Use casesWorkflow automation
n8n is a visual automation tool you can host yourself. It needs a small machine that never sleeps and keeps its database. Two of the sixteen providers set it up in one click; most others can run it if someone follows terminal steps; the task-only sandboxes are the wrong place for it.
Short answer: The cheapest machine that runs it as described is Agent 37 at $10.60 a month, then Lizard ($19.00) and Boat ($20.00). 11 of 16 providers run it without a catch. Machine cost only, before any AI model, at list prices checked 29 October 2026.
“I want n8n running my automations around the clock, on a server I control, without paying per workflow run.”
n8n is a workflow automation tool. You draw a workflow on a canvas: a trigger (something that starts it, such as a form being sent or a time of day), then steps that call other apps, reshape data or ask an AI model. Its README counts 1,500+ ready-made connections.
Hosting it yourself means you run the server, its database, its encryption key and its upgrades. In return there is no per-run fee: n8n's own hosted n8n Cloud is billed by how many workflow runs you use.
Most workflows start in one of two ways: a webhook, which is a web address another app calls when something happens, or the Schedule Trigger, n8n's own built-in clock. Both only work while n8n is running, which decides what kind of machine it needs.
From its own documentation, each line linked to the page it comes from
n8n publishes no self-hosting minimum. Its Cloud plans run from 640 MiB of memory to 4 GiB, and the software alone uses about 180 MiB. Because any single step can pull a large file into memory, 2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB is the safer buy.
Yes. n8n listens for webhooks only while it runs, and the Schedule Trigger works "in a similar way to the Cron software utility": its clock lives inside the machine. A sleeping machine misses both. A host that wakes on a web request can still catch webhooks after a short delay, but scheduled runs will not fire while it sleeps.
The database (workflows, saved logins to other apps, run history; SQLite by default, PostgreSQL for anything larger) and the encryption key n8n creates on first start. Without that key the saved logins cannot be read, and a database backup alone will not bring them back.
No browser on the server: the editor opens in yours. The documented install uses Docker (a standard way to package and run software); npm on Node.js 20.19 to 24.x is the alternative. No GPU.
Mostly waiting. No benchmark measures n8n; Battleships' nearest always-on workload averages about 6% CPU, with peaks near 100% when a large workflow runs. Size for the peak, not the average.
battleships.dev, built by the Boat team
Easiest first. “Without a terminal” means someone who does not type commands can get it running from the provider's website.
| Provider | How | Without a terminal? | What it involves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent 37 | One click | Yes | The agent37-n8n template runs the official n8n image with a public editor address and SQLite on a disk that is kept. The dashboard asks only for an owner password, and auto-sleep is off by default; leave it off for scheduled workflows.Agent 37: host n8n ↗ |
| Lizard | One click | Yes | A Deploy Now template creates an n8n app and a separate managed PostgreSQL database, connects them and gives n8n a public HTTPS address. It does not set an encryption key, attach a volume or add worker processes.Lizard: Deploy n8n ↗ |
| Blaxel | By hand | No | Blaxel's n8n page is about n8n calling a Blaxel agent, not about hosting n8n. Running n8n itself would be a manual install with a volume for its database.Blaxel: n8n integration ↗ |
| Boat | By hand | Partly | A full Ubuntu machine with Docker. Install n8n as a service that comes back after a restart, make its port public, and keep the disk. No n8n guide, and no custom domains.Boat: always-on services ↗ |
| boxd | By hand | Partly | Docker is preinstalled and running, and custom domains are self-serve. Turn hibernation off so schedules fire. No n8n template or guide.boxd: run Docker ↗ |
| Cloudflare Sandbox | By hand | No | A poor fit: "stopping the instance deletes the files on its disk", so n8n's database and encryption key would have to be kept somewhere else. No guide.Cloudflare Sandbox: files ↗ |
| Daytona | By hand | Partly | Create a sandbox with auto-stop turned off (it stops after 15 idle minutes by default), install n8n with npm and make its port public. n8n names Daytona as the sandbox for its own AI Assistant feature, which is not the same as hosting n8n there.Daytona: auto-stop ↗ |
| InstaBox | By hand | Partly | The agent-browser image includes Docker. Turn auto-pause off, install n8n and publish port 5678. No n8n guide.InstaBox: concepts ↗ |
