Visual automation platform (self-hostable)
n8n
Bills per workflow execution rather than per step. We tested the Cloud free trial; we have never got the self-hosted edition running.
Have we tested this?
We tested it Yes. See the workflow pages for run logs. n8n Cloud free trial, tested 2026-09-22. Three scenarios against our own synthetic endpoint. 7 of 1,000 trial executions used.
How it bills you
Billing unit: Workflow executions on Cloud — NOT per step. Self-hosted Community is unmetered.
Billing units are not interchangeable between platforms. A “credit”, a “task” and an “execution” measure different things, and comparing the headline prices without comparing the units is how people get surprised.
Free tier: Cloud is a time-limited free trial, not a permanent free tier. Community edition is free to self-host.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| Community (self-hosted) | $0 in licence — your time and server are the cost (as of 2026-09-22) | — |
| Cloud trial | $0 — shown in-product as 1,000 executions over 14 days (as of 2026-09-22) | — |
| Cloud paid | See vendor pricing page — not reproduced here without a dated check (as of 2026-09-22) | — |
What we can say in its favour
We tested itIn our tested workflows a 1-line order and a 10-line order each consumed exactly 1 execution. The count did not scale with line items.
We tested itA 7-node workflow and a 2-node workflow also each cost 1 execution, so node count did not affect the billed unit either.
We tested itIn this specific test, n8n exposed the most debugging detail of the three platforms: the failing node highlighted, downstream nodes visibly skipped, the exact failing input item shown beside the output, our destination's own error message surfaced, and a 'Debug in editor' replay.
We tested itOur 10-line fan-out wrote 10 rows with correct, distinct per-line values and produced exactly one summary notification.
Limitations
DocumentedCloud is a trial, not a free tier. When it expires the hosted option costs money — the genuinely free route is self-hosting. (n8n, accessed 2026-09-22)
⚠ We could not verify thisWe have NOT run the self-hosted Community edition. An install attempt in an earlier round exhausted the available disk space and was abandoned. Every figure here comes from the Cloud trial only.
We tested itIn our tested 10-line workflow n8n issued the line-item writes concurrently and they arrived at the destination out of order. If row order matters, the workflow has to enforce it.
We tested itUnder a total destination outage it attempted all 10 items, wrote nothing, and still consumed 1 execution — the same as a success. No automatic re-execution occurred in a verified 10 minute 56 second window.
We tested itNo alert reached anyone by default. Per-node retry is off by default and we did not enable it, so retry behaviour is untested.
⚠ We could not verify thisSelf-hosting means you own uptime, updates, backups and security. We have not done this, so we cannot tell you what it takes.
Who should not do this
Anyone who wants a permanently free hosted option — that does not exist here. Anyone unwilling to maintain a server if they take the self-hosted route. And anyone who needs destination writes to land in order without building that guarantee themselves.
What we earn if you use this
Nothing today. We have not applied to n8n Cloud's affiliate programme and we are not approved. No link on this page is an affiliate link.
For the record, its published rate is 30%, 12 months, paid through PartnerStack. Terms last verified 2026-09-24. Source. We are publishing that now, before applying, so you can judge whether it coloured what we wrote.
n8n bills in Workflow executions on Cloud — NOT per step. Self-hosted Community is unmetered.. Prices above were checked on 2026-09-22. How this unit compares with the other platforms — the three units do not convert.
Free ways to do this first, and the Decision Sheet for working out whether the task is worth automating at all.