Self-hosted n8n vs n8n Cloud: how to choose

What the two options mean

n8n Cloud is the hosted service run by n8n GmbH: you sign up, and n8n operates the infrastructure. Self-hosted n8n means you, or a partner you hire, run n8n on a server you control. Both use the same workflow concepts, so the choice is mostly about operations and data, not about what workflows you can design.

Who is responsible for what

With n8n Cloud

• n8n runs the servers, updates, and platform availability
• You build and maintain the workflows and their credentials
• Usage limits and features follow the plan you choose

With self-hosted n8n

• You choose the server, region, and database
• You handle updates, backups, HTTPS, and access control
• You keep the encryption key that protects stored credentials
• You decide how to scale as volume grows

Data control and residency

With self-hosting, workflow executions and stored data stay on infrastructure you choose. That matters if you process customer records, internal finance data, or anything a client contract says must not leave your environment. n8n states that n8n Cloud stores data in the EU, on servers in Frankfurt, Germany. If your data must stay in a particular country or with a particular provider, self-hosting is the way to choose that.

Scaling

For most small and mid-sized businesses, a single well-configured instance handles the load comfortably. When volume grows, self-hosted n8n can run in queue mode, where separate worker processes pick up executions. Queue mode is available in the free Community Edition but needs Redis and PostgreSQL, which adds components to maintain. Running several main instances for high availability is an Enterprise feature. On n8n Cloud, scaling is tied to your plan.

Licensing and features

n8n is distributed under its Sustainable Use License, a fair-code licence rather than an OSI open-source one. It allows self-hosting for your own internal business purposes. The free self-hosted Community Edition covers most of the product; features such as single sign-on, projects, environments, Git-based version control, external secrets, and log streaming need a paid Business or Enterprise licence key. n8n’s paid plans, cloud and self-hosted, are priced by workflow executions. Licence terms and plan contents change, so read n8n’s current documentation rather than relying on any summary, including this one.

A short decision guide

• Choose n8n Cloud if nobody can own a server and your data has no residency constraint
• Choose self-hosted if data must stay on your infrastructure, or you need full control of the runtime
• Choose self-hosted with a managed partner if you need that control but do not want to operate the server yourself

Veyrox handles the setup, deployment, and ongoing maintenance of your n8n workflows, and where they run is agreed during scoping; see managed n8n automation. What running n8n in production involves for your own team is covered in the week-one and month-six checklist. If you have not settled on n8n yet, compare it in n8n vs Zapier.