n8n hosting requirements (from the official docs)

Everything below is taken from n8n's documentation and official compose files, with links so you can verify it.

Last checked: October 2026 · Every spec and price below links to its source.

Summary

Memory

n8n's sizing example lists 320 MB – 2 GB of memory^[2]. What pushes you toward the top of that range^[3]:

• the amount of JSON data and the size of binary data processed,
• the number of nodes in a workflow and use of the Code node,
• manual executions (data is kept for the editor),
• multiple workflows running at the same time.

The docs also describe raising Node.js heap with NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=… when you have more memory available^[3].

CPU

n8n isn't CPU intensive; memory requirements usually supersede CPU requirements^[2].

Database and disk

• Database: 512 MB – 4 GB of SSD in the sizing example^[2].
• Default: SQLite, stored at ~/.n8n/database.sqlite. PostgreSQL is supported; MySQL and MariaDB were deprecated in v1.0^[4].

Docker

• n8n recommends Docker for most self-hosting needs; the basic install is a single n8nio/n8n container with a persistent volume mounted at /home/node/.n8n^[6].
• The official withPostgres compose example has 3 services: postgres, n8n and n8n-runner^[5].

Who should self-host n8n?

n8n's docs say self-hosting requires technical knowledge (servers, containers, resources, security), recommend it for expert users, and point less experienced users to n8n Cloud^[6]. If that's you, pick a plan from best VPS for n8n.