n8n Has No Free Tier, Only a Free Product
Every other tool here rations a hosted free tier. n8n gives the software away instead, and charges for the server you no longer have to run.
n8n Cloud has no free plan. There is a 14-day trial with 1,000 executions that requires no card. The genuinely free option is the Community Edition: the same workflow engine, self-hosted, with unlimited workflows, unlimited executions and no user limit. Paid cloud tiers start at $20 a month for 2,500 executions.1
This is a different arrangement from every other tool in this category. Zapier and Make ration a hosted tier; n8n gives away the software and sells the hosting.
The consequence is that n8n is either the most generous free option here or not an option at all, depending on whether you have somewhere to run it.2
What you actually get
| Community Edition | Cloud Starter | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0, self-hosted | $20/mo billed annually |
| Executions | Unlimited | 2,500/mo |
| Workflows | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Users | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Steps per workflow | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| You run the server | Yes | No |
| Integrations | Full node library | Full node library |
| AI agent nodes | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Community forum | Forum |
n8n prices executions rather than steps, which is a meaningful difference. Zapier charges per action and Make per module action; n8n charges once per workflow run regardless of how many nodes it contains.
The Community Edition is the free tier
Install it from GitHub or run the official Docker image, and you have the entire engine. There is no execution counter, no step limit and no user seat to buy.
What you supply is a server, a database and the time to maintain it. A five-dollar virtual private server handles a light workload comfortably, which makes the real cost of n8n about sixty dollars a year rather than zero.
That comparison is only unfavourable if your time is worth nothing. For anyone comfortable with Docker and a command line, it is the cheapest serious automation in this series by a wide margin.
What the cloud trial includes
Fourteen days at Pro-level features: global variables, insights with a dashboard and 14-day history, five-day workflow history and unlimited evaluations.
Limits during the trial are 1,000 executions, five concurrent executions, a 180-second execution timeout and one team project. No card is required, which is a better trial than most.
After it ends there is no free cloud tier to fall back to. That is the difference worth being clear about: trial, then paid, or self-host.
What the paid tiers add
Starter at $20 monthly billed annually gives 2,500 executions, five concurrent runs and 1,600 assistant credits on the hosted platform.
Pro at $50 raises executions to 10,000 and concurrent runs to 50. Business, at around 667 euros a month, is self-hosted only and targets companies under a hundred employees.
Self-hosting with the paid Business licence adds SSO, Git-based version control and multiple environments, none of which are in the Community Edition.
How it compares
Zapier's free tier allows 100 tasks and two-step Zaps, with no self-hosted escape. Make's free tier gives 1,000 credits and two active scenarios.
Both are easier to start with and require no infrastructure. n8n requires more setup and pays it back at any real volume.
The honest test is whether you have ever run a Docker container. If yes, n8n Community is the obvious choice. If not, the setup cost is real and Zapier or Make will get you running sooner.
When it is enough
Anyone with a server or a spare machine, running any volume of automation, who does not need vendor support.
Agency and internal-tool work where many workflows run daily. The unlimited execution model means the hundredth workflow costs the same as the first.
It is also the right answer for anyone who has already outgrown a commercial free tier and does not want a monthly bill.
When it stops being enough
When you need someone to call, or when the self-hosted instance becomes business-critical and the maintenance burden outweighs the savings.
At that point Cloud Starter at $20 is the managed path, or the Business licence if you want to stay self-hosted with support and version control.
Teams without infrastructure experience should price the engineering time honestly. Two days of setup and occasional maintenance is worth more than a year of Make's Core plan at $9 a month.
Frequently asked questions
Does n8n have a free plan?
Not on the cloud platform. n8n Cloud offers a 14-day trial, and the Community Edition is free to self-host permanently.
Is n8n Community Edition really unlimited?
Yes. Workflows, executions, steps and users are unlimited. You supply the server.
What does the n8n trial include?
14 days at Pro-level features with 1,000 executions and no credit card required.
How much does n8n Cloud cost?
Starter $20 a month billed annually for 2,500 executions, Pro $50 for 10,000.
Can I self-host n8n for commercial use?
Yes. The Community Edition is available on GitHub and can be used commercially.
Is n8n cheaper than Zapier?
At any meaningful volume, yes, because n8n charges per execution rather than per step and the self-hosted version has no cap at all.
Cloud trial terms, tier pricing and execution allowances verified against n8n's pricing page on 20 October 2026. Community Edition licensing and installation verified against the n8n GitHub repository and documentation.
Sources
- n8n pricing: n8n.io/pricing. Used for: Cloud trial limits and the paid tiers with execution allowances.
- n8n docs: hosting and installation: docs.n8n.io/hosting/installation.
All sources are the vendor's own plan or documentation pages, checked on 20 October 2026. Plan terms change without notice, so confirm current limits before you rely on them.
