Self-hosted or cloud
Control against convenience is the wrong way to think about it. The real trade is money against hours.
The comparison that matters
| Self-hosted | n8n Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Server cost | €10–50 a month | Included |
| Your hours each month | Real, and every month | Almost none |
| Where the data lives | Wherever you put it | n8n's EU infrastructure |
| Custom nodes | Any | Limited |
| Community nodes | All of them | A checked subset |
| How much you can run | Whatever your hardware takes | Whatever your plan allows |
| When you upgrade | When you decide | Handled for you |
| Who gets woken when it breaks | You | n8n for the server, you for the workflows |
The case for n8n Cloud
No maintenance, EU hosting, a fast start, and pricing that is fair at low volume. If your workflows are straightforward and nobody in-house wants to own a server, this is the honest recommendation, and we make it to customers regularly.
The limits arrive later: a custom node for your industry ERP, heavy volume, a rule about where data must live, or a security team that wants your logs somewhere central. And whichever you pick, a workflow that quietly stopped is still yours to notice.
The case for self-hosting
Full control. Any node, any volume, your network, your compliance story.
The catch is the second row of that table: updates, backups, certificates, database care, and setting up workers as you grow (how to scale it) and keeping it secure. We put real numbers on those hours in self-hosting looks free until you add it up. For most small and mid-sized businesses the honest total is several times the subscription they avoided.
Self-hosting is right when the control is genuinely required, and a named person owns the upkeep. Both, not either.
The third option
Somebody else operates it, on your infrastructure. n8n runs on your servers, inside your network and your compliance boundary, and a partner owns the operations: monitoring, upgrades, recovery when something fails, and building what comes next.
The control of self-hosting, the hours of Cloud. That is managed n8n on your servers, or on ours if nothing forces the data to stay put, including the AI employees that n8n on its own does not give you.
Deciding
- The data has to stay on your infrastructure, or you need custom nodes → self-host. With an owner, do it yourself. Without one, have it operated.
- Simple workflows, somebody technical in-house, no rules about data location → n8n Cloud.
- The automation matters to the business and nobody wants to own the operations → operated, in either location.
Every hosting path in detail: where to host n8n.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, self-hosted n8n or n8n Cloud?
Self-hosted, if you only count the invoice: €10 to €50 a month for a server against €20 or more for a subscription. Once you count the hours somebody spends updating, backing up and fixing it, Cloud usually wins for a small team. The licence is free. The upkeep is not.
What do I give up on n8n Cloud?
Custom nodes are limited, community nodes are a checked subset, your execution allowance comes from your plan rather than your hardware, and your data lives on n8n's infrastructure. Workflow failures are also still yours to notice and fix.
When is self-hosting genuinely the right call?
When you need custom nodes, or the data has to stay somewhere specific, or your volume makes plan pricing painful, and a named person has maintenance time actually set aside. Both halves have to be true.
Is there an option between the two?
Yes, and most comparisons miss it: n8n running on your own infrastructure, with somebody else doing the operating. You keep the control and the data boundary; you do not keep the pager.
Can we change our mind later?
Yes. Workflows are JSON files. Moving between hosting options is an export and an import, plus reconnecting your credentials.