n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform: you build processes visually out of nodes, and you can run the whole thing on your own infrastructure — data never has to leave your company. That last part is what sets n8n apart from Zapier and Make, and why companies automating processes on customer data keep choosing it.
What n8n is — a definition without the marketing
n8n (pronounced "n-eight-n", from "nodemation") connects applications and services into automated flows: something happens in system A (the trigger), and n8n executes a series of steps across systems B, C and D. Flows are built on a visual canvas out of nodes — each node is one operation: fetch an email, call an API, transform data, write to a spreadsheet, send a notification. When the ready-made integrations run out, the Code node lets you drop in your own JavaScript or Python — an escape hatch that classic no-code tools either lack or offer in a stripped-down form.
What companies actually use n8n for
- Request handling — collecting emails/forms, classification (increasingly via an AI node), ticket creation, notifying the right person.
- Data synchronisation — store orders into accounting, form leads into the CRM, reports into spreadsheets.
- Workflows with an AI agent — n8n ships dedicated AI Agent nodes (model + tools + memory) for building agents that operate within defined process boundaries. This is the use we care about most — boundaries and human handover are covered in What is an agentic workflow.
- Internal tooling — recurring reports, mailbox and website monitoring, alerts.
What n8n costs — cloud vs self-hosted
| Option | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted (Community) | licence free + a server (small VPS: a few dollars/month) | companies with someone technical on board; data stays with you |
| n8n Cloud | from €20/month billed annually (Starter, 2.5K workflow executions/month) | starting without your own server; maintenance is n8n's problem |
| Enterprise | custom pricing | SSO, audit logs, environments, SLA support |
A licensing note few write about: the Community edition ships under a "sustainable use" licence — free for automating your own company's processes, but you may not resell n8n as your own SaaS. Irrelevant for a typical SMB; very relevant for a software house building a product on top of it.
n8n vs Zapier vs Make
| n8n | Zapier | Make | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosting | yes (open source) | no | no |
| Barrier to entry | higher (technical concepts, JSON) | lowest | medium |
| Complex flows (loops, branches, code) | strongest | limited | good |
| Cost at scale | lowest (self-host: flat server cost) | grows fast with task volume | in between |
| AI nodes / agents | built in (AI Agent, memory, tools) | basic | basic |
When n8n is NOT the right choice
Honestly: n8n is not the answer to everything. We advise against it when: (1) nobody in the company wants to touch anything technical — self-hosting means updates, backups and Docker basics, and without that Zapier or the Cloud plan will serve you better; (2) all you need is two or three simple "form → spreadsheet" connections — running your own platform is overkill; (3) the process demands guaranteed response times and formal support, and the budget does not stretch to Enterprise. You pick the tool to fit the process — never the other way round. How to define process boundaries before choosing a tool is covered in our piece on designing an agent workflow for ticket handling.
Self-hosting security in four points
If you host n8n yourself, minimum hygiene looks like this: the instance behind HTTPS and authentication (never open to the internet), regular updates (security patches ship often), secrets in environment variables rather than inside workflows, and backups of the database holding your flows and credentials. That is fifteen minutes of setup separating "our data stays with us" from "our data leaked through an open panel".
Frequently asked questions
Is n8n free? Self-hosted: yes, you only pay for the server. Cloud: from €20/month (Starter, billed annually). The Community licence does not allow reselling n8n as a service.
Do you need to code? Not for simple flows — understanding concepts like APIs and JSON is enough. For flows with an AI agent and unusual integrations, someone technical helps, at least at the design stage.
Can you build AI agents in n8n? Yes — it is one of its strongest suits, with built-in AI Agent nodes, memory and tools. The key is boundary design: what the agent decides alone versus what goes to a human — exactly what we describe as an agentic workflow.
Want to see a concrete agent built in n8n — step by step, with API costs and a human handover point? Read An AI agent in n8n — how to build one step by step.