Self-Hosting n8n: Complete Setup Guide (2026)

Skip the cloud subscription. Run n8n on your own VPS for under $10/month — Docker, Caddy for HTTPS, PostgreSQL for scale. This is exactly how we do it in production.

We've deployed n8n on VPS infrastructure for dozens of clients. The cloud version is convenient, but the pricing model doesn't scale. Self-hosting is cheaper, faster, and you own your data. This guide covers production-grade setup, not a demo.

What You Need

VPS with 1–2GB RAM (Hetzner CX21 at ~€4/mo recommended)
A domain with DNS access
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Comfortable with SSH and terminal

Step 1: Install Docker

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER && newgrp docker

# Verify
docker --version && docker compose version

Step 2: Point DNS to Your Server

Add an A record in your DNS panel:

Type: A
Name: n8n
Value: YOUR.SERVER.IP
TTL: 300

Confirm propagation: dig n8n.yourdomain.com +short

Step 3: Docker Compose Config

mkdir ~/n8n-stack && cd ~/n8n-stack && nano docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "5678:5678"
    environment:
      - N8N_HOST=n8n.yourdomain.com
      - N8N_PROTOCOL=https
      - WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.yourdomain.com/
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Europe/London
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_ACTIVE=true
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_USER=admin
      - N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD=changeme123
    volumes:
      - n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n

volumes:
  n8n_data:

Change N8N_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD to something strong before proceeding.

Step 4: HTTPS with Caddy

# Install Caddy
sudo apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install caddy

# /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
n8n.yourdomain.com {
reverse_proxy localhost:5678
}

sudo systemctl reload caddy

Caddy auto-provisions Let's Encrypt certs. No certbot. No manual renewal.

Step 5: Launch

cd ~/n8n-stack && docker compose up -d

Visit https://n8n.yourdomain.com — you should see the login screen within 30 seconds.

what you have now

n8n running on your VPS, fully under your control

HTTPS with auto-renewing Let's Encrypt certificate

Basic auth on the UI

Auto-restart on reboot (restart: always)

Persistent data in Docker volume

Production Hardening

UFW firewall: sudo ufw allow 22,80,443/tcp && sudo ufw enable
Fail2ban: sudo apt install fail2ban — blocks SSH brute-force
Backup the volume: cron job to Backblaze B2 or S3 weekly
Pin the n8n version: use n8nio/n8n:1.40.0 instead of :latest
Enable 2FA: Settings → Two-factor authentication in the n8n UI

Add PostgreSQL for Scale

Default SQLite works under low load. Above ~1000 executions/day, switch to Postgres:

services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15
    restart: always
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=n8n
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=strongpassword
      - POSTGRES_DB=n8n
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  n8n:
    # add to environment:
    - DB_TYPE=postgresdb
    - DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=postgres
    - DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n
    - DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD=strongpassword
    - DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n
    depends_on: [postgres]

Cost: Self-Host vs Cloud

option	monthly	executions	workflows
n8n Cloud Starter	$24	2,500/mo	5 active
n8n Cloud Pro	$60	10,000/mo	15 active
Self-hosted (Hetzner CX21)	~$5	unlimited	unlimited

When Cloud Makes Sense

Not comfortable managing a Linux server
Need enterprise features (SSO, audit logging)
Low volume (<500 executions/month)
Want managed uptime and updates

quick checklist

VPS with 2GB+ RAM, Ubuntu 22.04

Docker + Docker Compose installed

DNS A record pointing at server IP

docker-compose.yml with n8n config

Caddy configured as reverse proxy

UFW firewall + Fail2ban enabled

PostgreSQL added for production load

Uptime monitoring via Uptime Kuma

Need this done for you? We set up and maintain n8n infrastructure as part of our automation builds. Get in touch →