Automation tools are now part of everyday business. Teams use them to move data, send messages, update systems, and keep work running without manual effort. n8n is one of the tools that makes this possible. It helps businesses connect different apps and build workflows that run on their own. At first, most people only ask one question. Is n8n free?
The short answer is yes and no. n8n can be free to use in many situations, but depending on how you use it, different licenses apply. These licenses decide what you are allowed to do and whether you need to pay. This is where confusion usually starts. Some people believe n8n is fully free for all business use. Others think they must pay for any kind of commercial use. Both ideas are incomplete. The truth depends on what you are building and how you are using the software.
In this guide, we will explain n8n licensing in simple words. We will cover the Sustainable Use License, the Commercial License, and the Embed License. We will also explain when the n8n license costs apply and when they do not.
The Real Problem With Licensing Is Not Price, It Is Clarity
Most teams do not struggle with money in the beginning. They struggle with understanding what they are allowed to do. People build tools using n8n without checking the license. Startups add n8n to their products without knowing the rules. Agencies resell automation without realizing which license they need. Founders assume free means unlimited. Later, when the business grows, they suddenly discover limits. This does not happen because they want to break rules, but because licensing language is easy to ignore and hard to understand.
This is why learning about n8n licensing early is important. It helps you avoid problems later when your product or business becomes serious.
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What n8n Actually Is
n8n is a workflow automation platform. It lets you connect tools like CRMs, email systems, databases, and APIs. You build logic using nodes, and when something happens, the workflow runs. You can use n8n in three main ways. You can run it for yourself, you can use it inside your company, or you can build a product using it. Each of these uses falls under a different license, and that is where the cost and rules change.
Understanding how you are using n8n is the first step to understanding which license applies to you.
The Three Main n8n Licenses
n8n uses three main license types. These are the Sustainable Use License, the Commercial License, and the Embed License. Each one exists for a different type of user. They are not random. They are designed to protect both the n8n company and the people who build on top of n8n. To understand the n8n license cost, you first need to understand which of these licenses you fall under.
Sustainable Use License
The Sustainable Use License is the default license for n8n. It is what most people use when they self-host n8n. This license allows you to use n8n for internal business automation. You can automate your sales work, your operations, and your support processes. You can build as many workflows as you want, and you do not need to pay for the software itself. This is why many people say n8n is free, and for this type of use, they are correct.
However, this license has an important rule. You cannot sell n8n itself as a product. You cannot offer n8n as a hosted service to customers. You cannot build a competing automation platform using n8n. In simple words, you can use n8n to run your business, but you cannot use n8n to build a business around n8n itself.
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Does the Sustainable Use License Have a Cost?
For most companies, there is no n8n license cost under the Sustainable Use License. The license is free for internal use. But you still pay for infrastructure. You pay for servers, hosting, and maintenance. So while the license itself may be free, running n8n is not completely free. This is where people often get confused when they ask if it costs money to use n8n. The correct answer is that the license can be free, but the system still costs money to run.
Who This License Is For
The Sustainable Use License works best for startups automating their own work, teams building workflows for internal operations, agencies using n8n internally for clients without selling n8n itself, and developers testing automation ideas. If n8n is just a tool inside your company, this license usually fits your use case.
Where People Accidentally Cross the Line
Problems start when companies cross a line without realizing it. This happens when they create a SaaS product powered by n8n and sell it, when they host n8n for customers and charge them for access, or when they bundle n8n inside their own product. At that point, they are no longer just users. They become distributors or embed users, and different licenses apply to them.
This is usually when people first start asking about the n8n commercial license cost or the n8n embed license cost.
Why n8n Uses These Licenses
n8n is not just a hobby project. It is a company that builds and maintains a product. They allow free use for internal automation, but they also protect their business model. If someone builds a product using n8n and sells it, n8n expects to be paid for that use. This is why the license exists. It is not meant to block users. It is meant to separate internal use from commercial product use.
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Introduction to the Commercial License
After understanding the Sustainable Use License, the next important step is to understand the Commercial License. This license applies when n8n is no longer used only inside your company but becomes part of something you sell. The moment n8n helps you make money directly, the rules change. The Commercial License is meant for businesses that use n8n in services or products that customers pay for.
This usually happens when n8n is involved in customer-facing systems. Instead of helping only your own team, n8n now helps your users or clients. This is where the n8n commercial license cost becomes important.
What the Commercial License Is
The Commercial License allows you to use n8n in products or services that you sell. This means n8n is no longer just an internal tool. It becomes part of your business offering. For example, if you build a software product that uses n8n to run workflows in the background, you are using n8n commercially. If you offer automation as a paid service to clients and n8n powers those automations, that also counts as commercial use.
In these cases, the Sustainable Use License is no longer enough. You need the Commercial License because n8n is now helping you generate revenue.
Why the Commercial License Exists
The Commercial License exists to protect the company that builds and maintains n8n. n8n allows free use for internal automation, but it does not allow other companies to build paid products on top of it without permission. Without a Commercial License, someone could create a business using n8n and never support the people who built the tool.
This license makes sure that if you use n8n to make money, you also pay for the right to do so. It creates a fair balance between free internal use and paid commercial use.
