N8n Cloud Starter Plan - Google Sheets OAuth2 API: Which GCP project is being used? Can I use my own?

[Jamie_Chan]

Hi everyone,

I’m on the n8n Cloud Starter Plan and running into Google Sheets API rate limiting issues (429 - The service is receiving too many requests from you). The error references a GCP project number 498586711441, which is not my own project.

My setup:

• n8n Cloud Starter Plan ({my workspace}.app.n8n.cloud)

• Multiple Google Sheets nodes doing appendOrUpdate operations in a lead generation workflow

• Already using Wait nodes (2s per row) to throttle requests

What I’ve tried:

1. Created my own GCP project in Google Cloud Console

2. Enabled Google Sheets API + Google Drive API

3. Created OAuth 2.0 Client ID credentials (Client ID: 427331...)

4. Set up OAuth consent screen with test users

The problem:

When I create a Google Sheets OAuth2 API credential in n8n Cloud, the credential screen only shows a “Sign in with Google” button — there are no fields to enter my own Client ID and Client Secret.

I also tried creating a Google OAuth2 API (Generic) credential, which does allow me to enter Client ID and Client Secret, but the Google Sheets node only accepts “Google Sheets OAuth2 API” type credentials, not the generic OAuth2 type.

My questions:

1. When using the “Sign in with Google” button on n8n Cloud Starter Plan, which GCP project is the API quota counted against? Is it a shared n8n project (498586711441), or does it use my own GCP project if I sign in with my own Google account?

2. Is there any way on the Starter Plan to use my own GCP project’s OAuth credentials with the Google Sheets node, so I get my own dedicated quota (6,000 write requests/min)?

3. If not, is this feature only available on Pro or Enterprise plans?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. The shared quota is causing 429 errors in my workflow even with rate limiting in place.

n8n version: 2.4.8 (Cloud) Node: Google Sheets v4.7 (appendOrUpdate operation)

Thanks in advance!

[Miliaga]

@Jamie_Chan you’ve identified the core issue correctly, on n8n Cloud Starter Plan, you’re sharing Google API quotas with other n8n Cloud users, which is causing your rate limiting problems.

Even though you sign in with your own Google account, the OAuth application (Client ID/Secret) determines which GCP project’s quota is used, and on Starter Plan, that’s n8n’s shared project.

Best solution: Upgrade to n8n Cloud Pro Plan

n8n Cloud Pro allows you to use your own OAuth credentials:

• You can enter your own Client ID and Client Secret

• Your API calls use your own GCP project’s quota

• You get the full 6,000 write requests/min quota

• No sharing with other users

This is the cleanest solution if you want to stay on n8n Cloud.

Hope this helps!