TL;DR

n8n's 2025 pricing update introduces unlimited workflows and users across all plans while shifting to execution-based billing and launching a new self-hosted Business plan. High-volume business users may face rising self-hosting costs due to per-execution fees, while the **Community Edition remains free** with unlimited executions. Zeabur's optimized container deployment makes both Community and Business editions more cost-effective through right-sized infrastructure and autoscaling without compromising production reliability.

What changed in n8n pricing

n8n eliminated active workflow limits on all plans and introduced a self-hosted Business plan featuring Git workflows, environment management, SSO authentication, and queue-mode scaling. The Enterprise plan now uses execution-scaled pricing instead of workflow-based fees, while the Community Edition remains unchanged for self-hosters. Cloud Starter and Pro tiers price by monthly workflow executions with 14-day trials, shifting the cost model from per-step tasks to complete workflow runs

Key terms explained from the latest n8n official release:

• SSO (Single Sign-On): Employees log in once with company credentials to access multiple apps seamlessly
• LDAP: System managing user accounts and permissions across company networks
• Git workflows: Version control enabling teams to track changes and collaborate on automations
• Queue-mode scaling: Automatically handles multiple concurrent workflows without performance degradation
• Governance/SOC needs: Company requirements for security audits, compliance, and administrative controls

Why this raise self‑hosting costs

Execution billing aligns pricing with value but penalizes high-frequency automations. Self-hosters previously covering only infrastructure costs now face per-execution fees under the Business plan, with community reports estimating five-figure monthly bills approaching 1M executions. This contrasts sharply with the Community Edition's unlimited execution model.

For teams scaling AI agents, chat triggers, and event pipelines introduced in 2025 n8n releases, execution counts can spike unexpectedly, increasing total cost of ownership (TCO) unless architecture and hosting are optimized for efficiency. You can tell from the latest n8n forum post on how users react to this update.

Who should stay on Community vs upgrade to Business

Community Edition works best for indie developers and technical teams needing unlimited automated workflows without usage restrictions, comfortable with community support and self-managed technical setup.

Business plan suits growing companies requiring professional features like team access controls, single sign-on authentication, and Git integration for collaborative automation development.

Enterprise serves large organizations with strict security requirements and guaranteed support response times. The decision hinges on whether advanced team management features justify per-execution costs versus unlimited free usage with self-managed support.

Estimate Your n8n Cost: Execution Pricing vs Infrastructure

Business/Enterprise Plans: Execution-Based Dynamic Pricing

n8n's Business plan charges €4,000 for every 300,000 additional executions beyond base allocation, translating to approximately €0.0133 per execution or $0.015 per execution.

Execution Cost Examples:

• 100,000 monthly executions: ~$1,500/month
• 500,000 monthly executions: ~$7,500/month
• 1,000,000 monthly executions: ~$15,000/month

What Counts as an Execution:

• One complete workflow run from trigger to finish
• Regardless of workflow complexity, steps, or processing time
• Failed workflows still count as executions

Community Edition: Self-Hosted Infrastructure Costs

Running n8n Community Edition involves these infrastructure components:

Core Server Requirements:

• CPU: 2-4 vCPU cores: $5-15/month
• Memory: 8-16GB RAM: $15-30/month
• Storage: 100-200GB SSD: $5-15/month
• Total Base Server: $25-60/month

Additional Infrastructure Costs:

• Database (Postgres): $10-25/month managed service
• Redis (for queue mode): $5-15/month
• Backups & monitoring: $5-10/month
• SSL certificates: $0-10/month
• Network egress: $2-20/month (varies by traffic)

Total Monthly Infrastructure Cost: $50-150/month for unlimited executions, excluding technical staff maintenance costs or managed hosting platform fees.

How Zeabur minimizes n8n hosting costs

Zeabur offers multiple deployment paths to keep n8n costs low while maintaining production reliability.

Free Plan

Start with the free plan to experiment with n8n workflows—perfect for testing automation triggers and lightweight workflows without any upfront cost. Zeabur is the perfect sandbox for you!

5 USD Dev Plan

Once you are sure about the workflows, upgrade to the $5 Developer Plan, which includes a $5 monthly usage credit, meaning you only pay extra if resource consumption exceeds that threshold.

Typical monthly costs range from $5-20 for most n8n deployments on Zeabur (yeah it’s an insider tip as I work here and check projects on day-to-day basis), making it significantly more economical than n8n's Business plan execution pricing or traditional VPS providers like Hostinger. Zeabur's pay-as-you-go model charges only for actual CPU, memory, and storage used, with automatic scaling that reduces idle costs during low-activity periods.

Optimize with your own server

For technical teams seeking maximum cost flexibility, Zeabur supports three infrastructure approaches: shared clusters (easiest), bring-your-own-server (BYOS) where you register existing cloud instances, or discounted dedicated servers purchased through Zeabur's partnerships with major cloud providers. This flexibility lets you optimize for either simplicity or cost depending on your team's technical capabilities and budget constraints.

Practical deployment blueprint on Zeabur

Getting Started with Free Plan:

• AI Agent Deployment: Simply ask Zeabur's agent to deploy n8n directly through natural language commands

• Template Gallery: Browse n8n templates maintained by Zeabur and community contributors

• One-Click Deploy: Click "Deploy" and grab coffee—your n8n instance will be ready when you return

Directly Trying out our $5 Dev Plan:

If you have existing workflows, or are sure with the workflows you need, I would suggest you directly migrating your existing workflow data into the n8n project you’ve just created on Zeabur. Should you encounter any issues during the migration, feel free to reach out to us via our Discord channel, simply create a ticket in help centre and the team will get back to you timely.

With Zeabur’s Dev Plan, you can choose between multiple shared clusters, deploying the service to nearby city that enhance the service efficiency. You can also choose across different service providers that suites your business need.

Advanced Infrastructure Options:

If you are planning to use your own server, whether to bind your current one, or purchase a new one with us, here’s the dedicated server guide for you.

Build your FREE n8n Workflow now!

Try out our free plan and just play around with it, Zeabur is definitely the best sandbox for builder to try things out. Feel free to use my referral code if you are planning to use Dev plan directly, this way you get an additional 5 USD credit, which is equivalent to another month subscription!