| Morph | By hand | Partly | A Devbox can serve n8n and wake when a request arrives, but a paused Devbox's clock stops, so scheduled workflows need it kept running. No n8n guide.Morph: wake on request ↗ |
| Runtime | By hand | Partly | Docker, persistent sandboxes ("no idle pause") and custom domains are all documented, which is what n8n needs. No n8n guide.Runtime: pricing and persistent sandboxes ↗ |
| Sandboxer | By hand | Partly | Create a sandbox with auto-stop and idle pause off, install n8n, run it as a service and make its port public. No n8n guide.Sandboxer: long-running tasks ↗ |
| Sprites | By hand | No | Command line only, and a Sprite pauses when idle unless something holds it awake. Its fixed large size is far more than n8n uses. No guide.Sprites: quickstart ↗ |
| E2B | Not documented | No | Not suitable: a sandbox session ends after one hour on the free plan and 24 hours on Pro, and n8n has to outlive its schedule.E2B: pricing ↗ |
| Modal | Not documented | No | Not documented. Modal is built for functions and short sandboxes, which end after at most 24 hours.Modal: sandboxes ↗ |
| Vercel Sandbox | Not documented | No | Not suitable: Vercel sandboxes are made for one task at a time, with no way to keep a web app running. |
Read from each provider's documentation on 29 October 2026. A provider not listed as one click can still be the right home; it means someone has to follow its instructions.
Three starting points for different people, each with its catch
The most complete one-click setup: n8n plus a managed PostgreSQL database and a public HTTPS address, inside the $19 monthly plan that comes back as usage.
Catch: The template does not set an encryption key; note the one n8n creates and keep it safe. It runs on Lizard's app platform, not at the sandbox sizes the calculator prices.
The agent37-n8n template sets up n8n on its default 2 vCPU / 4 GB instance at $4.76 a month, with auto-sleep off by default.
Catch: It uses SQLite on the instance's disk rather than a separate database. Turning auto-sleep on stops scheduled workflows.
CPU is billed only while it works, so an n8n that mostly waits is about $25 a month at 2 vCPU / 4 GiB, in a persistent sandbox with your own domain.
Catch: No n8n guide, one US region, and storage keeps billing while the machine is stopped.
Beyond these providers. n8n's own n8n Cloud costs €20 a month on Starter (2,500 workflow runs) and €50 on Pro (10,000), billed annually, with nothing to host. Activepieces, a similar open-source tool, has a free plan and a $20 flat monthly plan. Windmill is free to host yourself and needs PostgreSQL.
Compare these three head to head: features and cost side by side.
One always-on 2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB machine that keeps its database and encryption key: 730 hours, because webhooks and schedules stop when it sleeps. About 6% CPU on average, with peaks near 100% when a big workflow runs. The model line assumes 50 workflow steps a day that ask a cheap model, 10,000 tokens each. Change any number; open a row for the arithmetic.
List prices only, excluding model tokens, egressData the machine sends out to the internet, such as downloads to a user or uploads to another service. Some providers charge per GB; most agents send very little., taxes and anything a provider does not publish. How the numbers are made.
Each page compares every provider, with a source for every row
Idle timers, waking and session limits — An always-available agent depends on three separate settings: a lifetime deadline, an idle timer, and a wake path. Providers bundle them differently, and the difference is most of your bill.
Lifecycle: stop, pause and sleep — Providers use seven words for four behaviours. The only question that matters is what is still running when the machine comes back.
Storage: disk, volumes and what persists — “Persistent” can mean the whole disk, one mounted folder, or fourteen days. It can also mean a separate volume that outlives the machine, which is a different product from the disk the machine boots with.
Reaching it: links, ports and who can open them — A machine nobody can reach is not an agent. There are four doors in — an HTTPS link, a raw TCP port, SSH, and the provider's API — and the important difference is who can open each one.
Custom domains — Putting an agent behind your own hostname is a feature some providers sell, some leave to a proxy you run, and several do not offer at all.
Keys and secrets — Three different things are called “secrets”: a value in an environment variable, a file on disk, and a placeholder that a proxy swaps for the real key. Only the third keeps the key away from the agent.