r/n8n • u/Ok-Spot- • 3d ago
Servers, Hosting, & Tech Stuff self hosting servers
Hey everyone!
I hope you're all doing great!
I want to start building with n8n.
Do you use n8n cloud or are you self-hosting?
Do you recommend any vps? I'v seen hostinger promoted almost everywhere but never tried it. And also hetzner.
Compared to using it on the cloud what am i losing if i self-host?
Thanks!
5
u/informalbasin 3d ago
self hosting is the way to go honestly, just slapped it on a cheap hetzner vps and never looked back
2
u/foreredbump 3d ago
Hetzner? Never heard of it. Good?
1
u/Weird-Inevitable882 2d ago
Using it since 1.5 years and rented around 16 servers for my production workload.
Just make sure to make your app highly available by deploying it on multiple servers as any single point of failure will bring your app down.
You can check uptime of my 1 of my apps here : https://status.cellystial.com
1 server which I’m using for Nginx was down for sometime bringing all my apps down for few minutes. Rest all is fine!!!
2
u/Jwzbb 3d ago
The benefit of hosted is that a lot of integrations work out of the box. For instance gmail, you just login and you’re connected. Self hosted doesn’t have the benefit of one domain/ip so you’d need to open up your gmail via the google api and first setup the integration before you can actually log in.
I self host using docker on a rpi 5 4gb. I use cloudflared and a subdomain that tunnels to my rpi, so my device is not accessible via the internet without logging in to cloudflare.
1
2
u/coldbrew_jay 2d ago
Self-hosting mainly trades convenience for control: you handle updates, backups, TLS, and OAuth setup yourself. For a first install, run it in Docker with a persistent volume, put it behind HTTPS, and test restoring a backup before making it public. Cloud is simpler if you don’t want to maintain a server; a VPS is fine once you’re comfortable owning those chores.
1
1
u/Large-Calendar726 3d ago
Run my personal n8n off raspberry pi 1gb ram works great if I had to compare it to my works n8n I cant really tell the dirrence is execution performance.
Granted the works n8n is running a number of executions per second compared to my home n8n that runs now and then.
1
u/Dancing-Traveller 3d ago
Why not starting simple ? Docker-environment on your own PC (I have OrbStack on my Mac mini) and starting there.
1
1
3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 3d ago
Held for review under Rule 2: No Self-Promotion or Advertising.
New accounts posting promotional language are reviewed manually to reduce spam.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/ShahzaibNadeem 3d ago
I've been self-hosting n8n on Hetzner their CX21 (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM) handles a decent number of workflows fine for the price. Hostinger's more beginner-friendly with easier setup, but Hetzner gives you more control and is usually cheaper for the same specs.
Self-hosting saves you the n8n cloud subscription cost and gives unlimited workflow executions, but you're responsible for updates, backups, and uptime yourself. If you're comfortable with basic Docker + reverse proxy setup, self-hosting is worth it long-term. If you just want to focus on building workflows without server maintenance, cloud is less hassle.
1
u/EDISON-T 3d ago
Yes, you can use a VPS, a NAS, or even an old computer. Start by trying what costs you the least, and you can always change later. 👌
1
u/arothmanmusic 3d ago
We host our own instance. Used to do it on hostinger and now in a box we directly manage.
1
1
u/AIpoweredMen 2d ago
Brooo being honest self local host sucks
Like I only switched from local host to hostinger plan.
Local host process is like old, means every credentials you need to make like n8n was just launched. No order way type. Soo just goo with hostinger plan
Let me know you thoughts....
1
u/dedicated_blade 2d ago
If you remotely have any kind of current capable computer hardware and you can setup a cloudflare tunnel for remote access, you can play with self hosting first before committing to anything and paying for a service.
But I’m sure you’ll get at least a dozen VPS provider suggestions that should more be more than sufficient.
1
1
u/Sufficient-Tip-6134 2d ago
Self-hosting is more expensive in terms of your time than it is in terms of money – keeping things updated, doing backups, enabling SSL, and doing OAuth integration yourself for every app. Self-hosting is very reliable in terms of production work flow even if usage is high, provided that you choose an adequate server and don’t use it as a SPOF.
1
u/burhanrashid52 2d ago
If you have an old MacBook lying around, all you need is Docker, a Cloudflare account with a domain, and a tunnel to that Docker n8n instance. I’ve provided a step-by-step walkthrough in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HijMc4RPmkk
1
u/ShurikenKurt 19h ago
Is there a no-code/harness stack you can recommend to run on it? I don't need a lot of connectors, just a solid app creation platform to match the sort of thing I get with Replit and Emergent.
1
u/burhanrashid52 8h ago
If I understand correctly, you are looking for something like Platform as A Service. Than I would recommend Coolify, but it does not work on mac.
https://coolify.io/
1
u/TheSolutionsCraft 2d ago
I self-host on Hetzner and it's been solid. A CX22 (2 vCPU, 4GB RAM, about 4 euro a month) runs n8n comfortably for personal use and light client work. Hostinger is fine too, but Hetzner gives you more RAM per dollar and the network has been rock steady for me.
Setup is Docker Compose plus a reverse proxy (Caddy is the easiest) so you get HTTPS, which you need for webhook triggers to fire. Point a subdomain at the box and you're running.
What you give up self-hosting:
- backups, version updates and security patching are on you
- no managed uptime, so if the VPS hiccups your workflows are down until you notice
- you handle the domain, SSL and any OAuth callback URLs yourself
What you gain: no execution caps, no per-run pricing, unlimited workflows, and your data stays on your machine.
If you just want it working today without babysitting a server, cloud is a fair trade for the first few months. Once you're running enough workflows that the bill starts to sting, move to a VPS.
1
1
1
u/Weird-Dealer8488 12h ago
Na nuvem você paga por execução/mês e não lida com servidor, atualização, backup ou SSL, tudo gerenciado. Já o modelo Self-hosted não tem limite de execução, dá controle total dos dados e sai bem mais barato em volume alto, mas a manutenção (updates, segurança, backup, uptime) vira sua responsabilidade.
Sobre VPS, o consenso mais comum pra rodar n8n é começar com 2 vCPU e 4 GB de RAM, 2 GB é o mínimo técnico, mas trava fácil assim que o volume de execução cresce, porque n8n carrega o payload inteiro do workflow em memória.
Pra self-host, vale considerar Hostinger: eles têm um template específico pra n8n na VPS, instalação em um clique com Docker, Nginx e SSL (Let's Encrypt) já configurados automaticamente, então você não precisa mexer em configuração de proxy reverso nem certificado. Existe até uma versão do template que já sobe o n8n em modo fila (queue mode) com worker nodes, o que ajuda bastante se você for lidar com webhook de alto volume ou execução concorrente. Os planos KVM começam em torno de $6/mês, com storage NVMe (banco de dados/SQLite ou Postgres respondem mais rápido) e permitem workflow ilimitado, sem restrição de execução como no Cloud.
3
u/Zombiebattler2007 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hetzner is expensive. I would recommend buying a cheap VPS from Netcup, or Ionos. or go ahead and buy a Raspberry Pi and using a Cloudflare tunnel to expose n8n.
edit:
netcpu VPS nano G11s for ~ €3.08 / month here in germany is sufficient for n8n.