What is n8n and how it helps automate your business
n8n is an open-source automation platform that connects APIs, databases and SaaS tools through visual workflows. It lets you automate business processes without writing glue code, while keeping control of your data.
n8n is a self-hostable alternative to Zapier or Make. The key difference: you can run it on your own infrastructure, which means you don't pay per execution and avoid vendor lock-in. It's ideal when you handle sensitive data or when Zapier costs start to climb with volume.
Every n8n workflow starts with a trigger (a webhook, a cron schedule, a WhatsApp message, a Stripe event) and runs a sequence of nodes: HTTP requests, transformations, conditions, calls to LLMs, database writes and outgoing messages. It supports more than 400 native integrations and any REST API.
An applied example
An online shop uses n8n so that whenever an order comes in on Shopify, the customer is created in HubSpot, a welcome message is sent on WhatsApp by an AI agent, the invoice is generated, and if 7 days pass without delivery, a workflow fires off an alert to the customer and the logistics team.
When it is worth it
- You have 5+ SaaS tools that need to talk to each other, and right now someone does it by hand.
- What you pay for Zapier or Make grows every month.
- You handle sensitive data (health, financial, legal) that you don't want sitting in third-party SaaS.
- You need conditional logic that a simple Zap can't handle (loops, branching, retries with backoff).
- You want AI built into the flow (summarising messages, classifying, generating content) without paying for every call in a no-code tool.
Common mistakes
- Setting up n8n on a VPS with no backups or monitoring. When it goes down, you find out too late.
- Hardcoding API keys in nodes instead of using encrypted credentials.
- Building one giant workflow instead of several modular ones. When something fails, you don't know where to look.
- Not versioning your workflows. n8n lets you export JSON; without git, you lose your history.
- Using n8n for critical processes without high availability. For mission-critical use, consider replicated Postgres and redundant workers.
How we do it at STAKKER
STAKKER SYSTEMS has run n8n in production on its own infrastructure since 2026. It's a self-hosted instance on Hetzner with Postgres, Uptime Kuma + Telegram monitoring, daily backups and workflows versioned in git. Our proposal is tailored around diagnosis, scope, infrastructure and maintenance.
Frequently asked questions
Is n8n free?
The core is open-source under the Sustainable Use licence. If you self-host, you pay nothing apart from the infrastructure (a small VPS, a few euros a month). There's a paid cloud version if you'd rather not run it yourself.
Do I need to know how to code to use n8n?
Not for simple workflows. For complex flows with JSON transformations, basic JavaScript helps, because some nodes allow code expressions.
How many integrations does n8n have?
More than 400 native ones (Gmail, Calendar, Slack, HubSpot, Stripe, Shopify, Notion, Airtable, GitHub, etc.). And any REST API can be connected with the HTTP Request node.
What's the difference between n8n and Zapier?
Zapier is easier for beginners and needs no infrastructure. n8n is more powerful, self-hostable, has no per-execution cost and is better for high volumes or sensitive data.
Related terms
- AI AgentAn AI agent is a software system that combines a large language model (LLM) with access to tools (APIs, databases, messaging) and a goal, so it can carry out tasks with minimal human involvement. The difference from a traditional chatbot is that an agent doesn't just chat: it acts.
- AI AutomationAI automation combines traditional workflows (n8n, Zapier, Make) with large language models (LLMs) to carry out tasks that used to need human judgement: sorting messages, drafting replies, summarising documents, deciding escalation routes, creating content. It goes a step beyond the classic "if X happens, do Y".
- WhatsApp Business APIWhatsApp Business API is Meta's official route for businesses to connect WhatsApp to their systems (CRM, chatbots, AI agents, automation). Unlike the free WhatsApp Business app, the API supports multiple simultaneous users, official templates, automated bots and high message volumes, all in line with Meta's policies.