Deploy n8n
n8n is a workflow automation platform that combines AI capabilities with business process automation. This template deploys n8n wired to a fresh Postgres database.
What's included
How to self-host n8n elsewhere
This is what deploying n8n by hand looks like — useful context for what clicking "Deploy Now" above does automatically.
- 1Get the source. Clone
https://github.com/mikelun/lizard-template-n8n(branchmain). - 2Provision the database. Stand up postgres and note its connection credentials.
- 3Set environment variables. Configure
DB_TYPE,DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST,DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT,DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE,DB_POSTGRESDB_USER, and 1 more to point at that database. - 4Start it and expose the port. Run the container and route traffic to port
5678.
On Lizard, all of the above happens when you click Deploy — the database is provisioned and its credentials are wired into the app's environment automatically.
Why deploy n8n on Lizard
n8n's official cloud plans price by monthly workflow-execution volume, so cost is hard to predict once usage grows. Self-hosting removes that ceiling — you're paying for the compute and memory n8n actually uses, metered by the second, not for a tier picked in advance. The software itself stays free either way: n8n's core is open under its fair-code license, so self-hosting only trades a subscription for infrastructure cost.
Lizard vs. other VPS providers for n8n
| Provider | With Lizard | With the other provider |
|---|---|---|
| Linode | This template deploys n8n already wired to a managed Postgres instance — no server to provision. | A bare VPS: you install Docker, configure Postgres yourself, set up TLS, and own every future upgrade. |
| Vultr | Workflows are runnable within a minute of clicking Deploy; scaling and backups are handled for you. | Inexpensive compute, but networking, monitoring, and patching are entirely your responsibility. |
| AWS Lightsail | One click produces a running n8n instance with its database credentials already injected. | Deep access to the AWS ecosystem, at the cost of meaningfully more setup and IAM/networking overhead. |
Common use cases
- Connecting everyday SaaS tools — Slack, Gmail, CRMs — into automated workflows without writing glue code
- Wiring an AI model call into a pipeline: trigger a run, transform its output, and push the result into a database or dashboard
- Automating recurring business processes like lead routing, invoice generation, or customer notifications
- Chaining webhooks, third-party APIs, and internal services into a single multi-step automation
How n8n compares to other automation platforms
n8n vs. Zapier
- Control:
- n8n can be self-hosted for free under its fair-code license; Zapier is closed-source, SaaS-only.
- Depth:
- n8n supports custom code, conditional branching, and its own API; Zapier trades that depth for simplicity.
n8n vs. Make
- Integrations:
- n8n ships hundreds of integrations plus arbitrary custom code; Make is limited to its predefined action library.
- Learning curve:
- Make's interface is friendlier for non-technical users — n8n asks more up front but goes further once learned.
n8n vs. IFTTT
- Data ownership:
- Self-hosted n8n keeps your data and credentials on infrastructure you control; IFTTT processes everything through its cloud.
- Audience:
- n8n is built for developers who need APIs and scale; IFTTT targets simple, single-app automations.
n8n vs. Gumloop
- Scope:
- n8n is a general-purpose workflow platform with hundreds of integrations; Gumloop focuses more narrowly on scraping and lightweight automation.
- Extensibility:
- n8n supports custom nodes and a full API; Gumloop's feature set is more fixed.
n8n vs. Lindy
- Breadth:
- n8n covers general app and API automation; Lindy specializes as an AI assistant for scheduling and meetings.
- Customization:
- n8n's multi-step workflow builder goes deeper than Lindy's preset AI-driven flows.
n8n vs. Pabbly Connect
- Hosting:
- n8n's community edition runs entirely on infrastructure you choose; Pabbly Connect is SaaS-only.
- Pricing model:
- Self-hosting keeps n8n's cost tied to actual usage; Pabbly's pricing scales with task volume.
n8n Cloud pricing vs. self-hosting on Lizard
| Official plan | Price | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | €20/mo | billed annually · 2,500 workflow executions/mo |
| Pro | €50/mo | billed annually · 10,000 workflow executions/mo |
| Business | €667/mo | billed annually · 40,000 workflow executions/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | contact n8n sales |
All n8n Cloud tiers include unlimited users, unlimited workflows, and every integration — the tiers scale by monthly execution volume, not features. Source: n8n.io/pricing/
Self-hosting via this template costs whatever compute and memory it actually uses, billed by the second at Lizard's published rate — not a fixed subscription:
| Usage | Profile | Est. monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Light / personal use | occasional workflows, mostly idle | ~$6.60/mo |
| Active / small team | frequent triggers, several workflows running daily | ~$14.61/mo |
Estimated from Lizard's published per-second compute rate at a realistic average utilization, not a maxed-out allocation — actual cost tracks your real workflow volume. See /compare-cloud-prices for the full methodology.
Frequently asked questions
What does self-hosted n8n mean?
Running n8n's community edition on infrastructure you control — like this Lizard deployment — instead of subscribing to n8n Cloud. You get the same workflow engine and node library; the difference is who runs the server.
How much does hosting n8n on Lizard cost?
There's no flat fee — Lizard bills by the second for the CPU and RAM your instance actually uses, plus its Postgres addon. For light, occasional use that typically lands in the low single digits of dollars per month; an actively used team instance runs higher. See the cost estimate above for the underlying numbers.
Is n8n free?
n8n's core is free under its fair-code license — there's no software cost to self-host it. You only pay for the infrastructure it runs on, which on Lizard is metered usage rather than a fixed plan.
Where does this template deploy n8n from?
From the public GitHub repository listed above under "What's included" — it runs the same n8n you'd get from the official Docker image, wired to a fresh Postgres database at deploy time.
What are the main alternatives to n8n?
The most common ones people compare n8n against are Zapier, Make, IFTTT, Gumloop, Lindy, and Pabbly Connect — see the comparison above for how each differs from self-hosted n8n.