What n8n Really Costs
The subscription is only 11% of what n8n actually costs your team. Here's the full picture.
n8n pricing vs total cost of ownership
A 5-person team at n8n's published rate of $20/seat/month. The subscription is 11% of the real cost.
Subscription cost
$20/seat x 5 seats x 12 months
$1,200/yr
Labor cost
12 hrs/month x $50/hr loaded rate x 12 months
$7,200/yr
Error & rework cost
$200/month x 12 months
$2,400/yr
Total Cost of Ownership
$10,800/yr
Labor rate based on BLS ECEC June 2025 ($45.65/hr private industry total compensation, rounded to $50). Your actual numbers depend on team size, role mix, and usage. Run it with your own data.
What the invoice doesn't show
Self-hosting appears free but requires VPS infrastructure ($5–$20/mo), Docker expertise, and ongoing maintenance (2–5 hours/month for version updates, SSL certificates, and backups). Teams without a developer or DevOps resource often spend more in hourly labor than a Zapier Pro subscription covers.
n8n Cloud charges per workflow execution — one full run of a multi-step workflow counts as one execution. Starter ($20/mo, 2,500 executions) runs out quickly for businesses with 20+ active workflows. Pro ($50/mo, 10,000 executions) is the realistic SMB tier for automation-heavy teams.
n8n has a steep learning curve compared to no-code tools. It requires comfort with JSON expressions, JavaScript code nodes, and API authentication concepts. G2 reviewers report 1–2 weeks to become proficient; non-technical ops teams often require engineering support to build and maintain workflows.
No official support on the free self-hosted tier — community forum only, with response times measured in days. Enterprise cloud support requires custom pricing. Teams running mission-critical automations on self-hosted n8n have zero SLA if something breaks.
Why this category is changing
n8n's open-source model fundamentally changes the automation cost calculus for technical teams. Self-hosted n8n running 5+ complex workflows costs $10–$15/mo (VPS only) versus $250–$400/mo for equivalent Zapier capacity — an 85–90% cost reduction. But it is not a free lunch: each dollar saved requires ongoing developer maintenance that non-technical teams cannot absorb. n8n is the right answer only when you have a developer willing to own it.
Activepieces
Free (self-hosted Community Edition or cloud free tier), $5/active flow/mo (Standard Cloud)
Open-source automation platform with a no-code visual builder. Free self-hosted and cloud Pro includes unlimited tasks — no execution caps. Easier to set up than n8n without requiring code skills. Growing integration library of 200+ connectors.
Make
Free (1K credits/mo), $12/mo (Core, 10K credits), $21/mo (Pro, 10K credits)
Visual scenario builder with 10,000 operations for $9/mo — roughly 4x more actions per dollar than n8n Cloud Starter for non-technical users. No coding required. 1,500+ app integrations with a friendlier learning curve than n8n.
Zapier
Free (100 tasks/mo), $19.99/mo (Pro, 750 tasks)
Largest app ecosystem (7,000+ integrations) with the easiest no-code interface. AI Copilot builds automations from natural language descriptions. Best for teams that prioritize breadth of connections over cost efficiency.
StackCut doesn't sell or recommend any of these tools. We show them for context. The decision is yours.
How we calculate TCO
Total Cost of Ownership includes subscription fees, labor (valued at $50/hr based on BLS ECEC data), and estimated error costs. Error cost is inherently speculative and can be set to $0 for a conservative estimate. All defaults are sourced from published benchmarks and adjustable in our methodology.
Other data entry & workflow automation cost breakdowns
What JotForm Really Costs
JotForm Gold is $99/month, but single-seat limits, payment-submission caps, and hard mid-month shutoffs make the true cost much higher. 2026 breakdown.
What Make Really Costs
Make (formerly Integromat) charges per operation — a 5-step automation counts 5 operations per run. Teams hit plan limits fast. See how real costs scale.
What Typeform Really Costs
Typeform's Basic plan caps at 100 responses, and forms close cold when you hit it. See how tier jumps and annual lock-in drive 2026 costs above list price.
What Zapier Really Costs
Zapier's $19.99/mo plan hides task overages, testing costs, and scaling traps. A 5-step Zap burns 5 tasks per trigger — 750 tasks is only 150 runs.
FAQ
n8n pricing: quick answers
How much does n8n cost per month?
n8n lists at $20.00 per user per month. A 5-person team pays $1,200 a year in subscription alone, and an estimated $10,800 a year once the labor and error costs around it are counted.
How much is n8n per seat?
$240 per seat per year at list price, or $20.00 per seat per month. Across a 5-person team that is $1,200 a year in n8n license fees on their own, and an estimated $10,800 a year in total cost of ownership once the labor and error costs around the tool are included.
How much does n8n really cost?
The subscription is only part of it. For a 5-person team, the $1,200/year n8n subscription grows to an estimated $10,800/year total cost of ownership once labor and error costs are included. StackCut lets you adjust every assumption to your own numbers.
What are the most common n8n complaints?
Self-hosting appears free but requires VPS infrastructure ($5–$20/mo), Docker expertise, and ongoing maintenance (2–5 hours/month for version updates, SSL certificates, and backups). Teams without a developer or DevOps resource often spend more in hourly labor than a Zapier Pro subscription covers. n8n Cloud charges per workflow execution — one full run of a multi-step workflow counts as one execution. Starter ($20/mo, 2,500 executions) runs out quickly for businesses with 20+ active workflows. Pro ($50/mo, 10,000 executions) is the realistic SMB tier for automation-heavy teams. n8n has a steep learning curve compared to no-code tools. It requires comfort with JSON expressions, JavaScript code nodes, and API authentication concepts. G2 reviewers report 1–2 weeks to become proficient; non-technical ops teams often require engineering support to build and maintain workflows.
What is the best AI alternative to n8n?
Teams replacing n8n most often look at Activepieces, Make, and Zapier. StackCut takes no referral fees and recommends no specific tool. It shows the financial case so you can decide.
n8n in the tier-cliff study
Moving from Pro to Enterprise takes n8n from $50/mo to $800/mo, a +1,500% increase. n8n publishes the threshold: Overage charges apply unless you move to the next usage tier. See how that compares across 61 vendors.
Find out what n8n is really costing you
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