When You Need the Commercial License
You usually need the Commercial License when n8n is part of what your customers are paying for. This can happen when you build a software platform where workflows run using n8n, when you sell automation as a service to your clients, or when your product depends on n8n for important features.
If your service or product would stop working without n8n, then n8n is part of your commercial offering. In that case, the Commercial License applies.
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How n8n Commercial License Cost Works
The n8n commercial license cost is not a fixed number that you can look up on a pricing page. It depends on how you use n8n and how large your business is. The cost is usually based on things like how many customers you have, how important n8n is to your product, how many workflows are running, and what level of support you need.
A small startup may pay much less than a large company. A simple product that uses n8n in a limited way may pay less than a platform where n8n is the main engine. Because of this, pricing is discussed directly with the n8n team instead of being publicly listed.
Common Confusion About Commercial Use
Many people think commercial use only means selling n8n itself. This is not true. Commercial use also includes selling a product or service that depends on n8n. Even if your users never see n8n on the screen, it still counts if n8n is doing important work behind the scenes.
Another area of confusion is agencies. Some agencies think they need a Commercial License just because they charge clients. This is not always the case. If an agency uses n8n internally to manage work for clients and does not give clients direct access to n8n, the Sustainable Use License may still apply. But if clients get their own workflows or automation features powered by n8n, that often becomes commercial use.
This is why it is important to look at how n8n is used, not just who is paying.
Introduction to the Embed License
So far, we have talked about using n8n for internal work and for commercial products. There is one more important case to understand, which is when n8n is embedded directly inside another software product. This is where the Embed License comes in.
The Embed License applies when n8n is not just running in the background, but is actually built into your application. This means your users interact with something that is powered by n8n, even if they do not see the n8n name on the screen. In this case, n8n becomes part of your software itself, not just a tool you use behind the scenes.
This is different from the Commercial License because the user experience is now tied to n8n’s engine.
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What the Embed License Is
The Embed License allows you to include n8n inside your own product. This usually means your software depends on n8n to work. For example, you may build a platform where users create workflows, connect apps, or control automation inside your product, and all of that runs on n8n under the hood.
In this situation, n8n is no longer just a tool you use. It becomes part of what you are selling. Your product would not work without it. Because of this, n8n requires a special license for this kind of use.
This is what the n8n embed license cost is based on.
When You Need the Embed License
You usually need the Embed License when your users are directly using features powered by n8n. This can happen when you allow customers to build their own workflows inside your app, when your product includes automation as a core feature powered by n8n, or when you ship software that includes n8n as part of its system.
If removing n8n would break your product or remove a major feature, then you are embedding n8n. In that case, the Embed License is required.
When You Do Not Need the Embed License
You usually do not need the Embed License when n8n is only used internally by your team or when it runs completely in the background and is not part of the product your users interact with.
For example, if you use n8n to sync your own database, send internal alerts, or manage internal processes, the Embed License does not apply. The key point is whether your customers are using something that is powered by n8n.
If they are, then embedding is happening.
How n8n Embed License Cost Works
n8n embed license cost is not fixed. It depends on how your product works and how many users rely on n8n inside it. The cost is usually based on factors like how many customers you have, how deeply n8n is integrated into your product, and how important automation is to your main features.
A small product with limited automation may pay less than a large platform where automation is central. Because of this, embedded license pricing is discussed directly with the n8n team.
This allows the price to match how much value n8n provides to your business.
Commercial License vs Embed License
Many people get confused between the Commercial License and the Embed License. The difference is mainly about how users experience n8n.
With the Commercial License, n8n is part of your service, but users do not directly use it as a feature. It may run workflows in the background to support your product.
With the Embed License, n8n becomes part of your product itself. Users interact with automation features that depend on n8n. The automation is visible as part of what you sell.
Both cases involve making money using n8n, but the level of integration is different.
Real World Examples
A company that uses n8n to manage its own internal operations usually falls under the Sustainable Use License.
A company that sells a service powered by automation, where n8n runs in the background, usually needs a Commercial License.
A company that builds a platform where users create or control automation inside the product usually needs an Embed License.
These examples show that the license depends more on how n8n is used than on how much money you make.
How to Choose the Right License
The easiest way to choose the right license is to ask one simple question. Is n8n only helping my team, or is it part of what I sell to customers?
If it only helps your team, the Sustainable Use License usually applies.
If it helps your customers through a service you sell, the Commercial License likely applies.
If it is built directly into your product and users interact with it, the Embed License usually applies.
Thinking about n8n this way makes the choice much clearer.
Final Thoughts
n8n gives people a lot of freedom. You can use it for free to automate your own work. You can use it to build services. You can even build products around it. But with that freedom comes responsibility. You need to choose the right license for what you are building.
Understanding the difference between the Sustainable Use License, the Commercial License, and the Embed License helps you avoid legal trouble and plan your business better. It also helps you understand why the n8n license cost is not a single number and why the n8n commercial license cost and the n8n embed license cost exist at all.
The most important thing is to be clear about how you are using n8n. Once that is clear, the right license usually becomes clear too.