@BillAlex Sorry for the confusion. The docs seem to be wrong, we will fix them. Basic user management (which is the thing that will be mandatory) is not paid, it is free.
@Ata_Zangene No there is no limit around active/running workflows.
Thank you for the clarification.
You should check how Airbyte (ETL) has transformed pricing by using TIME & RESOURCE based pricing with data operation units & credits.
We totally love them as it’s fair to how and how much we use it.
Would love N8N following their footsteps.
I am a bit late to the party. But I just realised that at the moment my 1 person project is scaled to a 2 person project on vps with the self-hosted version, I need a 20000+ subscription. As far as I can see, the plans aren’t aligned yet.
As our customer is unable to use the cloud version for regulatory reasons, there is no way for a small project to use n8n in this context, right?
For what it’s worth, I have tried a few different automation tools and still prefer N8N over all of the others that I have found so far for a number of reasons. My only issue is, like other people here, the limitations of the self-hosted version and the lack of option between it, and what is an expensive premium cloud option that is overkill for myself as a home user/hobbyist or for implementing in a SMB client. (Right now, I really want cross-workflow variables).
Reading some of the comments above,
I understand using workload-based pricing for the cloud model, but personally I don’t think it is the right approach for self-hosting N8N. In my case, I had 2 workflows doing similar things, but I wanted to tweak them, so I started up 2 new workflows to do the same thing (but better and more efficiently) and wouldn’t want to be paying double for those while testing. Personally, I think a better idea would be to keep the current unlimited workflows but limit other areas/features with the ability to unlock and scale
I don’t presume to be an expert here and my Sales experience in Cloud is limited but as I am someone who really likes your product and wants to help. I do think the key to improving it may also lie in getting more people using more features and converting free users to a cheap paid plan. I had too much free time, and became too invested in wanting to help, so I ended up thinking and looking through the differences in versions, had a quick look at Portainer’s offerings, and came up with the below as an alternative (potentially a side-by-side alternative with a Workflow count option?). Eg.
| Free | Power User Tier | SMB Tier 1 | SMB Tier 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Owner user Only | 1 Owner user + 1 Member User Only | 1x Owner and up to 5x Admin or Member Accounts | 2x Owner and up to 10x Admin or Member Accounts |
| Sharing N/R (2 users only) | Sharing Workflow & Credentials Enabled (2 users only) | Sharing workflows & credentials Enabled | Sharing workflows & credentials Enabled |
| Unlimited Workflows | Unlimited Workflows | Unlimited Workflows | Unlimited Workflows |
| Unlimited use of Core, Flow and Data Transformation Nodes | Unlimited use of Core, Flow and Data Transformation Nodes | Unlimited use of Core, Flow and Data Transformation Nodes | Unlimited use of Core, Flow and Data Transformation Nodes |
| Up to 5x separate App Connections | Up to 5x separate App Connections | Up to 10x separate App Connections | Up to 15x separate App Connections |
| 24hr Workflow History (with Registration) | 7 Day Workflow History | 14 Day Workflow History | 30 Day Workflow History |
| - | Log Streaming | Log Streaming | Log Streaming |
| - | External storage for binary data | External storage for binary data | External storage for binary data |
| - | External secrets | External secrets | External secrets |
| - | Custom Variables | Custom Variables | Custom Variables |
| - | - | Environments | Environments |
| - | - | Up to 2 Projects | Up to 4 Projects |
The main feature would be limiting the number of Apps they can interact with. Done potentially through a management console, so that in workflow creation you only see the ones you’ve enabled? Also then allows you to disable one if you move to another service. Whether those app connections can be used unlimited times, or perhaps each app can only be used in up to 5 workflows is another variable.
Again, I’m no expert and don’t know your business or financials well enough to know if it is viable. Also, this does create a more complicated pricing model, but I also think it might help in getting small business on-board as I know that with something like the above “Power User”, I would happily pay (converting to euro) something like $36 for a yearly sub. It’s not much, but it is something and considering the alternative would be paying nothing, it’s something I hope you’ll consider.
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@jan Why are you taking away the unlimited workflow executions, as soon as I buy a business or enterprise License for my self-hosted instance?
Because they think as soon as you buy business or enterprise you have an unlimited budget and they can milk you for whatever you have. That’s why they refuse to have reasonable pricing for anybody that wants a more powerful home lab license. They think people should be happy with forking over $500 for a business license or they should just be grateful with what they have for free
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