WHERE THE WORKFLOWS RUN

Self-hosted vs cloud automation platforms

Managed automation clouds remove the operating burden; self-hosting keeps workflow data and internal system access inside your own perimeter. What each actually costs.

Discuss your case

Managed cloud

The vendor runs the automation platform: Zapier, Make, or n8n Cloud.

Self-hosted

The platform runs on your infrastructure — typically n8n in your own EU environment.

Criterion	Managed cloud	Self-hosted
Setup time	Immediate — an account and a login	Hours to days for a hardened, backed-up deployment
Operating burden	None; upgrades and uptime are the vendor's	Yours: patching, backups, monitoring, restore tests
Where workflow data goes	Through the vendor's infrastructure	Stays inside your environment and region
Cost model	Per task, operation or seat	Server and maintenance cost, largely fixed
Cost at high volume	Grows directly with execution count	Flat until you outgrow the machine
Internal systems access	Needs public endpoints or a tunnel	Direct network access to internal services
Availability	The vendor's SLA	Whatever you engineer and are willing to run
Audit and logs	As exposed by the vendor's plan	Full access to logs and retention rules

Choose Managed cloud when

Volumes are modest and the data is not sensitive
There is no one to own servers, patching and backups
You want the first workflow live this week
Everything you connect is already SaaS with public APIs

Choose Self-hosted when

Data residency or sector rules constrain where data may be processed
The workflow touches systems that are not on the public internet
Execution volume makes per-task pricing the largest line item
You need full logs, retention control and a private deployment story

Self-hosting is often presented as the cautious choice, but it is a trade, not an upgrade: you exchange a subscription and someone else's uptime for a server you are now responsible for at 3am. Both options are legitimate — the mistake is choosing without pricing the side you will actually pay.

Data residency is a requirement, not a preference

If a legal, sector or client requirement says workflow data must stay in a given jurisdiction, that requirement decides the platform and the rest of the comparison is commentary. Check it before evaluating features: a processor list and international-transfer answer is far cheaper to produce before a workflow exists than after it is running in production.

Self-hosted still means operated

A self-hosted platform that nobody patches, backs up or monitors is a worse outcome than the managed cloud it replaced — the control was theoretical and the risk is real. Budget the operating work explicitly, or take the managed option honestly. If neither is comfortable, a managed deployment inside your own cloud account is the middle ground worth pricing.