n8n is an open source workflow automation tool that connects your applications and runs sequences of tasks without human intervention. You pick a trigger, you chain nodes together, and the sequence runs every time the condition occurs. The name is pronounced « n-eight-n » and comes from « nodemation », a contraction of node and automation. Since 2023 n8n has also shipped native artificial intelligence capabilities, which lets it orchestrate a classic automation and an AI agent on the same canvas.
Tandem is an n8n partner agency and deploys the tool with its clients, across more than 40 SMEs and mid-caps, from Doctolib to InfraVia and on to PayFit, Nomination and KparK. This guide covers what our teams explain in a first meeting, namely the concepts you need, what n8n can do, what it really costs, and the limits that product demos leave out.
What is n8n exactly?
n8n is a fair-code licensed workflow automation platform, built by the German company of the same name since 2019. Its official documentation defines it as a tool that combines business process automation with AI capabilities. In practice n8n does three things. It connects applications that do not talk to each other natively, it moves and transforms data between them, and it triggers actions based on rules you define.
Two characteristics set n8n apart from the rest of the market. The first is self-hosting. You can install n8n on your own server, in France if you want to, and your data never leaves your infrastructure. The second is the billing model. n8n counts workflow executions rather than operations, so a thirty-node scenario costs exactly the same as a three-node one.
The project's official GitHub repository claims more than 400 native integrations and passed 199,000 stars on 5 August 2026. On the market side, German software group SAP took a stake in n8n on 12 May 2026, taking its valuation to roughly 4.8 billion euros, with the stated intention of embedding the n8n canvas in its own agent builder Joule Studio (sources Bloomberg and Tech.eu, May 2026). For a European SME that news has one practical merit. It lowers the risk of betting on a tool that might vanish within eighteen months.
How does an n8n workflow work?
An n8n workflow always follows the same logic, a trigger and then a chain of nodes leading to a result. The trigger is the event that starts the sequence, for instance an incoming email, a submitted form, a new row in a spreadsheet, or simply a clock that fires every Monday at 8am. Each node that follows does exactly one thing, read a piece of data, call a model, write to a CRM, send a message.
Four notions are enough to read any existing workflow and modify one without breaking the rest.
Do you need to code to use n8n?
No to get started, yes to go far. n8n sits in the low-code category rather than in strict no-code, and its visual editor lets you build a first useful workflow by dragging nodes and filling in fields, without writing a line of code. Most of the automations Tandem installs in SMEs rely on standard nodes and simple expressions.
The nuance arrives at the second tier. As soon as you handle nested data, cover edge cases or want to make a scenario reliable, a little JavaScript changes everything. n8n offers a Code node that accepts JavaScript and Python, and it is often the thing that unlocks the last five percent of a project. The learning curve is real, and it is the most frequent criticism of the tool. A business owner hoping to automate their back office alone over a weekend will be disappointed.
What is n8n used for? Five patterns installed in SMEs
The workflows that create the most value are never the most spectacular. Here are the five families Tandem finds engagement after engagement, with the gains teams actually report.
One detailed example beats a list. On a sector news newsletter engagement, the n8n workflow chains a web research tool that surfaces relevant articles, a model that filters and drafts each section in an imposed format, then an email tool that stages the send with a human review before distribution. We documented that scenario step by step in our article on automating a newsletter with n8n. For a wider view, our inventory of AI use cases in business lists what works function by function.
n8n Cloud or self-hosted, which should you pick?
n8n comes in two deployment modes, and the choice hinges on how sensitive your data is rather than on price. The self-hosted community edition is free, with no execution limit and no restriction on available nodes, under a fair-code licence for internal use. You only pay for your server, and you take on the updates, the backups and the monitoring.
On the cloud side, the prices listed on the official n8n pricing page on 5 August 2026 start at 20 euros per month on annual billing for the Starter plan, with 2,500 monthly executions, then 50 euros per month for the Pro plan and its 10,000 executions. Both include unlimited users and workflows. The Business plan, at 667 euros per month, adds single sign-on and a self-hosted option under a commercial licence.
| Criterion | Self-hosted | n8n Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Free, fair-code, internal use | From 20 euros per month |
| Executions | Unlimited | 2,500 to 40,000 per month by plan |
| Data location | Your server, in France if needed | The vendor's infrastructure |
| Operational load | You, or your partner | The vendor |
| Good for | Sensitive client data, high volumes | Fast start, team with no DevOps |
An SME that moves quotes, contracts and client data through its workflows is better off self-hosting in Europe, because compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation becomes far easier to demonstrate when nothing leaves your infrastructure. A team with no systems skills will gain more by starting on the cloud, even if it migrates later. The cost of a server is not paid in euros alone, it is also paid in maintenance hours.
Tandem hosts and maintains client workflows in both configurations. The details of that service are on our n8n agency page.
n8n and AI agents, the real shift
This is the capability that made n8n take off. The tool natively integrates language models, vector stores for retrieval augmented generation (RAG) and the MCP protocol, so the same canvas orchestrates your classic automations and your AI agents. Selecting an AI Agent node gives you a pre-wired agent skeleton, with its trigger, its memory and its tool list. All that remains is writing the instructions and connecting the applications.
The MCP protocol pushes that logic one step further. Community MCP nodes let an n8n agent query a tool server, discover the available actions on its own, then fill in the parameters with no extra prompt and no code. Two reservations still keep the mechanism away from sensitive use. MCP servers are often hosted locally, and the protocol sets no standard for authentication or fine-grained permissions.
The ease of starting an n8n agent creates a trap. An autonomous agent impresses in a demo and disappoints in production, because it picks its own path and is inherently less predictable than a workflow. Companies want control, measurability and repeatability first.
Across more than 40 companies supported, Tandem sees a four-level progression, the assistant you call on demand, the simple automation with no intelligence, the workflow that inserts a model in the middle of a deterministic sequence, then the autonomous agent. The vast majority of projects that return on their investment stop at level 3. We set out those trade-offs in our comparison of workflows, assistants and AI agents and in our analysis of the difference between an AI agent and an AI workflow.
An agent sells the dream. A workflow runs the business.
The limits of n8n that product demos leave out
n8n is a tool, not a magic solution. Four limits deserve to be stated before you commit.
n8n, Make or Zapier?
The difference comes down to three points. Zapier is the easiest to pick up and the most expensive at scale, because it bills per operation. Make offers a very readable visual editor and a good power-to-price ratio, with no self-hosting option. n8n asks more effort upfront and returns self-hosting, a predictable per-execution cost and a distinctly more advanced AI layer. For a European SME that handles client data and wants to industrialise, that last profile wins most often.
Where to start with n8n
Four steps take you from curiosity to a first useful workflow, and the order matters more than the speed.
Start small, then widen. That holds for agents as much as for classic workflows, and getting familiar with the tool matters as much as the outcome of the first scenario.
Should you adopt n8n in your company?
Yes, if you have repetitive processes, applications that do not talk to each other, and at least one person willing to spend time on it. n8n is today the most complete automation tool for a European SME or mid-cap, because it combines self-hosting, a predictable cost and an AI integration its competitors are only starting to match.
No, if you are looking for a tool that runs with nobody looking after it. In that case the question is not which tool but how the work is framed. Our AI audit exists for exactly that, mapping processes and quantifying the gain before a single workflow gets built.
The licence is free. Your team's time is not.
