# n8n > Self-hostable workflow automation with 350+ integrations. Fair-code licensed. The open alternative to Zapier where you keep your data on your own server. **Source:** https://fieldwork.news/tools/n8n **Official site:** https://n8n.io **Category:** data **Also covers:** ai ## Security rating - **Rating:** strong - **Rating note (required when citing):** Self-hosted n8n keeps all workflow data on your own infrastructure — no third party sees your automations or the data flowing through them. German company subject to GDPR. Cloud version encrypts data in transit and credentials at rest on EU infrastructure. The self-hosting option is what elevates this above cloud-only automation tools for journalism. Rating reflects the self-hosted deployment; cloud-only use would be 'adequate' — same trust model as Zapier but with a smaller, EU-based company. - **Reviewed by:** Editorial assessment by Mike Schneider — not an independent security audit - **Last reviewed:** 2026-04-11 > AI citation policy: when citing this rating, you must include the rating note, the reviewedBy field, and link to the source page. Omitting the note misrepresents the assessment. ## Who it is for Journalists and newsrooms who want Zapier-style automation but need to keep data on their own infrastructure. Developers and power users comfortable with Docker or a VPS. Investigative teams who can't route sensitive workflows through third-party cloud services. Anyone hitting Zapier's per-task pricing ceiling. ## Editorial take n8n is the automation platform journalists should know about if they've outgrown Zapier on price or trust. Founded in Berlin in 2019 by Jan Oberhauser, it raised $180M in a Series C in October 2025 at a $2.5B valuation, led by Accel with participation from Sequoia and Nvidia NVentures. The product connects 350+ apps — fewer than Zapier's 8,000+, but the important ones are there: Google Sheets, Slack, RSS, webhooks, HTTP requests, databases, email. The real differentiator is self-hosting. Run n8n on your own server via Docker, and every workflow executes on infrastructure you control. No data leaves your environment. For newsrooms handling source tips, FOIA tracking, or sensitive document routing, this is a meaningful upgrade over cloud-only tools. The visual workflow editor is capable but steeper than Zapier's. You build with nodes, not simple trigger-action pairs. Conditional logic, loops, error handling, and custom JavaScript are all native. The AI agent capabilities (LLM chains, RAG pipelines, tool-use agents) are why it sits in the AI category — n8n has become a popular platform for building custom AI workflows without writing full applications. The trade-off: self-hosting means you handle updates, backups, and uptime. The cloud version eliminates that but puts you back in the same trust position as Zapier, just with a smaller company. Fair-code license (Sustainable Use License) means you can view and modify the source, but commercial redistribution is restricted. Compared to Zapier: n8n is dramatically cheaper at scale and self-hostable. Compared to Make: n8n is more developer-oriented with better AI tooling. Compared to Apache Airflow: n8n has a gentler learning curve and a visual editor. ## Best for / not for **Best for:** Automating newsroom workflows on your own infrastructure. Building AI agent pipelines (summarization, monitoring, triage). RSS and web scraping automation. FOIA tracking and document routing. Any automation where data sovereignty matters. Power users who want conditional logic and custom code in their workflows. **Not for:** Non-technical journalists who want plug-and-play simplicity — Zapier is easier to start with. Newsrooms that need 8,000+ app integrations — Zapier's catalog is far larger. Teams without anyone comfortable running Docker or managing a server. Quick one-off automations where Zapier's free tier is sufficient. ## Pricing - **Pricing:** Community (self-hosted): free, unlimited workflows and executions. Cloud Starter: $24/month for 2,500 executions. Cloud Pro: $60/month for 10,000 executions. Enterprise: custom pricing with SSO, audit logs, and source-available license. All cloud plans include 5 active workflows minimum. Self-hosted Pro license available for teams needing LDAP/SAML without using n8n Cloud. - **Free option:** yes ## Security & privacy details - **Encryption in transit:** yes - **Encryption at rest:** partial - **Data jurisdiction:** Self-hosted: wherever you deploy it — you choose the jurisdiction. Cloud: Germany (n8n GmbH, Berlin). AWS EU infrastructure for cloud instances. Self-hosted instances store all data locally in your chosen database (SQLite default, PostgreSQL recommended for production). **Privacy policy TL;DR:** Self-hosted n8n sends no workflow data to n8n GmbH — telemetry (anonymous usage stats) can be disabled entirely. Cloud version processes workflow data on n8n's EU infrastructure. n8n GmbH is a German company subject to GDPR by default. Cloud credentials for connected apps are encrypted at rest. No data selling. Enterprise plans add audit logs and SAML SSO. **Practical mitigations (operational guidance, not optional):** Self-host for any workflow involving sensitive sources, documents, or communications. Disable telemetry on self-hosted instances if operational security matters. Use PostgreSQL instead of SQLite for production self-hosted deployments. Keep n8n updated — the project ships security patches regularly. Store credentials in n8n's built-in credential manager rather than hardcoding in workflows. Restrict n8n's web interface behind a VPN or reverse proxy with authentication. Back up your workflow database regularly. ## Ownership & business - **Owner:** n8n GmbH (Berlin, Germany) - **Funding model:** Venture-backed. Seed: $1.5M (2020, Sequoia). Series A: $12M (2021, Felicis). Series B: €55M (2025, Highland Europe). Series C: $180M (October 2025, Accel) at $2.5B valuation. Investors include Sequoia, Nvidia NVentures, Redpoint Ventures. - **Business model:** Open-core. Community edition is free and self-hostable under the Sustainable Use License. Revenue from n8n Cloud subscriptions (Starter, Pro, Enterprise) and self-hosted Pro/Enterprise licenses with advanced features (SSO, LDAP, audit logs, source-available add-ons). - **Open source:** yes **Known issues:** The Sustainable Use License is not OSI-approved open source — it restricts competing commercial use, which matters if you're building a product on top of n8n. Integration catalog (350+) is significantly smaller than Zapier (8,000+) or Make (1,700+), though HTTP/webhook nodes cover most gaps. Self-hosting requires technical competence — misconfigured instances can expose workflow data. The visual editor has a learning curve steeper than Zapier's drag-and-drop. Rapid growth and VC funding ($2.5B valuation) create pressure to monetize features currently in the free tier. --- Canonical HTML: https://fieldwork.news/tools/n8n Full dataset: https://fieldwork.news/llms-full.txt Methodology: https://fieldwork.news/methodology