Automate complex workflows with customizable, self-hostable automation
n8n is an open-source automation and workflow tool that connects apps, APIs, and databases into programmable workflows; it suits developers and ops teams who need self-hosting, unlimited nodes, and granular control, and offers a free self-hosted option plus paid cloud plans that scale from team to enterprise.
n8n is an open-source automation and workflow platform that lets you connect apps, APIs, and databases into multi-step workflows. It’s designed for developers and technical teams who need programmatic control: workflows are node-based, support JavaScript in nodes, and can run either self-hosted or on n8n.cloud. n8n’s key differentiator is its permissive, extensible licensing and focus on self-hosting with unlimited active workflows on your infrastructure. It serves engineers, data teams, and automation-savvy SMEs. Pricing ranges from a free self-hosted option to paid cloud plans starting at a low monthly rate.
n8n launched as an open-source automation platform to give developers and businesses a programmable alternative to closed SaaS workflow builders. Founded by Jan Oberhauser and originating in Germany, the project positioned itself around extensibility and the ability to self-host. The platform uses a node-based editor where each node represents an action, trigger, or transformation. Because n8n is source-available (under a Fair-code license historically, with open-core elements) teams can run it on their own infrastructure to avoid vendor lock-in or data egress concerns. Today n8n operates both as a self-hosted project and a managed cloud offering, targeting technical buyers who need more control than standard SaaS automation tools provide.
Feature-wise, n8n includes a visual workflow editor with conditional branches and loops, an extensive nodes library with 400+ integrations, and the ability to write custom JavaScript in Function nodes to manipulate data inline. It supports webhooks and polling triggers for real-time and scheduled automation, plus credentials management for OAuth2 and API-key based connections. n8n also exposes a REST API and CLI for workflow execution and orchestration, and supports environment variables and encryption for storing sensitive credentials. For self-hosted deployments you can run n8n via Docker or Kubernetes, and the cloud product offers a managed UI with team collaboration features, versioning, and activity logs.
Pricing splits between self-hosting (free to run your own) and n8n.cloud paid plans. The free self-hosted option has no license fee but requires you to manage infrastructure and limits are set by your hosting resources. n8n.cloud’s published pricing includes a Starter plan (examples in 2025 pricing started at roughly $10–$20/month for basic usage), a Team plan with higher execution limits and role-based access, and Enterprise/Custom plans with SSO, audit logs, and uptime SLAs. Paid tiers increase workflow execution quotas, allow more active workflows and credentials, and unlock features like priority support and single sign-on. Exact cloud prices and execution quotas should be checked on n8n.io/pricing for the most current figures.
Practically, n8n is used by backend engineers to ETL data from SaaS APIs into data warehouses, by operations teams to automate incident notifications and remediation via PagerDuty and Slack, and by growth teams to sync leads between forms, CRMs, and email platforms. Example users include a Data Engineer using n8n to move 100k monthly rows from a marketing API into a Postgres warehouse, and an Ops Manager using n8n to auto-create Jira issues from monitoring alerts. Compared with Zapier, n8n’s main distinction is self-hosting and unlimited nodes per workflow; compared with Make, it emphasizes codability and developer-centric deployment options.
Three capabilities that set n8n apart from its nearest competitors.
Current tiers and what you get at each price point. Verified against the vendor's pricing page.
| Plan | Price | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted (Free) | Free | No platform fee; limits depend on your hosting resources and scale | Dev teams who control their own infra |
| Starter (n8n.cloud) | $18/month | Example quota: limited executions and 5 active workflows (check site for current limits) | Small teams wanting managed hosting |
| Team (n8n.cloud) | $90/month | Higher execution quota, role-based access, more active workflows | Growing teams requiring collaboration features |
| Enterprise (n8n.cloud) | Custom | Custom execution volume, SSO, SLA, dedicated support | Businesses needing compliance and SLAs |
Copy these into n8n as-is. Each targets a different high-value workflow.
You are an n8n workflow engineer. Create a one-shot, copy-paste n8n workflow plan to ingest a paginated REST API into a Postgres table. Constraints: use HTTP Request, SplitInBatches, and Postgres nodes only; handle cursor or page-based pagination; deduplicate by primary_key field; include basic error-checking (status !== 200). Output format: provide a numbered list of nodes with node-type, key configuration fields (endpoint, headers, pagination param, batch size, Postgres upsert SQL or parameters), and a minimal example HTTP response transformed to DB row. Example: 'page' pagination or 'next_cursor' should be handled.
You are an n8n automation engineer. Produce a single n8n workflow spec that turns incoming monitoring webhook payloads into Jira issues. Constraints: implement a Webhook trigger; map fields: service, severity, description, timestamp; create rules: severity 'critical' => Priority Highest, suppress duplicates using a hash of service+alert_type within 24h (use Set node or DB); send Slack confirmation on success. Output format: provide ordered nodes with essential settings, sample incoming JSON mapping, and the Jira Create Issue node body example. Example input: {"service":"api","severity":"critical","message":"CPU high"}.
You are an n8n integration specialist. Produce a workflow blueprint to sync new leads from a CSV or HTTP source, call Clearbit for enrichment, and upsert into Salesforce. Constraints: honor Clearbit rate limit (X req/min) and include exponential backoff for 429s; only enrich leads missing email or company fields; include transformation mapping and field-level validation. Output format: JSON array of ordered node definitions (trigger, iterator, HTTP Request to Clearbit with headers, Function node transform, Salesforce Upsert) plus a sample mapping object and a retry/backoff config example. Variable: batch_size (set default 50).
You are an n8n data engineer. Generate a production-ready incremental ETL workflow to pull new records from a REST API and merge them into Snowflake. Constraints: implement stateful watermarking (last_updated timestamp), chunked fetching with configurable batch_window_days, use file staging (CSV in S3 or internal stage) then Snowflake COPY + MERGE, and include retry policy for transient failures. Output format: ordered node list with configuration for trigger/schedule, HTTP Request pagination, S3/Stage upload, Snowflake COPY and MERGE SQL templates, and a short test plan. Variable: batch_window_days (default 7).
You are an n8n platform architect. Produce a multi-step CI/CD and test harness playbook for deploying n8n workflows from git to self-hosted or n8n.cloud. Requirements: include automated linting of credential usage, unit tests for Function nodes (show example assertions), integration test steps (mock HTTP responses), versioned environment variables and secrets handling, migration and rollback steps, and deployment commands (docker-compose or n8n.cloud CLI). Output format: numbered runbook steps, sample test cases (two few-shot examples for Function node inputs/expected outputs), CI pipeline YAML skeleton, and rollback checklist.
You are an experienced n8n workflow developer. Design a reusable error-handling pattern: implement OnError handling, retry with exponential backoff, circuit-breaker for persistent downstream failures, and alerts (Slack/Email). Provide Function node JS snippets for (1) parsing various API error shapes to normalized error objects and (2) deciding retry vs. fail (idempotency-safe). Constraints: include sample integration for REST API calls, Postgres upserts, and Slack notify; include two few-shot examples of error inputs and desired normalized outputs. Output format: workflow JSON sketch (nodes and connections), code snippets for Function nodes, and configuration for retry/circuit-breaker.
Choose n8n over Zapier if you prioritize self-hosting, custom JavaScript transforms, and unlimited node complexity on your infrastructure.
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