Cloud or Self-Hosted? Choosing Your Setup

Two Ways to Run n8n

Before you build your first workflow, you need an n8n instance to build it in. There are two paths: n8n Cloud (fully managed, no servers to touch) or self-hosted (you run it on your own server or computer). Both give you the same features and the same 400+ integrations. The difference is who manages the infrastructure.

n8n Cloud Plans

n8n Cloud is the fastest way to get started. You sign up at n8n.io, choose a plan, and you have a live n8n instance in minutes — no Docker, no terminal, no servers.

• Starter — €20/month (billed annually): 2,500 monthly executions, 1 shared project, 5 concurrent executions, 2,300 AI credits/month, forum support. Good for individuals and small teams building their first automations.
• Pro — €50/month (billed annually): 10,000 monthly executions, 3 shared projects, 20 concurrent executions, 7-day execution history, admin roles. Good for growing teams with regular automation needs.
• Business — €667/month (billed annually): 40,000 executions, SSO/SAML, Git version control, self-hosted option, 30-day insights. For organisations with compliance and scale requirements.

All plans include unlimited users and unlimited workflows — you are only charged per execution (one complete workflow run), not per step or per seat.

Self-Hosted n8n

Self-hosting means you run n8n on a server you control. This gives you unlimited executions, full data privacy, and costs only what your server costs — typically €3–10/month for a basic VPS from providers like Hetzner, DigitalOcean, or Vultr.

The standard self-hosting method uses Docker:

"docker run -it --rm --name n8n -p 5678:5678 -v ~/.n8n:/home/node/.n8n docker.n8n.io/n8nio/n8n"

This single command starts n8n on your machine at http://localhost:5678. For production, you would deploy to a VPS with persistent storage and a reverse proxy — but for learning, running it locally is perfectly fine.

Which Should You Choose?

Choose n8n Cloud if: you want to start building today without touching a terminal, you are not comfortable with Docker or servers, or you are evaluating n8n for a business team.

Choose self-hosted if: you want no execution limits, strict data privacy requirements, or you have a developer on your team comfortable with Docker. The cost savings are significant at scale — a €10/month VPS with unlimited executions vs €50+/month Cloud plans.

For this track, either option works identically. All workflow concepts, nodes, and features are the same on both. If you are unsure, start with the n8n Cloud free trial — you can always migrate later.