n8n Cloud — Hosted Automation Platform Guide

n8n cloud searches grew +20% worldwide as teams skip the Docker step and get straight to building. Cloud is the fastest path from signup to your first running workflow — typically under five minutes. This page covers when to pick Cloud, how to migrate workflows, and what trade-offs to expect.

What you get with n8n Cloud

• Fully managed n8n instance on a subdomain (e.g. yourcompany.app.n8n.cloud)
• Automatic version upgrades — no Docker pulls or migration scripts
• Daily backups of workflows and credentials
• HTTPS, custom domain on higher tiers
• SSO and audit logs on enterprise tiers
• Pay-by-execution pricing instead of per-server costs

Signup and login

1. Visit app.n8n.cloud and start the free trial.
2. Verify your email and pick a subdomain.
3. Land on an empty editor. Now import a starter template from our workflow library — go to Workflows → Import from File and select any JSON download.
4. Map credentials. n8n Cloud stores them encrypted; never paste raw keys into node fields.
5. Activate triggers when manual runs look clean.

See our n8n login guide for forgotten-password flows.

When Cloud is the right choice

• Agency MVPs. Spin up a client's instance in minutes, hand off the URL, and bill for setup time instead of DevOps.
• Teams with no infrastructure engineer. Marketing and ops teams should not own Docker upgrades or TLS renewals.
• Compliance offload. Higher tiers include SOC 2 and SSO — useful if your buyers ask for it.
• Short projects. Six-week client engagements rarely justify a self-hosted stack.

When self-hosting wins instead

• High execution volume. Past a certain monthly run count, a $20 VPS beats any execution-based Cloud tier. See pricing comparison.
• Data residency. Hosting n8n in your own AWS Mumbai or Hetzner Helsinki region simplifies India DPDP and EU GDPR compliance.
• Custom nodes. If you ship your own community nodes or forks of n8n itself.
• Heavy AI agent loops. Self-host lets you give the runner more RAM and concurrency without surprise per-execution bills.

Migrating from self-host to Cloud (or vice versa)

1. Export each active workflow from the source as JSON.
2. Open the destination, Import from File for each workflow.
3. Recreate credentials manually — they cannot be exported for security reasons.
4. Run a manual execution on each migrated workflow.
5. Cutover triggers (webhooks, cron) on the destination only.
6. Keep the source frozen for one week as a rollback option.

Cost mental model

The right way to compare is fully loaded cost: subscription + your engineering time. A $20/month VPS that needs 4 hours of monthly maintenance at ₹2,000/hour costs more than a $30 Cloud plan that needs zero. Inverse becomes true once executions multiply.

Cloud-friendly templates to start with

• Chat Bot Agent
• Cold Email Agent
• Social Media Manager
• Newsletter Agent

Related: Self-host guide · Docker setup · Pricing