# Self-hosted n8n is free while only staff build the workflows

> The license lets you run n8n and charge clients for workflows, not hand them the editor. SSO, Git and environments need a paid key; a 2 GiB server is about $12.

- Published: 2026-10-23
- Author: 28creation Desk
- Format: Analysis
- URL: https://28creation.com/articles/n8n-self-hosted-free-license/

## The short read

**Self-hosted n8n is free for a business whose own people build the workflows, consultants charging clients included.**

- The license bars hosting n8n for clients who build their own workflows, embedding a workflow builder in a product, and white-labeling it.
- Sharing, SSO, Git and environments need a paid key. Business showed at 667 euros a month; a 2 GiB server costs $12.

### What you can do with this

> Write down who will open the n8n editor before you install. If all of them work for you, self-host for free; if clients must build workflows, email license@n8n.io first.

---

Self-hosted n8n costs nothing to license for a small business that builds its own workflows. The condition fits in one line of the company's FAQ: "[If workflows are only created or modified by you or people in your organization](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license/community-license/license-faq), you can use n8n under the Community license for free." Clients can get the results. They can't get the editor.

That leaves two costs. A short list of features sits behind a paid license key, and the server and its upkeep are yours to pay for. We read the [license text on GitHub](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/LICENSE.md) clause by clause, along with n8n's license FAQ, its feature list and the price pages of two hosting providers, all on October 20, 2026. We also counted the enterprise-licensed files in n8n's code.

This is our reading, not legal advice. Where the text leaves room, we say so.

## The license is not open source, and one sentence decides most cases

The code is under the Sustainable Use License, version 1.0, which n8n wrote in 2022. The company says plainly that "[we do not call ourselves open source](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license/community-license)", because the Open Source Initiative does not accept limits on use. Until March 17, 2022, n8n used Apache 2.0 with the Commons Clause.

The grant itself is broad: a "royalty-free, worldwide" license to "use, copy, distribute, make available, and prepare derivative works." Then come the limits. The one that matters for a business reads:

> You may use or modify the software only for your own internal business purposes or for non-commercial or personal use.

The second limit covers handing n8n to others: "You may distribute the software or provide it to others only if you do so free of charge for non-commercial purposes." The third says you may not remove n8n's licensing or copyright notices. A fourth rule, under Notices, says a modified copy must carry "a prominent notice stating that you have modified the software."

Here is the gap. The license never defines "internal business purposes." The FAQ does, as "the use of n8n within your organization or product where people outside of your business can receive or see what your workflows produce." So the practical answers live in the FAQ, which is the company's guidance rather than the license text itself.

## Consulting is allowed, handing clients the editor is not

The FAQ lists what is allowed and what is not. We sorted the cases a small business asks about.

| What you want to do | Allowed without a paid license? | n8n's wording |
|---|---|---|
| Run your own company's automations | Yes | "Use n8n community version to help run your business" |
| Charge clients to build and maintain workflows | Yes | "Charge your customers for workflow creation, setup, and maintenance services" |
| Run client workflows on your own instance | Yes, if clients can't edit them | "as long as your clients do not have the possibility to create or edit them" |
| Install and manage n8n on a client's server | Yes, if you don't also host it | "as long as you don't offer hosting as well" |
| Use n8n behind your own product | Yes, if users only trigger what you built | "users can use and trigger the automations you built" |
| Host n8n so clients build their own workflows | No | "Host n8n as a service and allow your clients to build workflows" |
| Embed a workflow builder in your product | No, even with your own interface | "whether via a custom UI, our API, MCP, or an AI agent" |
| White-label n8n | No | "White-label n8n by removing our branding and offering n8n as is" |
| Fork n8n into your own automation product | No | "Fork n8n's code to launch your own automation product" |

The test is who controls the workflows, not how much you charge. "The key question is not whose credentials are used, but who controls the workflow logic," the FAQ says. Clients may even connect their own accounts to workflows you built. For agencies, "there is no limit on the number of clients you can serve from a single instance."

## Two setups need a word with n8n first

Two cases sit in a gray zone, by the company's own account. Shipping n8n inside a paid product that runs on the customer's premises "may sit in gray territory," because a customer with local access may be able to build workflows. The FAQ asks you to confirm that setup with license@n8n.io before launch. Embedding the n8n editor in your product is a separate deal: [OEM deployment](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/deploy-as-an-oem-integration) "requires a separate commercial agreement," and n8n branding stays.

