n8n License Risk: Why 'Open Source' Doesn't Mean 'Free for Everything'

Many teams treat n8n as “open source = free for everything.” That’s exactly where the license risk begins.

The Sustainable Use License

n8n (the free self-hosted Community Edition) is licensed under the Sustainable Use License. It’s deliberately designed to let you use, customize, and operate n8n internally – but not simply resell it as your own product or service. White-labeling, hosting it and charging customers, or building an offering whose core value consists of n8n is explicitly excluded.

What Does This Mean in Practice for Agencies, SaaS Builders, and Integrators?

🔹 Sell results – not the n8n platform

If n8n is just your internal “tool” and customers don’t get access to the n8n UI, that’s often closer to “internal business purposes” – but as soon as your offering effectively becomes “n8n as a service,” things get tricky.

🔹 Embedding/making it accessible = commercial license

n8n themselves state: For “embedded / white labeling / reselling / cloud hosting” you need an Embed License – starting at $50,000 per year (according to the n8n website).

🔹 “Free self-hosted” ≠ “free for commercial use”

Many also underestimate: It’s not that hard to build these kinds of automation solutions yourself – without license pitfalls.

Alternatives

For AI workflows, there are tools like Flowise and other truly free alternatives that integrate cleanly into your own product, without running into complicated licensing issues the moment you white-label or embed.