01 — The problem
Automation bills that scale with success.
Per-task pricing punishes growth: a flow that runs 50,000 times a month costs more every month. Sensitive data passes through a third-party cloud.
Self-hosting moves that cost to infrastructure, but adds responsibility: updates, backups, credentials and monitoring. Done casually, it becomes a single point of failure.
02 — What we build
What the engagement delivers.
Deployment
n8n on Docker in your cloud account or server, with PostgreSQL, HTTPS and SSO or basic auth.
Queue mode
Main instance plus workers on Redis for parallel execution when volume requires it.
Workflows
Integrations, data transformation in code nodes, AI steps and sub-workflows for reuse.
Credentials and security
Encrypted credentials, restricted network access and environment separation for testing.
Operations
Backups, version updates, execution log retention and alerting on failures.
03 — Configuration vs custom
What is set up, and what is written.
Configuration
- n8n instance and environment variables
- Credentials and user roles
- Built-in nodes for common apps
- Execution retention
Custom development
- Code nodes in JavaScript or Python
- Custom nodes for internal APIs
- Queue-mode scaling
- Migration from Zapier or Make
04 — Typical effort
What it usually takes.
Ranges from comparable projects. You get a fixed-scope quote after a 30-minute call.
05 — What you own
Yours at handover.
- n8n instance in your account
- Workflow exports in version control
- Backup and update runbook
- Credential register
FAQ
Questions about n8n.
When is n8n better than Zapier or Make?
At high execution volume, when workflows need real code, or when data must stay in your infrastructure. For a handful of simple flows, Zapier or Make is less work.
Is self-hosted n8n free?
The community edition can be self-hosted under n8n’s licence terms. Some features need a paid plan. You pay for hosting either way.
Who maintains it?
We can, under a managed support retainer, or hand it over with a runbook to your IT team.
Can n8n call AI models?
Yes, with built-in AI nodes or HTTP calls to model providers, useful for classification and extraction steps.
Next step
Start with a 30-minute call.
Tell us what you run today and where it breaks. You get a fixed-scope quote afterwards. We don’t publish rates, because the honest price depends on scope.
Enquire
Talk to us about n8n automation, self-hosted.
We have started the message for you. Add what you run today and we will reply within one business day.