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Ask five n8n agencies what a project costs and you will get five answers that look unrelated. Some publish a number. Some say "book a call". Some quote hourly, some per workflow, some per month. This guide is a buyer's checklist: what moves the price, how the common pricing models differ, what a fixed quote should contain, and which questions to ask before you pay anything.
Everything here about outside vendors is what they publish themselves, with the date I read it. Everything about SkynetLabs is copied from our public pricing page as it stood on 10 November 2026.
What actually drives the price of an n8n project
The workflow canvas is rarely the expensive part. The price follows risk and unknowns. In rough order of impact:
- How many systems you connect. Every extra API means authentication, rate limits, odd data shapes and one more thing that can break.
- What happens when it fails. A workflow that drafts an internal note can fail quietly. One that texts your customers cannot. Error handling, retries and alerts are real work.
- Whether AI is in the loop. A model that writes replies needs prompts, test cases and a human approval step if mistakes are costly.
- Your data. Messy spreadsheets, duplicate contacts and missing fields are the usual cause of a project running over.
- Who runs it afterwards. Hosting, updates, monitoring and fixes when a vendor changes an API are ongoing costs, not build costs.
Goodspeed, an n8n agency that publishes its rates, lists nearly the same factors: the number of systems and APIs, how critical the workflows are, data volume and complexity, and security or compliance needs.
Project, retainer or per workflow: how the models differ
| Model | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed project price | One clear outcome, such as "new enquiry gets a reply and a CRM row" | Vague scope. Ask what is excluded in writing. |
| Per workflow | Adding automations one at a time as you learn | "Workflow" can mean 4 nodes or 40. Ask for a size limit. |
| Monthly retainer | Live systems that need monitoring and small changes | Unused hours that vanish, and no end date. |
| Hourly or day rate | Fixes, audits, work you cannot scope yet | No ceiling. Ask for an estimate with a cap. |
Most small businesses do best with a fixed price for the first build, then a small retainer only if the workflow is something the business now depends on.
What other agencies publish (vendor-published, read 10 Nov 2026)
Public n8n agency prices are rare, which is part of why people search for this topic. One that is public is Goodspeed. On its pricing article (byline dated 10 December 2025) it lists:
- An Automation Starter Audit that is free.
- An Automation Accelerator at "$5,000 fixed scope", which includes up to four production workflows and a half-day workshop.
- An Ongoing Automation Team retainer "from $10,000/month".
- n8n licences and hosting are not included. You pay the vendor or cloud provider directly.
Treat that as one agency's figures, not a market average. I found no independent survey of n8n-specific rates, and most "what it costs" articles come from agencies with something to sell. That includes this one, so use it as a way to read quotes rather than as a benchmark.
The n8n bill is separate from the agency bill
The agency fee pays for the build. n8n itself costs extra, and the amount depends on where it runs. From n8n's own pricing page, read 10 November 2026 (prices in euros, billed annually):
- Starter: €20 a month, 2.5K workflow executions a month.
- Pro: €50 a month, 10K executions.
- Business: €667 a month, 40K executions. The page lists this plan as self-hosted only.
- Enterprise: contact sales.
- Community Edition: a standard self-hosted version on GitHub.
If you self-host, add a server. Hetzner's cloud page lists shared-vCPU servers from €6.49 a month excluding VAT (read 10 November 2026), and you or your agency has to keep it patched and backed up. We compare both routes in self-hosted n8n vs n8n Cloud. Whichever route you pick, make sure the quote says who pays for the account and who owns the login.
What a fixed price should include
A fixed quote worth signing names each of these:
- A written scope. Trigger, steps, and the finished result, in plain words.
- The tools and accounts involved, and who pays for each.
- Error handling. What happens when a step fails and who gets told.
- Test evidence. A real run with your data, not only a screenshot of a green canvas.
- Handover. The workflow export, a short written guide or video, and credentials in your name.
- A fix window. How long after launch problems are fixed at no charge.
- Change handling. What an extra request costs, before you make it.
Red flags in an n8n quote
- 100% payment upfront for work that takes weeks. A split tied to milestones protects both sides.
- No maintenance answer. n8n updates, and the apps it connects to change their APIs. If nobody owns that, the workflow will break in a few months.
- "Certified n8n expert" with nothing to check. n8n's become-an-expert page does not mention a certification or exam. It describes a closed pilot for expert partners, with criteria that include at least three active n8n customers and work in the UK, Ireland, Northern Europe or North America, plus a waitlist application. If an agency claims a badge, ask what it is and look for it in n8n's partner directory at experts.n8n.io. When I read the directory it showed 48 results grouped as Enterprise, Premium and Select, with no stated vetting process. Being absent from it does not make an agency bad, and being listed does not make one good. It is just something you can check.
- You do not own the workflows. You should receive the JSON exports and keep the accounts.
- No named person. Know who builds it and who answers when it breaks.
Ten questions to ask before you sign
- What exactly will exist when you are done, and how will I see it working?
- Which of my accounts and tools does it touch?
- Does it send anything to my customers without a person approving it?
- What happens when a step fails, and who is told?
- Where does n8n run, and who pays for that?
- Do I get the workflow exports and admin access at the end?
- What is excluded from this price?
- How long are fixes free after launch?
- What does a small change cost afterwards?
- Can I speak to someone who has a similar workflow running?
Our prices, as shown on the pricing page
For the n8n Automation service, the pricing page lists three tiers (read 10 November 2026):
| Tier | Price | Ship time | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $1,497 one-time | 5 days | One production workflow of up to 12 nodes, n8n cloud or self-hosted setup, error handling with a Slack notifier, a Loom walkthrough |
| Pro | $5,000 one-time | 10-14 days | Up to three connected workflows, AI nodes, a PostgreSQL log and audit trail, a team SOP and two rounds of revisions |
| Custom | $1,997 a month | Ongoing | Unlimited small tweaks, one new flow a month of up to 15 nodes, monitoring and alerting, a monthly review call |
The same page lists add-ons, including self-hosting on your own VPS (setup and hardening) at $750, and a $750 n8n smoke-test build for testing an idea on a small scale. n8n's own subscription or your server cost is separate. See the service page at n8n automation for what a build looks like, and the note on why we publish prices.
Questions people ask
Is there a standard hourly rate for an n8n consultant?
I found no independent, n8n-specific survey. Published figures come from agencies and freelancers selling the service, so ask for a scoped fixed price and compare the scope, not the hourly number.
Does the agency fee include n8n itself?
Usually not. Goodspeed states that n8n licences and hosting are paid to the vendor or cloud provider directly, and n8n's own pricing page lists separate subscription plans. Ask your agency to put the platform cost in the quote as its own line.
Do I need an n8n certified agency?
n8n's become-an-expert page does not mention a certification or exam. It describes a closed pilot for expert partners with set criteria, so ask any agency claiming a badge what it is and how you can verify it.
Should I pay a retainer from day one?
Not usually. Pay a fixed price for the first build, then take a retainer if the workflow becomes something the business depends on and needs monitoring.