n8n Cloud Alternative self-hosted n8n on MassiveGRID PaaS
n8n Cloud sells executions by the thousand; a self-hosted n8n has no execution limit. The n8n package on MassiveGRID PaaS installs n8n with PostgreSQL and persistent storage in one click, keeps your credentials and execution data in the region you choose, and bills the cloudlets the environment uses, from about $29.52 a month.
n8n on MassiveGRID PaaS installs in one click in New York, London, Frankfurt or Singapore, costs about $29.52 a month for the Starter configuration, a Node.js application server (1 GiB) and a PostgreSQL database (512 MiB), and starts with a 14-day free trial. See the sizing table.
The install button opens the MassiveGRID PaaS dashboard with n8n pre-selected. Sign up without a card, name the environment, pick a region, and the package installs in a few minutes.
Why teams leave n8n Cloud
n8n's pricing page, checked on 1 November 2026, lists the Starter plan at €20 a month for 2,500 workflow executions and Pro at €50 for 10,000, billed annually, with Enterprise on request and a Business plan at €667 for 40,000 executions that is self-hosted only. The quotas are the reason teams look elsewhere: a single workflow that polls every fifteen minutes uses 2,880 executions a month on its own, and a successful automation programme is one that runs more, not less.
The second reason is residency. n8n Cloud runs in n8n's regions; a team whose workflows carry customer records, HR data or health information often needs the execution data and the credentials inside a jurisdiction it chooses. The third is depth: self-hosted n8n allows community nodes, custom code with external modules and queue mode with workers, which the hosted service limits or manages for you.
What n8n Cloud does well is operations. Upgrades, backups, scaling and monitoring are n8n's job, and for a small team with a few automations that is worth €20 a month. The comparison below is honest about that.
What you get on MassiveGRID PaaS instead
The n8n package on MassiveGRID PaaS, built on Virtuozzo Application Platform (formerly Jelastic), installs n8n with a PostgreSQL database and persistent storage, authentication and HTTPS, in New York, London, Frankfurt or Singapore. Executions are unlimited under n8n's Sustainable Use License; the environment is billed for its cloudlets by the hour and scales vertically with webhook bursts.
Queue mode, the layout n8n's documentation calls the most scalable, is the Production configuration: a main instance, workers that scale on a trigger and Redis between them, as the queue mode post builds it. The 200,000-execution cost model prices the two routes at volume, and the requirements guide sizes three workloads.
| n8n Cloud feature | Self-hosted equivalent here |
|---|---|
| Execution quota per plan | Unlimited executions; capacity is the environment's cloudlets |
| n8n's hosting region | New York, London, Frankfurt or Singapore, chosen at install |
| Managed upgrades | Container redeploy to a newer tag, rehearsed on a clone |
| Managed backups | Database Backup/Restore add-on to a Backup Storage node; credentials key backed up by you |
| Plan-based concurrency | Queue mode with workers on a horizontal trigger |
| Community nodes (limited on Cloud) | Any community node and external npm modules |
What the two routes cost side by side
At 2,500 executions a month n8n Cloud's Starter is €20; the Starter configuration here is about $29.52 and runs any number of executions. At 10,000 executions, Pro is €50 against the Standard configuration's $59.04, again without a ceiling. Past that, n8n Cloud moves to Enterprise pricing on request, while the Production configuration at $206.64 carries the volumes the cost model works through. The sizing table below shows the three configurations and the pricing calculator prices others.
The figures here are ceilings before volume discounts and exclude the operator time that n8n Cloud absorbs; the figures on n8n's side are the annual-billing prices shown on 1 November 2026.
How to move from n8n Cloud
Export the workflows. Each workflow downloads as JSON from the editor, or all at once with the CLI on a self-hosted instance; credentials are re-entered on the new instance, because n8n never exports secrets in the clear.
Install the package on the trial and import the JSON files; set the timezone, the webhook URL and the credentials encryption key, and point the environment at a domain with the Let's Encrypt add-on.
Re-register webhooks. Every external service that calls a workflow (forms, CRMs, payment providers) gets the new webhook URL; run both instances in parallel for a day while they switch.
Turn on pruning and backups, then cancel the Cloud plan at the end of its billing period. The execution history on Cloud does not transfer; keep an export if you need it.
