n8n Freemium
Fair-code workflow automation with AI agent nodes, self-hosted or in the cloud
What n8n makes and what you get
- ✓ Model choice
- – Commercial use
- – No watermark (free)
- ✓ API
- ✓ Official MCP server
- ✓ MCP client
- – Agent Skills
- – Brand kit
- ✓ Teams
- – Content Credentials
- – Mobile app
- – 20+ languages
Features and rights come from n8n's own pricing and terms pages; check them before you publish commercially. Compare commercial use and watermarks across apps.
AI models inside n8n
Models you can pick when you generate in n8n, from the vendor's documentation. Compare every app on the model map.
Whisper large-v3-turboUse n8n from your AI assistant
n8n publishes an MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP clients can use it directly. More MCP servers for Claude.
n8n MCP Server (instance-level) 🔌 MCP serverFreemium
n8n's built-in MCP access to search, run and build workflows on your own instance
What is n8n?
What it is
n8n is a workflow automation platform from n8n GmbH (Berlin). You connect triggers, app integrations, code steps and AI agent nodes on a canvas to automate tasks such as drafting blog posts from an RSS feed, repurposing a video transcript into social posts, or routing content through an approval step. The source is on GitHub (n8n-io/n8n) under the Sustainable Use License, a fair-code licence: free to self-host for internal use, but not open source in the OSI sense. n8n Cloud is the hosted version.
Key features
- Visual editor with 400+ integrations plus HTTP and code (JavaScript/Python) nodes for anything missing
- AI Agent, chat model, memory, vector store and tool nodes built on LangChain
- MCP support: MCP client tool node and an MCP server trigger to expose workflows to agents
- Large public template gallery, including content and social-media automations
- Self-host with Docker for full data control; Cloud hosted in Frankfurt
- Billing per full workflow execution, not per step
Models inside
n8n does not ship its own model. Its AI nodes call providers you connect with your own API key, including OpenAI (GPT, GPT Image, Whisper), Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek, xAI Grok, and local models through Ollama (for example Llama and Qwen). Cloud Starter and Pro plans include a monthly allowance of n8n AI credits for the built-in AI assistant.
Pricing and rights
The self-hosted Community Edition is free. n8n Cloud prices on the pricing page were shown in euros when checked: Starter €20/month and Pro €50/month billed annually (2,500 and 10,000 executions), Business €667/month (self-hosted, 40,000 executions), Enterprise on request; annual billing saves about 17%, and Starter/Pro have a free trial without a card. USD prices were not shown, so price_from is left empty. Content you generate belongs to you under the AI provider's terms; there is no watermark because n8n produces no media itself.
Who it is for
Technical marketers, agencies and developers who want to automate content pipelines with AI steps and are comfortable with some JSON and API keys, especially those who need self-hosting.
Verdict
n8n is a strong, flexible choice for AI content automation with an unusually generous self-hosted option. It is less beginner-friendly than Zapier, and the fair-code licence restricts reselling it as a hosted service.
Source code: n8n-io/n8n ★ 206k · Sustainable Use License (fair-code) · updated 2026-09-25
Pros
- Free self-hosted edition with unlimited workflows
- Deep AI agent tooling (LangChain nodes, memory, vector stores, MCP)
- Priced per execution, so long multi-step workflows stay affordable
- Large template library and active community
Cons
- Sustainable Use License is fair-code, not OSI open source
- Steeper learning curve than Zapier or Make
- Cloud prices shown in EUR only; Business tier jumps to €667/month
- Self-hosting means you own updates, backups and security
n8n pricing
Freemium. Prices and credit allowances change often, so confirm on the official pricing page. See every AI content app's pricing side by side.
n8n alternatives
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Zapier Freemium
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InvokeAI Open source
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Compare n8n
Verdict
n8n scores 8.6/10 in our workflow builders & open studios ranking. Free self-hosted edition with unlimited workflows.