VPS for n8n: what you need and what it costs

How much server for n8n

n8n itself is light. What costs memory is the data your workflows carry - big spreadsheets, images, long AI answers - and running many executions at once.

• 2 GB RAM: a few scheduled workflows, webhooks, small payloads
• 4 GB RAM: dozens of workflows, AI nodes calling an API, Postgres on the same box
• 8 GB+: queue mode with workers, heavy file processing, a local AI model next to n8n

Setup in five steps

The simplest robust setup is Docker with a reverse proxy that handles HTTPS for you.

• Create an Ubuntu VPS and point a subdomain at its IP
• Install Docker and Docker Compose
• Use n8n’s official docker-compose example with Postgres
• Add Caddy or Traefik for automatic HTTPS
• Turn on automatic backups of the data volume

Self-hosted or n8n Cloud?

Cloud saves the admin work and includes updates; self-hosting gives unlimited executions and your data on your own server. If you already run a VPS, adding n8n costs almost nothing.