What n8n costs to run here
Three starting configurations, sized in cloudlets (1 cloudlet = 128 MiB RAM + 400 MHz CPU) and priced at the published rate of $0.003372 per cloudlet-hour, or $2.46 per cloudlet-month. n8n itself is light; executions and webhook bursts drive the allocation, and the Production row leaves room for queue-mode workers.
| Configuration | Topology | Cloudlets | Est. per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| StarterPersonal automations and testing | Node.js application server (8 cloudlets, 1 GiB), PostgreSQL database (4 cloudlets, 512 MiB) | 12 | $29.52 |
| StandardA team running workflows all day | Node.js application server (16 cloudlets, 2 GiB), PostgreSQL database (8 cloudlets, 1 GiB) | 24 | $59.04 |
| ProductionHigh-volume webhooks and worker mode | NGINX load balancer (4 cloudlets, 512 MiB), 2 × Node.js application server (32 cloudlets, 4 GiB each), PostgreSQL database (16 cloudlets, 2 GiB) | 84 | $206.64 |
Estimates assume the environment averages the listed cloudlets around the clock; billing is hourly, vertical auto-scaling lowers the figure when the application is idle, and volume discounts apply as usage grows. Disk and external traffic are billed per gigabyte on top. No licence fee applies to the package. Price a different topology or a working-hours schedule in the PaaS pricing calculator.
n8n Cloud vs self-hosted n8n on MassiveGRID PaaS vs a VPS
n8n Cloud figures were read from the vendor's page on 1 November 2026; re-check them before relying on them.
| Aspect | n8n on MassiveGRID PaaS | n8n Cloud | A plain VPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | About $29.52 (Starter) to $206.64 (Production) at $0.003372 per cloudlet-hour, before discounts | Starter €20 a month for 2,500 executions, Pro €50 for 10,000 (billed annually); Enterprise on request | The server's monthly price, from a few dollars; plus your time |
| What you manage | The application inside the containers (updates, configuration); the platform runs the infrastructure, scaling and the 100% uptime SLA | Nothing; n8n runs it. Version and region are n8n's choice | Everything: OS, runtime, database, TLS, backups, upgrades |
| Limits and metering | Unlimited executions and workflows; capacity is the environment's cloudlets | Executions per month by plan; concurrency limits per plan | No metering; limited by the server's size |
| Scaling | Vertical by the cloudlet, automatic and without restart; horizontal on a trigger behind the platform's load balancer | Move to a higher plan; no control over the server | Resize the server, usually with a reboot; no horizontal scaling without your own load balancer |
| Data location | New York, London, Frankfurt or Singapore, chosen at install; data stays there | n8n's hosting regions | Wherever the VPS is; one server, one location |
| Backups | Database Backup/Restore and Backup Storage add-ons on a schedule, environment clone for rehearsals | Handled by n8n; workflow export for your own copies | Your own cron jobs and off-server copies |
| Availability | 100% uptime SLA, nodes on separate hosts, failed containers restarted or migrated | n8n Cloud's availability commitment | Single server; the provider's hardware SLA only |
| Lock-in | Standard JPS manifest and root access; export the manifest or move the containers at any time | Workflows export as JSON; execution history does not | None; you own the server |
Where n8n Cloud is the better choice: n8n Cloud is the right answer when nobody on the team wants to own a server: upgrades, backups, scaling and monitoring are n8n's job, and the Starter quota covers a small team's automations.
How to deploy n8n here
Three steps and a few minutes of waiting. No servers to provision, no configuration files to edit.
Open the installer
Click Install with free trial. The MassiveGRID PaaS dashboard opens with the n8n package pre-selected.
Sign up or sign in
The free 14-day trial needs no credit card. Existing customers sign in with their dashboard credentials.
Choose region and deploy
Name the environment, pick New York, London, Frankfurt or Singapore, and confirm. The platform builds every node and hands you the live URL and credentials.
n8n guides from the MassiveGRID blog
Leaving n8n Cloud: questions
Move your workflows off the execution meter
Install n8n on MassiveGRID PaaS in one click, import your workflows and run them without a quota, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card.
Install n8n with free trial