n8n Automation: What It Is and Whether to Self-Host

What is n8n?

n8n is a workflow-automation tool — a Zapier/Make alternative — that you can run on your own server. It connects apps, moves data between them, and now runs AI steps natively, so a workflow can react to an event, call a model, and take an action. Self-hosted, your compute cost is roughly flat however many workflows run.

Why self-host it

Task-based pricing means the busier you get, the more you pay — exactly backwards. Self-hosted n8n flips that: a modest server runs unlimited workflows, and your data stays on infrastructure you control. For anyone selling automation as a service, the flat cost is what protects the margin as usage grows.

The licence caveat

n8n's licence restricts offering it as a hosted service to others. That does not stop you using it — it changes how you sell it. Install n8n on the client's own infrastructure under their account and charge for the install and the care plan; you are a contractor, not a reseller. That is normally permitted and is the higher-margin path anyway.

When to choose it

Choose n8n for breadth of integrations and native AI steps, and when you want to avoid per-task pricing. Choose a permissively-licensed alternative if you intend to bundle and resell automation as your own product, and read the licence per release — terms change.

How to start with it

Install it on a small server, connect the two or three apps the first client uses, and build one workflow that removes a measurable job — a form that drafts a quote, or an inbox that produces a daily summary. Time every build; the second one should take half as long. That shrinking effort is your margin.

Frequently asked questions