Host N8N For Free

Tutorials & Methods
1

Host n8n for Free – 2025 Guide

1) Google Cloud (Free forever)

e2-micro instance: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM, 30 GB storage

Install script:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
mkdir ~/n8n && cd ~/n8n

cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
version: '3.8'
services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword
      # Recommended extras:
      - N8N_HOST=your.domain.com
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Kolkata
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n
volumes:
  n8n_data:
EOF

# If your system uses Docker Compose v2, use `docker compose` (space), not `docker-compose`
docker compose up -d || docker-compose up -d
echo "n8n is available at http://YOUR-IP:5678"

Open firewall (GCP):

  • VPC Network → Firewall → Create firewall rule → allow TCP 5678 (or terminate TLS via a reverse proxy on 80/443 instead).

2) Oracle Cloud (Most powerful free tier)

  • Free: up to 4 OCPUs + 24 GB RAM
  • Create account (card verification) → choose “Always Free resources”

Open port:

sudo iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 5678 -j ACCEPT

(Also add a Security List / Network Security Group ingress rule for TCP 5678 in the OCI console. Persist iptables rules or use ufw allow 5678.)

3) Render (Easiest)

  • 750 free hours/month
  • Create New Web Service → use image n8nio/n8n:latest
  • Port: 5678

Environment variables:

N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword
N8N_HOST=<your-render-url or custom domain>
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Kolkata

4) Local Hosting

On your own machine:

docker run -d --name n8n \
  -p 5678:5678 \
  -e N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true \
  -e N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin \
  -e N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=MyStrongPassword \
  -e GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Asia/Kolkata \
  -v n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n \
  n8nio/n8n:latest

Then visit: http://localhost:5678

Important Points

“Loopholes & Gotchas” (don’t get tripped)

  • Public port 5678 = risky. Put n8n behind a reverse proxy with HTTPS + auth (Caddy, Traefik, or Nginx). Let’s Encrypt is free.

  • Set your public URL or webhooks won’t trigger correctly:

    • N8N_HOST = your domain, N8N_PROTOCOL = https
    • If behind a tunnel, set WEBHOOK_TUNNEL_URL=https://your-public-url

  • Timezone & cron accuracy: set GENERIC_TIMEZONE (e.g., Asia/Kolkata) or schedules fire at UTC by default.

  • Persist data: always mount /home/node/.n8n. Without the volume, you’ll lose credentials/workflows on container rebuilds.

  • External DB for scale: for reliability and team use, consider Postgres (DB_TYPE=postgresdb, DB_POSTGRESDB_* vars). SQLite is fine for small solo use but brittle at scale.

  • Email nodes need SMTP: configure your SMTP credentials in n8n credentials; many providers block port 25—use 587/465 with TLS.

  • GCP quirks: e2-micro availability varies by region; outbound bandwidth is limited; set a static external IP; configure VPC firewall rules.

  • Oracle quirks: Always-Free can be revoked if idle or if you breach policies; ensure ingress rules in both OS firewall and OCI Security Lists.

  • Render free plan sleeps: expect cold starts and potential timeouts; background triggers that need constant uptime may fail—use cron/heartbeat or a ping service.

  • Compose v1 vs v2: many distros ship Compose v2 (docker compose). If docker-compose isn’t found, install v2 or use the space version.

  • SSL termination: easiest path is a proxy container (e.g., Caddy) that auto-issues certs and forwards to n8n:5678.

  • Webhooks from third parties: some providers require a public HTTPS URL (no IP:port). Use a domain + valid cert or an HTTPS tunnel.

  • Backups: periodically export workflows/credentials; also snapshot the server disk (GCP/OCI) or back up the volume folder.

  • Security hygiene: rotate credentials, disable default admin, restrict IPs at the firewall, and keep Docker & n8n images updated.

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useful share, thanks