n8n Cloud vs n8n Self-Hosted on InstaPods
Same software, two bills. n8n Cloud Starter is €20/mo billed annually and meters you at 2,500 executions. Self-hosting the community edition on a $7 pod has no execution counter at all - your server capacity is the limit.
n8n vs n8n Cloud: The Verdict
Pick n8n Cloud if you want the vendor to run it, need their enterprise features and official support, and your execution volume sits comfortably inside a tier. Pick self-hosting on InstaPods if you want a third of the price with no execution meter, and you are fine with one-click upgrades instead of upgrades that happen without you.
Last updated: 2026-09-02Quick Comparison
| Feature | n8n Cloud | n8n |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Price | €20/mo Starter, billed annually | $7/mo flat, month to month |
| Execution Limit | 2,500 workflow executions/mo on Starter | No execution meter - bounded by your pod |
| Next Tier | Pro - €50/mo for 10,000 executions | Grow - $15/mo for 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 50 GB |
| Concurrent Executions | 5 on Starter, 20 on Pro | Whatever the pod's 2 vCPU will run |
| Shared Projects | 1 on Starter, 3 on Pro | Not a metered concept |
| Billing Terms | Headline price requires annual commitment (17% off monthly) | Monthly, cancel any time |
| Who Upgrades n8n | n8n - you are always current | You, one click, snapshot and rollback included |
| Server Access | None - it is a hosted product | SSH on every pod |
| Data Location | n8n's infrastructure | Your pod, Germany or US East |
| Support | Official vendor support | Platform support; n8n itself is community |
Where n8n Cloud's Meter Bites
Trade-offs to weigh before committing.
The Meter Is on Executions
Starter includes 2,500 workflow executions a month. A single workflow polling every 5 minutes uses about 8,640 on its own, so a couple of scheduled triggers can push you to the €50 Pro tier on volume alone, regardless of how trivial each run is.
The Headline Price Is the Annual Price
€20/mo Starter and €50/mo Pro are the billed-annually rates. n8n advertises a 17% saving for paying yearly, so the month-to-month numbers are higher and you are committing 12 months to get the price you saw.
Concurrency Is Capped Too
Starter allows 5 concurrent executions and Pro allows 20. If a webhook burst arrives faster than that, work queues behind the cap. On your own pod the ceiling is CPU and RAM, which you can resize.
No Server, No Shell
n8n Cloud is a hosted product, so there is no box to log into, no filesystem to inspect, and no way to run anything alongside n8n. That is the point of a SaaS, and it is a real constraint when you need to debug or extend.
What Self-Hosting Buys You
What you get when you pick this stack.
Executions Are Not Metered
The community edition has no execution counter. A workflow that fires every minute costs the same as one that fires weekly, because you are paying for a server rather than for events. The only limit is what 2 vCPU and 2 GB will chew through.
A Third of the Price, Monthly
$7/mo against €20/mo, and ours is month to month with no annual commitment to earn the rate. Over a year that is roughly $84 versus around €240.
Postgres and Backups Included
Build is the plan n8n needs and the plan that unlocks managed databases, so PostgreSQL runs on the same pod at no extra cost. Daily backups keep 5 copies, and they capture the database as well as the files.
Upgrades You Control, With a Rollback
n8n shipped 47 releases in the 30 days to 7 August 2026. On a pod you decide when to take one: click update, we snapshot first, and roll back automatically if the health check fails. You are never upgraded into a breaking change mid-workflow.
Real Cost Comparison
12 months of n8n for a small team running scheduled and webhook workflows.
- n8n Cloud Starter: €20/mo, billed annually
- Included: 2,500 executions/mo, 5 concurrent, 1 shared project
- Exceed that and the next tier is Pro at €50/mo
- Annual commitment required for the advertised rate
- InstaPods Build plan: $7/mo (2 vCPU / 2 GB / 25 GB)
- Workflow executions: unmetered
- Managed PostgreSQL on the same pod: included
- Daily backups, 5 copies kept: included
- $10 credit when you add a card (one-time)
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does n8n Cloud cost in 2026?
n8n Cloud Starter is €20/mo billed annually and includes 2,500 workflow executions a month, 5 concurrent executions, 1 shared project and unlimited users. Pro is €50/mo billed annually for 10,000 executions, 20 concurrent and 3 projects. n8n advertises a 17% saving for annual billing, so monthly rates are higher. Enterprise is contact-sales.
Is self-hosting n8n cheaper than n8n Cloud?
Yes, for most people. A $7/mo InstaPods pod runs the community edition with no execution meter, against €20/mo for 2,500 executions on Starter. Roughly a third of the price, month to month rather than annual, and the gap widens as your execution count grows because ours does not move with it.
What do I give up by self-hosting instead of using n8n Cloud?
Official vendor support, the enterprise-tier features n8n keeps for its paid plans, and the fact that upgrades happen without you. You also take on choosing when to update, though on InstaPods that is one click with an automatic snapshot and rollback. If you need a support contract with the people who write n8n, buy from n8n.
Is self-hosted n8n the same software as n8n Cloud?
The community edition is the same core product under n8n's fair-code Sustainable Use License, with the same visual editor, the same 400+ integrations and the same AI nodes. Some enterprise features - SSO, log streaming, advanced permissions - are reserved for n8n's paid tiers.
How many executions can a $7 pod actually handle?
There is no counter, so the answer is capacity rather than quota. A Build pod is 2 vCPU and 2 GB, which comfortably covers the kind of scheduled polling and webhook volume that would blow past n8n Cloud Starter's 2,500 executions. If workflows get heavy, resize to Grow ($15/mo, 4 GB) in one click rather than moving up a pricing tier.
Can I move from n8n Cloud to a self-hosted pod?
Yes. Export your workflows as JSON from the n8n Cloud UI, deploy n8n on InstaPods in one click, and import them. Credentials are encrypted and have to be re-entered, but the workflow structure transfers cleanly.
Self-Host n8n in 30 Seconds
Same n8n, no execution meter, $7/mo month to month with Postgres and daily backups. $10 credit when you add a card.
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