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The Stack / Automation
n8n
Yes for operators who've outgrown per-task pricing — n8n executes whole workflows per credit (or free self-hosted), drops into code when visual logic runs out, and has become the default for serious AI agent workflows. It asks more of you than Zapier; it returns more too.
The job in the stack
The heavy-automation seat: complex, high-volume workflows and AI agent pipelines, self-hosted or cloud.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Community (self-hosted) | $0 | Full engine, your infrastructure, fair-code license |
| Starter (cloud) | from ~$24/mo | 2,500 executions; priced per workflow execution, not per task |
| Pro (cloud) | from ~$60/mo | Higher volume, concurrency |
| Enterprise | custom | SSO, air-gapped options |
Pricing verified 2026-01-15. Plans change — the source of truth is n8n's own pricing page.
Models & versions
- AI Agent nodesLangChain-based agent, LLM, and vector-store nodes built in
The honest read
What works
- +Execution-based pricing: a 50-step workflow costs the same as a 2-step one
- +Self-hosting means data sovereignty and near-zero marginal cost
- +Native AI agent nodes make it a real agent-orchestration layer
- +JavaScript/Python escape hatches when visual builders hit their ceiling
What breaks
- −Steeper learning curve than Zapier — it expects you to think in data
- −Smaller connector catalog; niche SaaS may need HTTP-node handiwork
- −Self-hosting shifts uptime and updates onto you
Use it for
- →High-volume automations where Zapier task math breaks
- →AI agent workflows with branching, memory, and tool calls
- →Teams that want the automation layer inside their own boundary
Skip it if
- ×You need it running today with zero learning curve — start with Zapier
- ×The app you need has no n8n node and you won't touch an HTTP request
Questions operators ask
?Is self-hosted n8n really free?
The software is — you pay in infrastructure and attention. A $5–10/mo VPS runs most solo workloads. If that sentence made sense to you, self-host; if not, cloud Starter.
What changed
- Seeded from January 2026 baseline; cloud pricing pending fresh verification by the update loop.
Give n8n a job
The heavy-automation seat: complex, high-volume workflows and AI agent pipelines, self-hosted or cloud.
Try n8n →