n8n License and Regulations
What the Sustainable Use License means for your business, what you can and cannot do, and how n8n Embed and Enterprise licensing work.
Fair-Code vs Open Source
A common misconception is that n8n is "open source." It is not, at least not by the strict definition of the Open Source Initiative (OSI). True open-source licenses (MIT, Apache 2.0, GPL) cannot legally restrict what you do with the software commercially. You can fork it, sell it, compete with it. The OSI definition is absolute on this point.
n8n operates on a fair-code model instead. Their entire source code is publicly available on GitHub. You can read every line, modify it, contribute to it, and run it for your own purposes. The restriction is narrow but critical: you cannot use n8n's code to build a competing product or service.
The licensing history matters. n8n originally launched under the Apache 2.0 license in 2019, a fully permissive open-source license. In 2020, they switched to the Commons Clause (which prohibited selling the software), and in 2022 they moved to the current Sustainable Use License (SUL). Each transition was driven by the same concern: preventing large companies from taking n8n's code, wrapping it in their own branding, and selling it as a competing hosted service without contributing back.
The practical impact for most users is zero. If you are using n8n to automate your own business processes, build workflows for clients, or run internal tools, the license imposes no restrictions on you whatsoever.
The Sustainable Use License (SUL)
Almost everything in the n8n GitHub repository (excluding files with .ee. in the name) falls under the Sustainable Use License, a license pioneered by n8n themselves.
The golden rule is simple: you may use, modify, and distribute n8n freely, as long as it is for your internal business purposes or non-commercial use.
"Internal business purposes" means automating your own company's operations. Your CRM syncs, your lead routing, your data pipelines, your reporting workflows. The automation serves your business internally. It does not matter if your business is commercial, if you make money from the outcomes of those automations, or how many workflows you run. Internal use is unrestricted.
"Non-commercial use" covers personal projects, education, research, and hobby automation. Students, tinkerers, and researchers can use n8n without any licensing concerns.
Key distinction: The license restricts how you distribute and sell n8n itself, not what you build with it. Your workflows, your automations, your data, and the results they produce are entirely yours. The license does not claim any ownership or impose any restrictions on the output of your automations.
What is Strictly Prohibited
Under the SUL, you cannot sell a product or service where the primary value is derived from n8n's engine. If you violate these terms, your license is immediately and automatically terminated.
Rebranding n8n
- Skinning the n8n UI with your own logo
- Selling access to it as your own platform
- Presenting n8n as your proprietary technology
Selling n8n Access
- Spinning up n8n instances on your servers
- Charging clients a monthly fee to use them
- Competing directly with n8n Cloud
User-credentialed SaaS backends are also prohibited. This is the subtlest violation. If you build a SaaS app where your user logs into their HubSpot account, and you route those credentials through n8n to sync their data, you are violating the license. The key factor: the end user's credentials are flowing through n8n, making n8n a core part of the service you are selling to them.
Important: These restrictions apply regardless of whether you charge money. Offering free hosted n8n instances to attract users to a broader platform still violates the license if the value proposition depends on n8n's capabilities.
What is Completely Allowed
The license is highly permissive for internal tooling and consulting. Here is what you can do without any commercial agreement:
Your Own Business
- Syncing your CRM to your database
- Automating internal reporting and alerts
- Processing orders, invoices, and emails
- Running AI agents on your own data
Building for Clients
- Charging clients to build workflows
- Managing client n8n instances
- Writing custom n8n nodes
- Training and implementation services
Company-credentialed SaaS backends are also allowed. If you embed an AI chatbot into your app, and n8n handles the webhooks using your company's own API keys to respond to users, this is perfectly fine. The distinction is whose credentials flow through n8n: yours (allowed) versus your end user's (prohibited).
Building community nodes is encouraged. Creating an n8n integration node for your SaaS product so other n8n users can connect to your service is allowed and actively supported by n8n's community node ecosystem.
Contributing to n8n's codebase is welcomed. Pull requests, bug reports, documentation improvements, and community support are all part of the fair-code model.
