Can You Use n8n Commercially? The Sustainable Use License Explained
n8n is often called open source. Its source code is public, but the license is n8n's own Sustainable Use License, and the difference matters as soon as you use n8n for anything beyond your own company's workflows.
This guide quotes n8n's license file and links to the pages where n8n explains it. It is a summary of public pages, not legal advice. Where n8n's own pages differ, we say so, and the last section says who to ask. The pages were read on 24 September 2026.
What the license file says
The license file in n8n's repository grants a free license to use, copy, distribute and prepare derivative works of the software, with limits. The central one reads: “You may use or modify the software only for your own internal business purposes or for non-commercial or personal use.”
Distribution is limited too: “You may distribute the software or provide it to others only if you do so free of charge for non-commercial purposes.”
Source files with ".ee." in the file name, or ".ee" in a directory name, need a separate n8n Enterprise License. Using the software outside these terms is unlicensed, and the license ends automatically.
Inside your own company
Running n8n to automate your own business, such as your CRM, billing or support inbox, fits the wording of the license: your own internal business purposes. That is the case the license is written around, and it is why most teams never need to think about it.
Client work: where n8n's own pages differ
n8n's help center says a consultant whose role is limited to helping clients set up their own internal instances of n8n needs no commercial license. It also says that hosting and managing clients' workflows and credentials in your own instance would need an Enterprise license, and that embedding n8n in a product would need a white-labeled Embed license.
n8n's documentation license FAQ reads differently. It says consulting and automation services are permitted under the Sustainable Use License, on the condition that n8n stays your internal tool and clients receive outputs rather than access. It also says building, running and maintaining workflows on your own instance on behalf of clients is permitted, including charging consulting or development fees. It adds that you cannot let external users build or configure workflows through your own product.
Those are two statements on n8n's own site about the same activity, hosting client workflows on your own instance, and they point in different directions. They may reflect different dates or different assumptions about who controls access. The pages do not say which, so we treat neither as settled.
Where common setups land
| Setup | What n8n says | How clear it is |
|---|---|---|
| Your company runs n8n for its own workflows | Fits the “own internal business purposes” wording of the license file | Clear from the license text |
| A consultant helps a client set up the client's own instance | Help center: no commercial license needed for the consultant | Stated on the help center |
| An agency hosts and manages client workflows and credentials on the agency's own instance | Help center: Enterprise license required. Docs FAQ: permitted, including charging consulting or development fees | n8n's pages differ. Ask n8n |
| A product lets its customers build or configure workflows inside n8n | Help center: embedding needs an Embed license. Docs FAQ: not allowed under the free license | Both pages point the same way |
| You sell hosted access to n8n | The license file limits providing the software to others to free, non-commercial use. Ask n8n about a commercial license | Follows from the license text |
Before you rely on any of this
- Read the license file and the two n8n pages yourself. They are linked below, and pages change.
- Write to license@n8n.io with your exact setup. Both the documentation and the help center point to that address for questions about a specific use.
- Keep n8n's reply. If a client, an investor or an auditor asks about licensing, a written answer from n8n is worth more than any summary, including this one.
- Check the same question again when your setup changes, for example when you move from advising a client to hosting for them.
The short answer
Running n8n for your own company's internal work fits the license's wording. Helping a client set up the client's own instance is covered, according to n8n's help center. Hosting client workflows on your own instance is where n8n's pages disagree, so get written confirmation. Embedding n8n in a product, or selling access to it, needs a commercial license.
This summarizes public pages as they stood on 24 September 2026. It is not legal advice.
Common questions
Is n8n open source?
Its source code is public, but it is licensed under n8n's own Sustainable Use License, which limits use to internal business purposes and non-commercial or personal use. That is narrower than what an OSI-approved open source license allows.
Can I use n8n commercially?
Using it for your own company's internal business purposes fits the license. Providing the software to others for a fee does not, under the license text. Consulting and client work is a separate question, covered in the section on client work above.
Do I need a license to build n8n workflows for clients?
n8n's help center says a consultant who only helps clients set up their own instances needs no commercial license, and that hosting and managing clients' workflows and credentials in your own instance needs an Enterprise license. n8n's docs FAQ says building and running workflows for clients on your own instance is permitted. Because those differ, ask license@n8n.io with your exact setup.
Who do I ask about my specific case?
license@n8n.io. Both the documentation and the help center point there for questions about a specific use.
Sources
Read on . Vendor terms change, so check the current page before you rely on a definition.