I am a management consultant supporting and leverage analytics for client engagements.
For the analytics, I plan to use n8n workflows:
n8n is not exposed to end users as an editor or workflow builder.
n8n runs only in the background.
The user cannot access the n8n UI and cannot modify workflows.
I intend to use n8n as part of a paid consulting service delivered to clients — the workflows are proprietary to my firm.
Could you please clarify:
Would this kind of use case fall under the Sustainable Use License?
Would a separate commercial agreement or paid license be required?
Would this be considered backend-only usage, or would it fall under OEM?
The support document mentions that the license allows ‘Providing consulting services related to n8n, for example building workflows, custom features closely connected to n8n, or code that gets executed by n8n.’ I have reached out to the license team but there has been no response.
Hence wanted to check what the community thinks about this situation.
Here are some docs that can help you understand, it seems like a consulting case but you can understand the question since there’s a gray area in between and only the n8n team can answer. If your doubts persist, I recommend contacting the responsible team via email license@n8n.io
Thanks for the link, very helpful for people who are just starting to build contracts like me. Does it mean our customer needs to subscribe to n8n, and we will just build the workflows from their workspace? How do I protect my workflow?
@SevvyR the recommended and my personal opinion is to have a new n8n instance per client, and you will be the service provider who builds on their instance, and so this will build up a good relation, as the client credentials are all safe on their side, and you will just have a backup of the flows and documentation of what you have built on their instance. The question comes up how can you protect your flows? To be honest, for your work security, having a good contract clause will be a good take instead of regulating the n8n side.
@SevvyR This highly depends on the scale of the project. I would recommend, if the project is small to mid-scale, considering charging the client a retainer, depending on how they want the project to get handled, like credentials, external API services and stuff. I do not think n8n has a schema for recommended contracts, but again, it depends on your project type. If a project is kicking off, then 3-4 months of retainer, as long as it is in the scope once it is out of scope, it will be counted as maintenance, and the charge will be different. That is why I said make your contract very wisely, as it will be your legal proof for the tune of the project.