Ditched n8n cloud for a self-hosted setup this week. EC2 instance, Docker container, Supabase Postgres as the database instead of the default SQLite.
Watching the migration logs run was oddly satisfying. Dozens of them, one after another. Agent task definitions, OAuth scopes, execution entity indexes, chat subscriptions. All the plumbing nobody thinks about until it breaks.
Why bother when the cloud version exists? Mostly control. No execution caps, no per-workflow pricing creeping up as you scale, and my data sits in a database I actually manage instead of trusting someone else's multi-tenant setup.
Was it more setup work than clicking "sign up"? Yes. Would I do it again? Also yes. There's something about owning the whole stack, even the boring parts, that I like.
If anyone's weighing self-hosted vs cloud n8n, happy to compare notes.
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