n8n

What is n8n?

n8n (pronounced "n-eight-n") is a fair-code licensed workflow automation tool launched in 2019. It's like Zapier — trigger-based workflows connecting apps — but you host it yourself on your own server. No per-task fees, no data leaving your infrastructure, no monthly SaaS subscription beyond your server cost.

For Indian product teams, n8n's core appeal is the economics: a DigitalOcean Basic Droplet at ₹800/month handles most startup automation workloads. Compare that to Zapier Professional at ₹4,720/month (with GST) for 2,000 tasks. If you're processing 50,000 automation runs per month, n8n's cost advantage is enormous.

n8n has 400+ built-in integrations and supports custom HTTP requests and JavaScript code nodes for anything that isn't natively covered. Indian teams use it heavily for AI-powered automation workflows — connecting OpenAI/Claude to internal tools, processing Razorpay webhooks, and building data pipelines without a data engineering team.

Key Features

Best For

• Developer-led teams where someone can spend 2 hours on initial setup
• Teams running high-volume automation (10,000+ tasks/month) where Zapier costs are prohibitive
• Indian fintech and healthtech teams with data localisation requirements
• Teams building AI-powered automation involving LLMs and internal data
• Cost-conscious engineering teams currently paying ₹5,000+/month for Zapier

Pricing

💡 Indian cost comparison at 50,000 tasks/month: Zapier Professional (unlimited tasks) costs ~₹33,000/month. Make (Operations plan) costs ~₹6,800/month. n8n self-hosted costs ~₹800/month for the server. The 2-hour setup investment pays for itself in month one.

Pros and Cons

Alternatives to n8n

Getting Started with n8n

1. Deploy on DigitalOcean in 15 minutes — Create a Basic Droplet (2GB RAM, ₹800/mo), SSH in, install Docker, and run the n8n Docker command. Use a domain with HTTPS (required for webhooks) — Cloudflare's free SSL plus a ₹800/year domain works perfectly. Total setup time for an experienced developer: 45 minutes.
2. Set up credentials store first — Before building any workflows, configure your API credentials for the apps you'll integrate (Razorpay, Intercom, Google, Slack, etc.) in n8n's Credentials section. Centralising credentials means all workflows use the same API keys — rotate once, update everywhere.
3. Start with a Webhook trigger workflow — The most versatile n8n pattern for Indian teams is: Razorpay/Cashfree webhook → n8n HTTP node → process data with a Code node → send results to Slack/Sheets/CRM. This covers 80% of common fintech automation use cases and teaches you n8n's data flow model quickly.
4. Use the Code node for what visual tools can't do — When you need to transform data, calculate values, or call an internal API, drop a Code node. Write standard JavaScript — no special n8n syntax. This is where n8n leaves Zapier behind: you can do anything a developer can code, not just what a visual tool anticipates.
5. Set up error alerting on day one — Add an Error Workflow in n8n settings that posts to a Slack channel when any workflow fails. Without this, silent failures go unnoticed. For production automation that teams depend on, monitoring is more important than the workflows themselves.