If you run a business with 10 to 100 people, you probably use a bunch of different apps. CRM, accounting, e-commerce, spreadsheets, email, chat. They all do their job fine on their own. The problem is they don’t connect, so someone on your team spends hours every week copying data between them.
n8n is a tool that fixes this. It connects your apps and automates the repetitive handoffs between them. I use it for most of the automation work I do at MPStudio. Here’s what you need to know.
What n8n actually is
n8n is a workflow automation platform. You build workflows visually. Each step is a “node” that does something: pull data from Shopify, add a row to Google Sheets, send a Slack message, update your CRM. The nodes connect together, and the workflow runs automatically whenever it’s triggered.
Here’s what a basic workflow looks like:
Think of it like Zapier or Make, but with a few differences that matter:
- Self-hosted. Your n8n instance runs on your own server. Your data doesn’t pass through a third party.
- Flat pricing. You pay for the server, not per step. A 5-node workflow costs the same as a 50-node workflow.
- Open source. The code is public. You’re not locked into a vendor.
How it compares. A 10-step workflow on Zapier costs ~$50/month. The same workflow on a self-hosted n8n instance costs ~$0 in extra fees. You're just paying for the $10 to 20/month server that can run hundreds of workflows.
What you can actually automate
The most useful automations I build for clients fall into a few categories:
Data sync. Your e-commerce platform sends order data to your accounting software. Your CRM updates when a form gets submitted. Stock levels sync between your warehouse and every sales channel. This is the bread and butter.
Reporting. Instead of someone pulling numbers from three apps into a spreadsheet every Monday, a workflow does it overnight. You wake up to a report in your inbox.
Notifications. Low stock alerts. New customer notifications. Overdue invoice reminders. Things your team shouldn’t have to remember to check manually.
Document generation. Invoices, quotes, reports assembled from templates and data you already have. Formatted, saved, and sent without anyone opening Word.
Content pipelines. A brief goes in. A blog post, social captions, and a short video come out, drafted by AI, scheduled, and published automatically.
What it costs
There are two parts: the setup and the ongoing maintenance.
| Approach | Cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| n8n workflows (5) | $2,000 setup + $150/mo | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Zapier (5 workflows) | ~$100 to 300/month ongoing | DIY, varies |
| Custom software | $20,000 to $50,000+ | 3 to 6 months |
| Hiring someone full-time | $30,000 to $60,000/year | Ongoing |
Setup is a one-time cost. A single simple workflow starts at $400. A bundle of five (which is what most businesses start with) is $2,000. n8n workflows take one to two weeks each.
Maintenance covers monitoring, fixing things when they break, minor adjustments, and server hosting. Starts at $200/month, with discounts for quarterly or annual plans.
First-year math. $2,000 setup + $1,800 annual maintenance = $3,800 total. If your team is spending 15 hours/week on manual work at $25/hour, that's $19,500/year. The automation pays for itself in about 10 weeks.
Self-hosted vs n8n Cloud
n8n offers a cloud version starting at $24/month. Fine for individuals experimenting. For businesses, I set up self-hosted instances:
| Self-hosted | n8n Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| Data location | Your server | n8n's servers |
| Execution limits | Unlimited | Capped per plan |
| Cost at scale | $10 to 20/mo VPS | $50 to 300+/mo |
| Maintenance | You (or me) | n8n handles it |
| Custom nodes | Full access | Limited |
The downside of self-hosting is maintenance. But that’s what my maintenance plan covers: updates, backups, and uptime so you don’t think about it.
n8n workflow examples
Five workflows I’ve built for real clients:
1. Shopify → Google Sheets order sync
Every new order lands in a Sheet automatically. No more exporting CSVs. The client’s accountant just opens the Sheet.
2. Multi-channel sales reconciliation
Orders from three platforms flow into one Sheet. The balance sheet calculates itself at month-end. Went from 2 hours every morning to zero.
3. Low stock alerts
When inventory drops below a threshold, a Slack message goes to the operations team. No one checks the dashboard manually anymore.
4. Weekly KPI email
Every Monday at 7am, a workflow pulls numbers from three sources, formats a summary, and emails it to the founder. Built once, runs forever.
5. Invoice generator
Takes about 3 seconds instead of 15 minutes. Each of these took about a week to build. Once running, they need almost no maintenance.
When n8n makes sense (and when it doesn’t)
Good fit:
- You use 3+ business apps that don’t connect to each other
- Your team spends hours on repetitive data entry or copy-paste work
- You need reporting that pulls from multiple sources
- You’ve thought about custom software but the cost or risk is too high
- You want something running in weeks, not months
Not the right fit:
- You need a full business application built from scratch (ERP, custom CRM)
- Your problem is that you don’t have the right tools yet, not that they don’t connect
- You have one app and no integration needs
How I use it at MPStudio
I’ve set up n8n automations for clients in e-commerce, food manufacturing, and professional services. The pattern is usually the same: they’re using multiple platforms, data isn’t flowing between them, and someone’s spending 10 to 20 hours a week on work that should be automatic.
Most clients start with a bundle of five workflows, targeting the biggest time sinks first, then add more as they see the results.
Getting started
If any of this sounds like your situation, send me an email. I’ll ask a few questions about what tools you use and where your team loses time. From there, I can tell you what’s automatable and what the impact would be.
First conversation is free. No pitch, no pressure. Just an honest look at whether this makes sense for your business.