Historical note: n8n specifically removed their old Commons Clause license in part to ensure that consultants and freelancers could charge for n8n-related services. The current SUL was designed to protect n8n from direct competition while enabling a thriving ecosystem of service providers.
The Enterprise License
Within the n8n codebase, certain files contain .ee. in their filename. These files fall under a separate proprietary n8n Enterprise License, not the SUL. They contain features that are strictly gated behind paid plans.
Enterprise-only features include:
SSO and SAML/LDAP for integrating with enterprise identity providers like Okta, Azure AD, or Google Workspace. Git-based version control for pushing workflow definitions to a repository and managing branches. External secret stores for connecting to HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager. Log streaming to Datadog, Splunk, or other observability platforms. Multiple deployment environments for dev, staging, and production separation. Projects for workspace-level organization with fine-grained access controls.
These features exist in the public source code (you can read them), but they will not activate without a valid Enterprise license key. Attempting to enable them without a license violates the n8n Enterprise License terms.
Related: For a detailed breakdown of which features are included at each tier, see n8n Cloud Plans Breakdown and n8n Community Edition: Features, Limits, and Free Unlocks.
n8n Embed
If your business model requires white-labeling n8n or embedding it deeply into a user-facing product, n8n offers a separate commercial agreement called n8n Embed.
n8n Embed is designed for SaaS platforms that want to offer automation capabilities to their own users. Instead of building a workflow engine from scratch, you license n8n's engine and integrate it into your product. Your users interact with automation features powered by n8n, but branded as part of your platform.
Common n8n Embed use cases:
CRM platforms adding workflow automation for their users. Project management tools offering integration capabilities. Customer support platforms building automated ticket routing. Marketing platforms enabling multi-channel campaign automation.
n8n Embed requires a direct commercial agreement with n8n's sales team. Pricing is custom and based on your expected usage, number of end users, and deployment model. This is not a self-serve product. You can explore the details and contact their team at n8n.io/embed.
Grey Areas and Common Questions
Can I charge clients for n8n workflows I build?
Yes, absolutely. You can charge any amount for consulting, implementation, maintenance, training, and workflow development services. The license explicitly permits this. You are selling your expertise and time, not n8n itself.
Can I run one n8n instance for multiple clients?
This depends on the arrangement. If you are managing the instance and the workflows use your own credentials, this is allowed. If each client logs into the n8n UI directly and manages their own credentials within it, you are effectively hosting n8n as a service, which crosses into prohibited territory. The safest approach for agencies is to help each client set up and manage their own instance.
Can I fork n8n and modify the source code?
You can modify the code for your own internal use. You can contribute changes back to n8n via pull requests. You cannot fork n8n and distribute your modified version as a competing product or service.
Can I use n8n in a regulated industry (healthcare, fintech)?
Yes. The license imposes no industry restrictions. HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR, and similar compliance requirements are operational concerns, not licensing ones. Self-hosting n8n gives you full control over data residency and access controls. For enterprise compliance features (SSO, audit logs, external secrets), you will need a paid plan.
Are the AI features (Agent node, LLM chains) covered by the same license?
Yes. The AI nodes in n8n's Community Edition (Agent, Basic LLM Chain, Vector Store, Embedding) are covered by the SUL and are fully available for internal business use. The AI Workflow Builder (which generates workflows using AI) has limited credits on paid plans, but the nodes themselves are not restricted.
What happens if I accidentally violate the license?
The license states that it terminates automatically upon violation. In practice, n8n's legal team would likely reach out before taking formal action. If you discover you are in a grey area, the best course of action is to proactively contact n8n at license@n8n.io to discuss your use case and find a compliant path forward.
Getting Clarity
If your use case falls in a grey area, contact n8n directly. They are responsive and accustomed to fielding licensing questions from companies of all sizes.
Email: license@n8n.io
When you reach out, include: a description of your product or service, how n8n fits into your architecture, whether end users interact with n8n directly or indirectly, and whose credentials flow through the system. The more specific you are, the faster you will get a definitive answer.
Related reading:
Disclaimer: This article is an informational guide, not formal legal advice. If your use case resides in a grey area, consult n8n's licensing team directly at license@n8n.io for an authoritative determination.
