n8n

Open-source workflow automation that recruiting and GTM stacks already glue to everything else.

From €20/mo Free tier Free trial

Ask AI about n8n: ChatGPT (opens in a new tab) Claude (opens in a new tab) Grok (opens in a new tab)

Bottom line

Workflow automation you can self-host free or run on n8n Cloud. Cloud Starter is €20/mo billed annually; n8n publishes prices in euros.

Stands out for: Billing counts full workflow executions, not individual steps, and the Community edition is free to self-host.

Watch out for: Cloud prices are published in euros only. The Cloud trial is capped at 1,000 executions, and unused AI Assistant credits do not roll over.

Overview

n8n is a workflow automation and AI agent platform for technical teams. You build workflows from nodes that connect apps, run code and call APIs, then run them on n8n Cloud or on your own servers. The Community edition is free to self-host. Paid plans add shared projects, higher concurrency, insights, SSO, environments and Git-based version control, and Enterprise adds log streaming and dedicated support.

Teams pick n8n when they want to own the runtime or pay per full workflow run instead of per step. Cloud Starter is €20/mo billed annually for 2,500 executions and 2,300 AI Assistant credits. Pro is €50/mo annually for 10,000 executions. Business is €667/mo annually, self-hosted, for 40,000 executions, and Enterprise is quoted. The Cloud trial needs no card; the 14-day Business trial does.

Who it's for

Best for

Technical teams that want to self-host for free
Builders who prefer per-execution billing
Teams that want to drive workflows from Claude via MCP
Companies under 100 staff looking at Business

Not ideal for

Buyers who need a USD Cloud price
Non-technical users who will not work with nodes

Key features

Workflows. Self-hostable automation between finders, ATS, and sequencers.

MCP. First-party server on your instance so an agent can inspect and run flows.

AI features

What the AI does	Plan
AI Assistant credits on Cloud Starter and Pro	Starter
MCP server to build and run workflows from AI clients	Included

Only features named in the vendor's own documentation. Anything sold separately is marked as an add-on.

MCP server

First-party MCP confirmed; vendor has not published a public endpoint URL.

All tools with MCP Check your stack in the MCP readiness checker

Pricing

Starting price €20/mo

Free tier ✓

Free trial ✓

Plan	Price	What you get
Community	€0	Free to self-host
Cloud Starter	€20/mo	Billed annually
Cloud Pro	€50/mo	Billed annually
Business	€667/mo	Billed annually, self-hosted

Cloud Starter is €20/mo and Pro €50/mo, both billed annually (about 17% more month to month). Business is €667/mo billed annually and runs self-hosted. The Community edition is free to self-host, and Enterprise is quoted. n8n publishes these prices in euros. Confirm current terms on the vendor site.

Checked 19 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.

See current pricing on n8n (opens in a new tab)

Is n8n expensive?

n8n starts at €20/mo. We list 196 lead generation tools in total. 49 have a free tier, and those with a public price typically start around $49 a month.

30 quote-based
49 free tier
151 public price

Worked out automatically from every lead generation listing, so it updates as the directory changes.

Pros and cons

Pros

Free self-hosted Community edition
Billed per execution, not per step
MCP server and public API

Cons

Cloud prices published in euros only
Cloud trial capped at 1,000 executions
Unused AI credits do not roll over

How n8n compares

See all n8n alternatives, with what each one does differently and a head to head for every pairing.

Tool	Free tier	From	MCP	API	Compare
n8n (this tool)	✓	€20/mo	✓	✓
Zapier USD task-based cloud automation if you do not want to self-host.	✓	$19.99/mo	✓	✓	Compare
Cargo GTM-specific orchestration if the workflows are enrichment plays.	✓	$165/mo	✓	✓	Compare
Apify Actor store if scraping is the job, not general workflow nodes.	✓	$19/mo	✓	✓	Compare
HubSpot Native HubSpot workflows if your CRM already automates the stack.	✓	$20/seat/mo	✓	✓	Compare

Zapier

$19.99/mo Free tier MCP API

USD task-based cloud automation if you do not want to self-host.

View listing Compare with n8n

Cargo

$165/mo Free tier MCP API

GTM-specific orchestration if the workflows are enrichment plays.

View listing Compare with n8n

Apify

$19/mo Free tier MCP API

Actor store if scraping is the job, not general workflow nodes.

View listing Compare with n8n

HubSpot

$20/seat/mo Free tier MCP API

Native HubSpot workflows if your CRM already automates the stack.

View listing Compare with n8n

Frequently asked questions

What is n8n?

Open-source workflow automation that recruiting and GTM stacks already glue to everything else. n8n is the self-hostable automation layer. n8n is listed under Lead generation and Sourcing in the Work Insiders directory.

Is n8n free?

Partly. n8n has a free tier with paid plans above it. See all free recruiting tools. See free Lead generation.

Does n8n have an MCP server or API?

Yes. n8n has a first-party MCP server and a public API.

What are alternatives to n8n?

n8n alternatives worth comparing are Zapier, Cargo, Apify and HubSpot. The comparison table above shows free tier, starting price, MCP and API side by side.