n8n
Automation you can run on your own server, so the data never leaves
n8n.io Paid Checked 30 August 2026
- Price
- From €20 per month
- Not priced in pounds
- Trains on your data
- No
- Where data is processed
- Not published
- Data processing agreement
- Not published
- Setup
- Longer
- Skill needed
- Technical
What is n8n?
Workflow automation with a self-hostable edition, which is the only option here that lets a business keep automated data entirely on infrastructure it controls. Popular with technical teams building AI agents rather than simple app-to-app links.
For a business whose data-protection position rules out sending customer records through an American automation platform, this is the tool that solves the problem rather than documenting it.
Two things to be honest about. “Free” means free to licence, not free to operate — you need a server, updates and someone who notices when it stops. And the licence is fair-code, not open source, which is a real distinction if you plan to build a commercial product on top of it.
What does n8n cost in the UK?
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Community (self-hosted) | Free to licence | Runs on your own server. Free to licence, not free to operate. |
| Cloud Starter | €20/month billed annually | 2,500 workflow executions, unlimited users and workflows. |
| Cloud Pro | €50/month billed annually | 10,000 executions. |
| Cloud Business | €667/month billed annually | 40,000 executions. |
What to watch on the price
Cloud Starter is €20 a month billed annually for 2,500 executions; Pro €50; Business €667. Priced by workflow executions rather than steps, which is cheaper than per-task pricing for complex flows. Read 29 August 2026.
Does n8n train AI models on your data?
No
n8n states: "We do not use personal data processed in connection with the Website or Services, including data from third-party services or integrations, to train n8n or third party machine learning (ML) models." One of the plainest answers in this directory, and it applies on top of the self-hosting option. Read on 30 August 2026.
The rest of the data position
- Where data is processed: Not published
- Data processing agreement: Not published
What do people use n8n for?
- Automate workflows involving data that cannot go to a third-party cloud
- Build multi-step AI agents with your own model keys
- Replace several paid automation subscriptions with one server
What does n8n connect to?
- HTTP/REST
- Postgres
- Slack
- Google Sheets
- OpenAI
- Airtable
Where does n8n fall short?
- The cloud plans have no free tier, only a trial — the free route is self-hosting, which needs a server and someone to run it
- Licensed as "fair-code", which is source-available rather than open source; check the licence before commercial use
- Genuinely technical: this is not a tool for a non-developer
Who is n8n for?
A good fit for
- Technical teams
- Businesses with data residency requirements
- AI agent builders
Not for
- Businesses without someone who can run and patch a server — self-hosting is the only free route
- Anyone building a commercial product on top of it without reading the fair-code licence first
The Torus verdict on n8n
The answer when the data cannot leave your control. Self-hosting is free to licence and not free to run — budget for the server and the person who maintains it.
What are the alternatives to n8n?
Others in automation, with what each one is for.