← Back to stack

Builder infrastructure

n8n

Automate without limits

Visit official site →

What n8n is

Vendor's own claim

n8n is a workflow automation tool distributed under a "fair-code" (source-available, not OSI open source) license: the code is public and self-hostable, but commercial resale/hosting is restricted by the Sustainable Use License.

What it can do

Vendor's own claim
  • 500+ pre-built integration nodes plus generic HTTP Request/GraphQL nodes for custom APIs
  • AI Agent nodes with multi-model support and human-in-the-loop controls
  • Built-in MCP support: an instance-level MCP server for AI tools to build/run workflows, and an MCP Server Trigger node to expose n8n workflows as MCP tools to external clients
  • Self-hosted (fair-code licensed, source-available) or n8n-managed cloud deployment
  • Step-level testing, debugging, and execution replay with mock data
  • Enterprise access controls: SSO, SAML, LDAP, audit logs, RBAC, git-based version control

Who it is for

Vendor's own claim

Technical teams (IT ops, security ops, DevOps, sales/RevOps engineering) that want automation with code-level control rather than a pure drag-and-drop tool, and teams that specifically want to self-host their automation platform or build MCP-exposed workflows for AI agents.

When to choose something else

Our read

Pricing is metered by workflow execution count, so high-volume, per-row automations can consume plan allowances quickly and should be modeled before purchase. The self-hosted fair-code license restricts using n8n itself to build a competing hosted product. Non-technical teams should also evaluate whether the node editor's expression syntax and code nodes fit their operators.

Implementation considerations

Our read

Setup assessment: 1h

Signing up for n8n Cloud and building a first simple workflow is a same-session task per the docs' "Build your first workflow" quickstart, but self-hosting (Docker/Kubernetes), configuring the instance-level MCP server with OAuth2/access-token auth, or wiring up enterprise SSO/SAML pushes setup well past an hour.

Prerequisites

  • n8n Cloud account, or a self-hosted instance (Docker/npm)
  • For MCP server access: instance-level MCP enabled plus OAuth2 or access-token credentials
  • For self-hosted Business/Enterprise features: SSO/SAML identity provider

Published pricing

From official docs
PlanPriceIncluded
Starter€20/mo, billed annually2,500 workflow executions/mo, unlimited steps, 2,300 AI credits/mo
Pro€50/mo, billed annually10,000 workflow executions/mo, unlimited steps, up to 13,700 AI credits/mo
Business€667/mo, billed annually40,000 workflow executions/mo, unlimited steps
EnterpriseContact SalesCustom execution volume

Verify before you adopt it

  • A specific official product-demo video URL (only the general YouTube channel link was confirmed, no specific video was verified as vendor-published during this check)
  • Trial terms for n8n Cloud paid plans
  • A machine-readable OpenAPI specification was not included in the reviewed source set.