- Business: €667 per month billed annually, 40,000 workflow executions, self-hosted only for now (hosted version on a waitlist); the trial requires a credit card.
- Enterprise: custom executions, hosted or self-hosted, contact sales.
All plans: unlimited steps per execution, unlimited users and workflows. Starter and Pro trials need no credit card. Pro includes AI assistant credits (n8n's page shows "up to 9,600/month"; its FAQ says 4,000 or 9,600 depending on plan size).
Managed n8n hosting: the middle option
Managed hosting is self-hosting where someone else does the hosting. You keep the unlimited-execution economics of your own server and skip the maintenance. Three providers we checked:
- Sliplane: one-click n8n on your own container server, €9 to €224 per month depending on size (table above). You still manage n8n updates yourself through their panel.
- Hosted Power: dedicated managed n8n with 24/7 support and proactive monitoring; no public price, quote only.
- OpsThrive: a dedicated n8n instance that we set up, secure, update, back up and monitor, for $20 to $50 per month. You own the server and the data ("we run it, you own it"), so you can walk away with everything intact.
The hidden costs, whichever route you take
- Execution volume on Cloud. n8n Cloud meters workflow executions. 10,000 is the Pro ceiling; above that you are on Business or Enterprise pricing. Self-hosted has no plan ceiling.
- AI and API usage. OpenAI, Anthropic, scraping APIs and SMS providers bill you separately whether n8n is hosted or self-hosted. Budget them on top of every number on this page.
- Scaling setup. Running n8n with queue mode (separate worker processes) is what lets one instance handle heavy load. Hostinger sells it as an add-on; on a plain VPS it is configuration work.
- Intro pricing. Hostinger's headline $6.49 becomes $11.99 at renewal. Sliplane quotes exclude VAT.
- Backups and downtime. Not a line item on a VPS invoice, but a real cost the first time a disk fills up during a client campaign.
A worked example: 10,000 workflow runs a month
| Route | Monthly cost | What else you take on |
|---|---|---|
| n8n Cloud Pro | €50 (annual billing) | Nothing; hard cap at 10,000 executions |
| Hostinger KVM 1, self-managed | $6.49 now, $11.99 after 24 months | Updates, backups, SSL, monitoring: you |
| Sliplane Base, semi-managed | €17.80 excl. VAT | n8n updates: you; server: them |
| OpsThrive managed instance | $20 to $50 | Nothing; no execution cap; you own the server |
Rule of thumb from these numbers: under a few thousand executions a month with nobody technical on the team, n8n Cloud Starter is the simplest choice. Past 10,000 executions, or as soon as you want full control of data and unlimited runs, self-hosting (managed or not) costs less than Cloud every month, and the gap widens with volume.
When self-hosting wins, and when it does not
Self-host (or managed self-host) when
- You expect more than 10,000 executions a month, or spiky volume you do not want capped.
- Client data must stay on infrastructure you control (common for agencies with UK or EU clients).
- You want to run community nodes, custom code or your own Postgres without plan restrictions.
Stay on n8n Cloud when
- You run a handful of workflows and 2,500 to 10,000 executions covers you comfortably.
- Nobody wants to own a server, and €20 to €50 a month is cheaper than an hour of anyone's time.
- You want n8n's own support and the newest features the day they ship.
Frequently asked questions
Does self-hosting n8n cost money?
The n8n software is free to download and run yourself (n8n publishes the self-hosted version on GitHub). You pay for the server it runs on, which starts at a few dollars a month, plus your own time for updates and backups, which n8n's documentation lists as your responsibility when you self-host.
How much does self-hosted n8n cost per month?
Server only: $6.49 per month on Hostinger's smallest n8n VPS plan (24 months paid upfront, renews at $11.99), or €9 per month on Sliplane's smallest server. If you want someone else to run and maintain the instance, managed options run from about €9 to €45 on Sliplane, or $20 to $50 per month with OpsThrive. The software itself is free.
n8n Cloud vs self-hosted: what is the difference?
With n8n Cloud, n8n hosts the software and handles updates and scaling, and you pay per plan by workflow executions (Starter €20/mo billed annually for 2,500 executions, Pro €50/mo for 10,000). Self-hosted means you provide and manage the infrastructure, and the number of executions is limited only by your server, not by a plan.
What are the server requirements for n8n?
n8n's own documentation does not publish a minimum CPU or RAM figure. The smallest commercial n8n plans give a guide: Sliplane's Starter is 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM and 20 GB storage, and Hostinger's smallest n8n VPS is 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM and 50 GB NVMe storage.
Can I host n8n on Hostinger?
Yes. Hostinger sells n8n-specific VPS plans from $6.49 per month (KVM 1: 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 50 GB NVMe, 4 TB bandwidth) to $25.99 per month (KVM 8: 8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM). Those are introductory prices paid upfront for 24 months and renew at $11.99 to $49.99 per month. Queue mode is listed as an add-on.
What does managed n8n hosting include?
Managed hosting means a provider sets up and runs your n8n instance for you: server, SSL, updates, backups and monitoring, so you get the unlimited-execution economics of self-hosting without doing the server work. OpsThrive runs a dedicated instance for $20 to $50 per month and you keep ownership of the server and the data.
Is n8n free?
The self-hosted version is free to download from GitHub under n8n's Sustainable Use License; check that license for what counts as permitted use. n8n Cloud is a paid service starting at €20 per month billed annually.
Sources
- n8n pricing page (Starter, Pro, Business, Enterprise, self-hosted edition), checked 28 Oct 2026: https://n8n.io/pricing/
- n8n docs, Choose your n8n (Cloud vs self-hosted responsibilities): https://docs.n8n.io/choose-n8n/
- n8n docs, server setups (installation methods): https://docs.n8n.io/hosting/installation/server-setups/
- Hostinger n8n VPS hosting plans and prices, checked 28 Oct 2026: https://www.hostinger.com/vps/n8n-hosting
- Sliplane n8n hosting plans and prices, checked 28 Oct 2026: https://sliplane.io/n8n-hosting
- Hosted Power managed n8n hosting (no public prices), checked 28 Oct 2026: https://www.hosted-power.com/en/managed-n8n-hosting