The penalty for getting it wrong is the license itself. Use outside the terms "is not licensed, and your license will automatically terminate." If n8n sends a notice and you stop within 30 days, the license comes back. A second violation after that ends it "automatically and permanently."

## About 4% of n8n's files are under a second, stricter license

The first lines of LICENSE.md carve out an exception. Files with ".ee." in their name or ".ee" in a folder name "are NOT licensed under the Sustainable Use License." They fall under the [n8n Enterprise License](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/LICENSE_EE.md), which says the code "may only be used in production" with a valid enterprise license. You may "copy and modify the Software for development and testing purposes, without requiring a subscription."

We counted them. On n8n's master branch at commit a5eada9 (October 20, 2026), 1,320 of 31,957 files match that rule, about 4%. Of those, 464 are tests and 856 are not. The folder names read like the paid feature list: sso.ee, ldap.ee, log-streaming.ee, source-control.ee, environments.ee and external-secrets.ee among 19 folder names of that kind.

That code is in the copy you install. The npm package of n8n 2.44.4, the stable release on October 20, holds 789 such files among its 6,524, in folders such as sso.ee and ldap.ee. So the license key, not the download, decides which of those features switch on. With no key, n8n says, a self-hosted instance "runs as the free [Community edition](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n)."

## Ten features need a paid license key

n8n's [edition comparison](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/community-edition-features) says the free Community edition "includes almost the complete feature set." It lists what it leaves out:

- Custom variables
- Environments
- External secrets
- External storage for binary data
- Log streaming (ordinary logging is included)
- Multi-main mode (queue mode is included)
- Projects
- Single sign-on through SAML or LDAP
- Sharing workflows and credentials
- Version control using Git

We expect the sharing gap to be the first one a small team hits. Without it, "only the instance owner and the user who creates them can access workflows and credentials." If you register with an email address, a free key adds folders, debug in editor and custom execution data.

The paid step is large. n8n's [pricing page](https://n8n.io/pricing/) showed us the self-hosted Business plan at 667 euros a month, billed yearly, for 40,000 executions. Its feature list includes SSO, Git version control and 6 shared projects. A Start-up Plan gives companies under 20 employees 50% off, if they qualify. A paid key "must ping our license server daily to stay active," and that ping reports production execution counts.

One inconsistency: the Business card lists "Queue mode for scaling" as a feature, while the documentation says queue mode is included in Community. The docs also call the pricing page the source of truth. Check both before you plan around queue mode.

## A 2 GiB server costs $12 to €18 a month

In our cost test on October 20, 2026, n8n peaked at [884 MiB of memory](/articles/zapier-make-n8n-cost-one-workflow/) over 1,000 webhook runs, so we recommended a 2 GiB server. The company's own [sizing example](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/deploy-as-an-oem-integration/prerequisites) gives 320 MB to 2 GB of memory.

Prices for that size, read October 20, 2026:

| Provider | Plan | CPU and memory | Monthly price | Backups |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | Basic droplet | 1 vCPU, 2 GiB | [$12.00](https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/droplets) | 20% of the droplet price weekly, 30% daily |
| Hetzner, EU | CPX12 | 1 vCPU, 2 GB | [€11.99](https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance/) excl. VAT | From €1.20 a month, priced by server |
| Hetzner, US | CPX11 | 2 vCPU, 2 GB | [€17.99](https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance/) excl. VAT | From €1.20 a month, priced by server |

n8n's [Hetzner guide](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/use-a-cloud-provider/deploy-to-hetzner) says "the CPX11 type is enough" for most usage; Hetzner listed it only in its two US locations. Hetzner's cheaper cost-optimized plans, from €5.99 for 4 GB, were labeled "not available" when we read the [page](https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/cost-optimized/).

With weekly backups, the DigitalOcean server comes to $14.40 a month before tax, or $172.80 a year. The Business plan costs 8,004 euros a year at the price we were shown. So the server is the small part of the bill. The license fee is the big one, and a team pays it only once it needs a paid feature such as SSO, Git or shared projects.

## The upkeep is where the real cost sits

n8n is blunt about who should do this: "[n8n recommends self-hosting for expert users](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/use-a-cloud-provider/deploy-to-hetzner). Mistakes can lead to data loss, security issues, and downtime." Four jobs come with the server.

