When you choose to self-host n8n, you gain ultimate control over your automation environment. The core of the self-hosted experience, the Community Edition, is famously generous, offering unlimited workflows, unlimited executions, and access to all core nodes at no cost. The primary differences emerge when you compare this to the Enterprise Edition, which unlocks a suite of advanced n8n self-hosted features designed for team collaboration, enhanced security, scalability, and a professional development lifecycle. Choosing between them depends entirely on your operational needs, team size, and compliance requirements.
Why Self-Host n8n in the First Place?
Before we dive into the n8n self-hosted features, you might be asking, “Why not just use the cloud version?” It’s a great question. Think of it like renting an apartment versus owning a house. The cloud version is a fantastic, fully-managed apartment—it’s quick to set up and you don’t have to worry about maintenance. Self-hosting is like owning your own house. It requires more setup and responsibility, but you have complete control over everything.
From my experience, teams choose to self-host for a few key reasons:
- Data Sovereignty: You control where your data lives. For industries with strict compliance like healthcare or finance, this isn’t just a preference; it’s a requirement.
- Cost at Scale: While there are server costs, you’re not paying per execution. If you run millions of small workflows, self-hosting can become incredibly cost-effective.
- Total Customization: You control the environment, from the underlying hardware to custom configurations and even installing community nodes that aren’t available on the cloud.
Now, let’s be honest about this: self-hosting isn’t for everyone. It requires technical know-how in server management, Docker or npm, and security practices. But if you have the skills (or the team), the power you unlock is immense.
The Heart of n8n: The Unlimited Community Edition
This is where n8n truly shines and builds its massive community following. With the free, self-hosted Community Edition, you get the keys to the kingdom when it comes to the core automation engine. What does “unlimited” really mean?
- Unlimited Active Workflows: Build and activate as many automation workflows as you can dream up. There are no artificial caps.
- Unlimited Executions: Run those workflows as many times as you need. Whether it’s ten times a day or ten thousand, n8n doesn’t charge you for it.
- Unlimited Steps: Your workflows can be as simple or as mind-bogglingly complex as necessary. A 3-step workflow and a 300-step workflow are treated the same.
So, you can connect to any of the 500+ integrations, write custom code in JavaScript or Python, and build powerful automations all day long. So what’s the catch? Well, it’s less of a catch and more of a fork in the road. The limitations appear when you need to manage automation as a professional team, which is where the Enterprise features come in.
Leveling Up: Key n8n Self-Hosted Features in Enterprise
The Enterprise edition builds on the solid foundation of the Community edition by adding features crucial for businesses that rely on automation for mission-critical processes. It’s about governance, security, and scale.
Here’s a quick comparison of what you get:
| Feature | Self-Hosted Community | Self-Hosted Enterprise | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Workflows & Triggers | Unlimited | Unlimited | The core engine is powerful in both versions. |
| User & Access Management | Basic (Single User) | Advanced RBAC | Control who can create, edit, view, and execute workflows across different teams. |
| Single Sign-On (SSO) | No | SAML & LDAP | Integrate with your company’s identity provider (like Okta) for secure, easy access. |
| Environments & Source Control | No | Yes (Git-based) | Promote workflows from development to staging to production safely. |
| External Secrets Management | No | Yes | Store sensitive credentials in an external vault (e.g., HashiCorp Vault) for top-tier security. |
| Advanced Scaling | Manual | Built-in Queue Mode | Handle massive execution loads by distributing work across multiple workers. |
| Log Streaming | No | Yes | Stream execution logs to monitoring services like Datadog or Splunk for observability. |
| Dedicated Support | Community Forum | Yes, with SLAs | Get expert help when you need it most, with guaranteed response times. |
A Real-World Example: Self-Hosting for a Growing E-Commerce Company
Imagine a small e-commerce startup. They begin by self-hosting the n8n Community Edition on a single server. It’s perfect. They automate order processing from Shopify, sync customer data to their CRM, and send Slack notifications for new sales. The unlimited workflows are a lifesaver.
As they grow, things change:
- Team Expansion: They hire more developers. They can’t all share one admin login. They need to upgrade to Enterprise for Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to give developers access to specific projects without letting them touch the critical production payment workflows.
- Compliance: They start handling more sensitive customer data and their security audit requires that API keys are not stored within the automation platform itself. Enterprise’s External Secrets Management feature lets them integrate with their secure vault, satisfying compliance.
- Stability: A developer accidentally pushed a broken workflow to production, causing a 30-minute outage during a flash sale. They realize they need a proper development lifecycle. With Enterprise, they implement Source Control and Environments. Now, all changes are made in a
devbranch, tested in astagingenvironment, and only then merged to theproductionenvironment. Disaster averted.
This journey is a classic example of how the n8n self-hosted features scale with a business’s maturity and complexity.
Making the Right Choice for You
Deciding between Community and Enterprise on a self-hosted platform comes down to your operational context.
- Choose the Community Edition if: You’re a solo developer, a tinkerer, a small business, or a team where everyone is a trusted admin. Your primary goal is to build powerful automations without needing complex governance.
- Choose the Enterprise Edition if: You’re part of a larger team, operate in a regulated industry, require a structured dev-to-prod workflow, or run automations at a scale where performance and observability are non-negotiable.
Ultimately, the beauty of n8n’s model is that you can start with the incredibly capable Community version and grow into the Enterprise features when the need arises, all while maintaining full control over your infrastructure.
