1✅ PROS:
2• Zero setup/maintenance
3• Auto updates
4• Built-in auth
5• Team features included
6• Support available
7 
8❌ CONS:
9• Highest cost ($20-500/mo)
10• Limited customization
11• Data on n8n servers
12• Execution limits
13• No source access

1STARTER: $20/mo
2• 2,500 executions
3• 1 user
4 
5PRO: $50/mo
6• 10,000 executions
7• 5 users
8 
9ENTERPRISE: Custom
10• Unlimited executions
11• SSO, audit logs

1RAILWAY
2├── Easy Docker deployment
3├── $5-20/mo typical
4├── Auto-sleep (free tier)
5└── Good for dev/staging
6 
7RENDER
8├── Free tier available
9├── $7/mo starter
10├── Web service + PostgreSQL
11└── Decent free tier
12 
13HEROKU (via Docker)
14├── Established platform
15├── $7-25/mo
16├── Eco dyno sleeps
17└── Good addons marketplace
18 
19DIGITALOCEAN APP PLATFORM
20├── Simple interface
21├── $12/mo minimum
22├── Easy database attach
23└── Predictable pricing

1WHY RAILWAY:
2• One-click n8n template
3• Built-in PostgreSQL
4• Environment variables UI
5• Cheap for small scale
6• Good developer experience
7 
8LIMITATION:
9• Sleep after inactivity (free)
10• Less control than VPS
11• Costs grow with usage

1PROVIDER        MIN COST    BEST FOR
2─────────────────────────────────────
3Hetzner         $4/mo       Best value
4DigitalOcean    $6/mo       Good docs
5Vultr           $6/mo       Many regions
6Linode          $5/mo       Reliable
7AWS Lightsail   $5/mo       AWS ecosystem

1SMALL (Personal)
2• 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM
3• 40GB SSD
4• $5-10/mo
5• 100-500 exec/day
6 
7MEDIUM (Team)
8• 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM
9• 80GB SSD
10• $15-25/mo
11• 500-5000 exec/day
12 
13LARGE (Production)
14• 4 vCPU, 8GB RAM
15• 160GB SSD
16• $40-60/mo
17• 5000+ exec/day

1✅ BENEFITS:
2• Full control over data
3• Lower cost at scale
4• Custom configurations
5• No execution limits
6• Install any node
7 
8⚠️ REQUIREMENTS:
9• Linux/Docker knowledge
10• Time for maintenance
11• Backup responsibility
12• Security management

1✅ USE K8S IF:
2• Need high availability
3• 10,000+ executions/day
4• Multiple n8n instances
5• Existing K8s infrastructure
6• Auto-scaling required
7 
8❌ SKIP K8S IF:
9• Just starting out
10• Small team
11• Limited ops capacity
12• Budget-conscious

1N8N ON KUBERNETES
2─────────────────
3 
4┌──────────────────────────────────┐
5│           INGRESS                │
6│         (nginx/traefik)          │
7└─────────────┬────────────────────┘
8              │
9┌─────────────┴────────────────────┐
10│         N8N DEPLOYMENT           │
11│    ┌──────┐  ┌──────┐            │
12│    │ Pod1 │  │ Pod2 │  (HPA)     │
13│    └──────┘  └──────┘            │
14└─────────────┬────────────────────┘
15              │
16┌─────────────┴────────────────────┐
17│      PERSISTENT STORAGE          │
18│   PostgreSQL / Redis (Queue)     │
19└──────────────────────────────────┘

1┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
2│              VPS                     │
3│  ┌─────────────────────────────┐    │
4│  │         Docker              │    │
5│  │  ┌─────┐  ┌──────┐         │    │
6│  │  │ n8n │──│Postgres│        │    │
7│  │  └──┬──┘  └───────┘         │    │
8│  │     │                       │    │
9│  │  ┌──┴───┐                   │    │
10│  │  │Nginx │←── HTTPS          │    │
11│  │  └──────┘                   │    │
12│  └─────────────────────────────┘    │
13└─────────────────────────────────────┘

1┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐
2│              PRODUCTION STACK               │
3│                                             │
4│  CDN/WAF                                    │
5│     │                                       │
6│  Load Balancer                              │
7│     │                                       │
8│  ┌──┴───┬───────┐                          │
9│  │      │       │                          │
10│  n8n-1  n8n-2  n8n-3  (Queue Mode)         │
11│  │      │       │                          │
12│  └──┬───┴───────┘                          │
13│     │                                       │
14│  ┌──┴────────────────────────┐             │
15│  │   PostgreSQL (Primary)     │            │
16│  │   Redis (Queue/Session)    │            │
17│  │   S3 (Binary storage)      │            │
18│  └────────────────────────────┘            │
19└────────────────────────────────────────────┘

11. BUDGET
2   └── <$20/mo → PaaS/Small VPS
3   └── $20-100/mo → VPS self-host
4   └── $100+/mo → Consider n8n Cloud or K8s
5 
62. TECHNICAL SKILL
7   └── Beginner → n8n Cloud
8   └── Can use CLI → PaaS
9   └── Docker comfortable → VPS
10   └── DevOps team → Kubernetes
11 
123. DATA SENSITIVITY
13   └── Non-sensitive → Any option
14   └── Business data → Self-host recommended
15   └── Regulated → Self-host required
16 
174. SCALE NEEDS
18   └── <1000 exec/day → Any option
19   └── 1000-10000 → VPS or Cloud Pro
20   └── 10000+ → Dedicated VPS or K8s
21 
225. UPTIME REQUIREMENTS
23   └── Can tolerate downtime → Any
24   └── 99% uptime → Good VPS + monitoring
25   └── 99.9% uptime → HA setup or K8s

1JUST STARTING:
2→ Use n8n Cloud free trial
3 
4SIDE PROJECT:
5→ Railway (free tier or $5/mo)
6 
7SERIOUS PRODUCTION:
8→ Hetzner VPS + Docker ($8-15/mo)
9 
10ENTERPRISE:
11→ K8s hoặc n8n Enterprise Cloud

1OPTION          SETUP    MONTHLY   YEARLY    HIDDEN COSTS
2──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
3n8n Cloud Pro   0        $50       $600      None
4Railway         $0       $15       $180      Overages
5Hetzner VPS     $20*     $8        $116      Your time
6DigitalOcean    $20*     $12       $164      Your time
7K8s (managed)   $100*    $50       $700      Complexity
8 
9*One-time setup cost (your time estimated)
10 
11WINNER FOR MOST: VPS self-host ($8-15/mo)
12WINNER FOR LAZY: n8n Cloud ($50/mo)

1□ Decide on deployment option
2□ Estimate executions/month
3□ List required integrations
4□ Identify data requirements
5□ Plan backup strategy
6□ Document access credentials
7□ Choose domain name
8□ Set budget