Every number on this site is generated from pricing.json. Prices are list prices excluding VAT; nothing is estimated from benchmarks.
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How prices are collected and kept fresh
Each price in pricing.json was read from the vendor's own pricing page (or, when that page can't be read, a dated third-party tracker) and stored with its source URL and check date.
A GitHub Action runs every day (scheduled 03:30 UTC; GitHub can start scheduled runs late). It fetches every source listed in pricing.json, extracts the price text and compares it with the last snapshot.
If a price text changed, the Action opens or updates a pull request with a report. A person reviews it against the source page and edits pricing.json by hand. Nothing is merged or published automatically.
If a source can't be read, the run fails and an issue is opened, and the last good snapshot is kept. Sources that block automated reads (currently Make) are marked for manual checks.
“Prices auto-checked” shows the date of the oldest successful automated read; until every automated source reads OK, pages show the oldest manual check date instead.
Formulas
Zapier: billed per task. Tasks = runs × steps.
Make: billed per credit. Credits = runs × (steps + 1). Make shows a range when dated sources conflict.
n8n Cloud: billed per execution. 1 run = 1 execution. Above listed tiers is Enterprise/custom with no list price.
Self‑hosted: flat server price (intro or renewal), independent of runs/steps.
Railway: usage‑based — shown as “from $5/mo minimum, usage‑based”, never a flat monthly price.
Oracle Always Free: $0, but often out of capacity, so it can't earn the lowest‑verified badge.
Rows marked not orderable (currently Hetzner CX23) can't earn the badge; when neither side of a comparison is orderable, no “cheaper” verdict is given.
EUR→USD: 1.1836 (from data.meta).
Status badges: verified official vendor page; third party dated tracker; conflicting sources disagree; unknown not found.
Lowest verified price: skips unverified, not orderable, often out of capacity, sources conflict or usage‑based rows.
Assumptions
Self‑hosted n8n CE has no execution cap; throughput is limited by server capacity.
Tables are generated for specific workloads (runs/steps), using the same logic as the calculator.
Excluded costs
Network egress, block storage, backups and add‑on databases unless called out in notes (e.g. Render Postgres).
Support, SLAs and operational toil for self‑managed hosting.
Independence
Rankings use price data only. Some links are affiliate links (see disclosure). Providers cannot pay to change their position or their prices on this site.
Price-change alerts
A short email when a host or automation platform changes its price or renewal terms.