Service conditions
What is n8n — Cloud, self-hosted or neither?
n8n combines visual workflows with code, API work and a self-hosting option. That is flexibility, which is another word for decisions you now own.
Choose it for a defined technical requirement, not because self-hosting sounds virtuous in a meeting.
CostCan it be paid repeatedly?
LimitsDoes the work bend around them?
ExitKeep remains available
THE SHORT ANSWER
n8n is strongest where API-heavy automation, code and deployment control matter. Cloud reduces infrastructure work; self-hosting transfers it to you rather than making it disappear.
Technical teams with API-led workflows, a clear operating owner and a reason to use code or hosting control.
Non-technical teams wanting the broadest plug-and-play catalogue, or anyone whose self-hosting plan currently reads ‘Dave knows Docker’.
DECISION BOUNDARIES
What actually separates the options
Execution model
Model workflow executions and any step-level usage that affects the chosen plan.
Code
Confirm where JavaScript or Python is genuinely required rather than merely available.
Licence
Check the current licence against embedding, reselling and internal use.
COST AND CONSTRAINTS
Price is one operating condition
Compare Cloud subscription against hosting, monitoring, backups, upgrades and recovery time. The server invoice is not the infrastructure cost; it is the opening paragraph.
EVIDENCE
What to test before committing
Pilot the hardest authentication and error path, not the cheerful hello-world workflow.
SIMPLER ALTERNATIVE
Before adding another account
Keep a managed automation service if infrastructure control adds no measurable value to the job.
Self-hosting is a deployment option, not a personality type.