**Updates.** n8n "releases a new minor version most weeks," and its update page says "[try to update at least once a month](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/keep-n8n-running/update-n8n)" and read the release notes for breaking changes. It suggests testing the update in Environments first. Environments is a paid feature. On the free edition, a second instance can serve as the test copy; the FAQ allows running several.

**Backups.** A full backup is the `.n8n` folder plus your database. The folder holds the encryption key for every stored credential, and without it a restored database "[can't be decrypted](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/keep-n8n-running/backup-and-restore)." With the default SQLite database, you stop n8n before copying the folder. n8n recommends a full backup before every update, and the built-in CLI export holds only workflows and credentials, not users or execution history.

**The database.** n8n uses SQLite out of the box. Its Docker Compose guide says SQLite "is fine for trying things out, but for a production instance that must handle more than a handful of users or workflows running around the clock use [Postgres](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/install-using-docker-compose) instead." That is a second service to run and back up. n8n supports [Postgres 16 to 18](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/choose-n8ns-database), and that range shifts each year.

**Scaling.** Queue mode hands executions to separate worker processes through a [Redis](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/scaling/enable-queue-mode) queue, and n8n doesn't recommend it with SQLite. So scaling up means Redis and workers on top of Postgres. A single instance avoids all of that.

We have not timed this upkeep, so we won't put an hour figure on it. Our [payback formula](/articles/automation-payback-formula/) shows how to count it once you know your own.

## What this means for you

The decision is about who touches the editor, then about which paid features you can live without.

- **You run your own automations, or build them for clients on your instance:** self-host the Community edition. The license allows it, including paid consulting. Budget about $12 a month for a 2 GiB server plus backups, and an update every month.
- **Your team needs shared workflows or single sign-on:** the free edition won't do it. Compare Business at 667 euros a month (half that if the Start-up Plan applies) with n8n Cloud, whose plans we priced in our [three-tool comparison](/articles/zapier-make-n8n-cost-one-workflow/).
- **Clients should build or edit workflows themselves,** in n8n or in your product: that needs a commercial agreement. Write to license@n8n.io before you build, not after.
- **Nobody on the team will own updates and backups:** pay for n8n Cloud, or pick another tool. n8n itself recommends Cloud to anyone not experienced at running servers.

Before you install, write down who will open the editor. If every name on the list works for you, the license costs nothing.

## How we made this

We read both license texts, n8n's FAQ, docs and pricing page, and two hosts' price pages on October 20, 2026. We counted the enterprise-licensed files from n8n's GitHub file list and its npm package. We did not install n8n for this piece; the memory figure comes from our earlier test.

## Sources

- n8n, [LICENSE.md](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/LICENSE.md) (Sustainable Use License 1.0) and [LICENSE_EE.md](https://github.com/n8n-io/n8n/blob/master/LICENSE_EE.md) (n8n Enterprise License), master branch, read October 20, 2026
- n8n Docs, [Community license](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license/community-license) and [License FAQ](https://docs.n8n.io/n8n-community-license/community-license/license-faq)
- n8n Docs, [Compare editions](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/community-edition-features), [Host n8n](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n) and [Deploy as an OEM integration](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/deploy-as-an-oem-integration)
- n8n, [Pricing](https://n8n.io/pricing/) (Business plan and license key FAQ; shown in euros, read October 20, 2026)
- n8n Docs, [Update n8n](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/keep-n8n-running/update-n8n), [Back up and restore](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/keep-n8n-running/backup-and-restore), [Choose n8n's database](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/choose-n8ns-database), [Install using Docker Compose](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/install-using-docker-compose), [Enable queue mode](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/configure-n8n/scaling/enable-queue-mode), [Deploy to Hetzner](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/install-options/use-a-cloud-provider/deploy-to-hetzner) and [Prerequisites](https://docs.n8n.io/deploy/host-n8n/deploy-as-an-oem-integration/prerequisites)
- DigitalOcean, [Droplet pricing](https://www.digitalocean.com/pricing/droplets) (read October 20, 2026)
- Hetzner, [Regular Performance](https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance/) and [Cost-Optimized](https://www.hetzner.com/cloud/cost-optimized/) cloud servers (read October 20, 2026)
- 28creation count, October 20, 2026: file list of n8n's master branch at commit a5eada9 from the GitHub API, and the file list of the n8n 2.44.4 package from npm, both matched against the ".ee" rule in LICENSE.md