Understanding n8n’s terms and conditions boils down to one key concept: its Sustainable Use License. This is a “fair-code” license, meaning the source code is openly available and free for most personal and internal business purposes. However, it restricts you from selling a product or service where the primary value comes directly from n8n’s functionality, such as white-labeling the platform. For commercial embedding or resale, n8n offers a separate Enterprise License. This approach allows n8n to remain free and powerful for the vast majority of users while building a sustainable business.
Let’s Be Honest: Legal Jargon is a Headache
If you’re anything like me, the moment you see a link to “Terms and Conditions,” your eyes glaze over. It’s a wall of text designed by lawyers, for lawyers. But when you’re building business-critical automations or even just a cool personal project with a tool as powerful as n8n, it’s genuinely important to know the rules of the road.
So, think of this article not as legal advice (I’m an automation expert, not an attorney!), but as a friendly translation from a fellow n8n user. We’re going to break down what you can actually do with n8n, what’s off-limits, and why n8n chose this unique path. We’ll be focusing primarily on the license that governs the product itself, but we’ll also touch on the rules for the community forum.
The Core of n8n’s Licensing: Fair-Code Explained
At the heart of the n8n terms and conditions is their custom-built Sustainable Use License. It’s based on a model they call “fair-code.” So, what on earth is that?
Think of it like a community garden. The garden is open for everyone to use. You can go in, plant your own seeds, and harvest vegetables for all your family’s meals, completely free of charge. You can even help other people in the community with their gardening plots. However, you can’t just harvest a truckload of the garden’s tomatoes, set up a stall on the corner, and start selling them to the public. That’s taking the community’s resource and selling it directly. To do that, you’d need a special commercial agreement with the garden’s owners.
That’s fair-code in a nutshell. It’s designed to be incredibly generous while protecting the project from being exploited by large companies who might otherwise just re-sell it without contributing back.
The Sustainable Use License allows you to use, modify, and redistribute the software freely, with three main limitations:
- Usage is for internal purposes: You can use it for your own business operations, personal projects, or non-commercial work.
- Distribution must be free: You can share it with others, but you can’t charge for it.
- Don’t remove the branding: You can’t alter or obscure any of n8n’s copyright or licensing notices.
So, What Can You Actually Do? (Real-World Examples)
This is where the rubber meets the road. Abstract rules are one thing, but how do they apply to your workflows? Let’s break it down into clear do’s and don’ts.
You’re in the Clear! (Allowed Uses)
For 99% of users, your activities will fall squarely in this camp. You are absolutely allowed to:
- Automate your business: Syncing your HubSpot CRM data to an internal Postgres database? Go for it. Automatically creating Jira tickets from customer support emails? Perfect. This is the primary use case.
- Build personal projects: Creating a bot to notify you when your favorite band releases a new album? Have fun!
- Offer consulting services: This is a big one! You can charge clients for your time and expertise in building n8n workflows for them. The license restriction is on selling the software, not your services.
- Create and share nodes: Building a custom node for an unsupported API and sharing it with the community is highly encouraged.
Hold Your Horses! (Restricted Uses)
The main restriction is on making money by directly selling n8n’s functionality. This includes:
- White-labeling: You can’t take n8n, slap your own logo on it, and sell it as “Your Awesome Automation Platform.”
- Hosting for a fee: Setting up a server with n8n and charging users a monthly subscription to access it is not allowed under the Sustainable Use License.
Now, here’s where it gets interesting and a little nuanced: using n8n as a back-end for your own application.
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Scenario 1 (Not Allowed): You build a SaaS app called “SyncMaster.” Your users sign up and provide their Salesforce and Mailchimp API keys. Behind the scenes, SyncMaster uses an n8n instance to perform the data sync. This is a no-go because you’re reselling n8n’s core capability (connecting services with user credentials) as a paid feature.
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Scenario 2 (Allowed): You build a SaaS app called “ReportBot.” A feature of your app allows users to get an AI-powered summary of a URL they provide. Behind the scenes, an n8n workflow uses your company’s OpenAI API key to process the request and return the summary. This is perfectly fine because the end-user isn’t providing credentials for the automation; they’re just interacting with a feature powered by n8n.
Usage Rights at a Glance
| Use Case | Allowed under Sustainable Use License? | The Bottom Line |
|---|---|---|
| Automating your own company’s internal tasks | Yes | This is the bread-and-butter use case. |
| Providing paid consulting to build n8n workflows for a client | Yes | You’re selling your expertise, not the n8n software itself. |
| Building an n8n-powered feature in your app using your own API keys | Yes | The end-user isn’t directly using n8n with their credentials. |
| Hosting n8n and charging people a subscription to access it | No | This is considered direct resale. For this, you need an Enterprise license. |
| Embedding n8n in your SaaS product for your customers to build workflows | No | This is the primary use case for n8n’s commercial Embed license. |
What If You Need More? Enter the n8n Enterprise License
What if your use case falls into the “No” column? Don’t worry, n8n has a path for you. For scenarios like embedding n8n into your own SaaS product (what n8n calls “n8n Embed”), you can sign a separate commercial agreement. This proprietary license gives you the legal right to do what is otherwise restricted, making it a powerful way for other software companies to add automation capabilities to their products.
A Quick Word on Security and the Community Forum
Beyond the usage license, it’s worth knowing that n8n is serious about security, boasting SOC 2 compliance. When you use n8n Cloud, they manage the security and infrastructure. If you self-host, that responsibility falls to you—you must handle things like data encryption and secure access.
Finally, remember that the n8n community forum has its own, separate Terms of Service. It’s standard stuff—be respectful, don’t spam, and don’t impersonate others—but it’s good to know it exists as a distinct set of rules for interacting with the amazing n8n community.
Ultimately, n8n’s terms are designed to foster a healthy ecosystem. They empower individual users and consultants while ensuring the project can thrive financially. If you’re ever in doubt, the best course of action is to simply ask by emailing license@n8n.io.
