Estimated reading time: 6 minutes · Prices last checked: 14 October 2026
Affiliate disclosure: this post contains affiliate links to RackNerd, marked “affiliate link”. If you sign up through one, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The prices and comparisons come from each provider’s own pages either way.
n8n is a workflow automation tool: it connects apps, moves data around and runs AI agents for you. You can pay n8n to host it, or run the free version on your own server. I do the second, so here’s what each option really costs in Australian dollars, and the costs that don’t show up on the price tag.
Short answer: n8n Cloud’s cheapest plan, Starter, costs €24 a month (about A$38.52) billed monthly, or €20 a month (about A$32.10) billed yearly, for 2,500 workflow runs a month. Self-hosting the free Community edition on a cheap server can cost under A$10 a month: my own server renews at about A$6.58 a month. The catch is that you become the IT department.
The prices side by side
n8n Cloud is priced in euros and the servers are priced in US dollars. AUD is converted at the Reserve Bank rates for 13 October 2026 (€1 = A$1.6049, US$1 = A$1.4366).
| Option | Price | About A$ per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n Cloud Starter, monthly | €24/month | A$38.52 | 2,500 workflow runs a month, hosted by n8n |
| n8n Cloud Starter, yearly | €20/month | A$32.10 | Same, paid yearly (n8n says you save 17%) |
| n8n Cloud Pro, monthly | €60/month | A$96.29 | 10,000 workflow runs a month, more projects and concurrent runs |
| n8n Cloud Pro, yearly | €50/month | A$80.24 | Same, paid yearly |
| RackNerd 2 GB VPS + free n8n – (affiliate link) | US$35.99/year | A$4.31 | 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 35 GB SSD. You install and run n8n yourself |
| RackNerd 4 GB VPS + free n8n – (affiliate link) | US$59.99/year | A$7.18 | 3 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 60 GB SSD. More room if you run other things too |
| Hostinger KVM 1 + free n8n | US$6.49/month, renewing at US$11.99 | A$9.32, then A$17.22 | 1 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 50 GB storage, n8n preinstalled. Paid upfront for the term |
| DigitalOcean 2 GB Droplet + free n8n | US$12/month | A$17.24 | 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, 50 GB SSD. Has a Sydney data centre |
On n8n Cloud, one “workflow run” (n8n calls it an execution) is a single run of a whole workflow, no matter how many steps it has. On your own server, n8n doesn’t charge per run at all: the limit is how much your server can handle.
What I actually pay
I self-host n8n on a RackNerd VPS with 5 GB of RAM, bought as a special deal in October 2025. The first year cost US$29.89, and it renews at US$54.99 a year, about A$79 a year or A$6.58 a month at today’s rate. The same server also runs this blog.
One real example of what it does: I use n8n to run Bob, a chat assistant that answers questions from ServiceNow documentation. It’s a RAG setup (retrieval-augmented generation), which means it looks up the relevant pages first and then calls an AI model answer from them. A heads-up if you build something similar: when a workflow calls a paid AI model, those calls are billed separately by the AI provider, per token, whichever way you host n8n. AI Token Pricing Explained covers what that costs.
For comparison, a year of n8n Cloud Starter paid yearly comes to about A$385. That’s nearly five years of my server. My exact deal isn’t on sale any more; the closest current plans are the 2 GB and 4 GB VPS specials (affiliate links).
One honest drawback: RackNerd has no Australian data centre. Its nearest is Singapore (RackNerd). That’s fine for automations that run in the background, but if your data has to stay in Australia, look at a host with a Sydney data centre, such as DigitalOcean.
The costs that don’t show up on the price tag
- Your time. You install n8n, keep it updated, keep the server patched and fix it when it breaks. If an hour of your time is worth more than a month of n8n Cloud, that changes the maths fast.
- Backups. On n8n Cloud, n8n looks after the hosting. On your own server, if the disk dies and you didn’t back up your workflows and credentials, they’re gone.
- Security. Your n8n holds logins and API keys for your other apps. A self-hosted server that’s left unpatched is a target.
- Currency and fees. n8n bills in euros and most cheap servers bill in US dollars, so your bank may add an international transaction fee. The Real Cost of AI in Australia explains how much that adds, and Does ChatGPT charge GST in Australia? covers GST on overseas subscriptions.
- Promo prices end. Hostinger’s n8n plans renew at nearly double the intro price. My own RackNerd deal jumped from US$29.89 to US$54.99 after the first year. Budget on the renewal price, not the headline.
What you give up by self-hosting
The free Community edition is the full workflow engine, and n8n says you can “stick with the free Community edition indefinitely”. What it leaves out are mostly team and enterprise features (n8n docs):
- projects, and sharing workflows and credentials with other users
- single sign-on (SSO), environments and Git version control
- custom variables, external secrets, log streaming and external storage for binary data
- multi-main mode, for running several n8n instances together
If you’re one person automating your own stuff, you probably won’t miss any of these. If a team needs to share workflows, n8n Cloud or a paid self-hosted licence starts to make sense.
Which should you choose?
- Pick n8n Cloud if you’ve never run a server, you want it working in ten minutes, or your workflows matter enough that someone else should be on call for them.
- Pick self-hosting if you’re comfortable with a Linux command line, you want unlimited workflow runs, or you’d rather pay under A$10 a month than A$32 or more.
- Need your data in Australia? Self-host on a provider with a Sydney data centre.
- Not sure? Start on n8n Cloud’s free trial (no credit card needed, according to n8n), learn the tool, then move to your own server if the bill starts to bite.
FAQ
Is self-hosted n8n free?
The software is. n8n calls the Community edition “the free edition”, and you can register it for a free licence key that unlocks a few extras. You still pay for the server it runs on.
How much is n8n Cloud in Australian dollars?
Starter is €24 a month billed monthly (about A$38.52) or €20 a month billed yearly (about A$32.10). Pro is €60 or €50 a month (about A$96.29 or A$80.24). n8n bills in euros, so the AUD amount moves with the exchange rate.
What counts as an execution on n8n Cloud?
One full run of a workflow, however many steps it has. Starter includes 2,500 a month and Pro includes 10,000.
How big a server do I need for n8n?
n8n’s hosting docs don’t list minimum server specs. My 5 GB server runs n8n and this blog together. If you plan to run local AI models on the same server, you’ll need a lot more.
Can I host n8n in Australia?
Yes, if you self-host on a provider with an Australian data centre. DigitalOcean has one in Sydney. RackNerd doesn’t, and Hostinger’s VPS page lists no Australian region.
Related guides on FNG
Written by Scott (Freaky Newguy), a Sydney-based IT worker. How I check prices.
Sources
- n8n Cloud prices, execution limits and free trial: n8n pricing, checked from an Australian connection on 12 and 14 October 2026
- Community edition features: n8n docs
- RackNerd 2 GB and 4 GB VPS prices: RackNerd order pages, checked 14 October 2026; data centres: RackNerd
- Hostinger n8n VPS plans: Hostinger; DigitalOcean Droplets: DigitalOcean
- First-hand: my own RackNerd client area (5 GB KVM VPS, first year US$29.89, renewing at US$54.99 a year)
- Exchange rates: Reserve Bank of Australia, 13 October 2026