🚀 Training Manual: Set Up N8N for Just $5/Month Using Railway

📌 Overview

This guide will walk you through:

What N8N is and why it’s valuable.
The cost difference between hosted and self-hosted versions.
Step-by-step instructions to deploy N8N on Railway for only $5/month.
How to access and activate your self-hosted instance.

Support this guide: Sign up or learn more about n8n using my link!

🔍 What Is N8N?

N8N (pronounced “N-eight-N”) is a low-code automation platform. It allows you to build powerful workflows visually, integrating hundreds of apps and services—without writing full applications.

Unlike Zapier or Make, it is open source and much more customizable.

Why Use It?

Visual workflow builder
Supports complex logic and custom code
Open source and self-hostable
Cheaper than Zapier for scale

💸 Hosted vs Self-Hosted: Pricing Breakdown

Option	Cost	Notes
Hosted (N8N.io)	$24/month (USD)	Free for 14 days, all features included
Self-hosted	From $5/month (USD)	Using Railway.app

Railway’s Hobby Plan:

$5/month includes 8GB RAM & 8 vCPUs
Variable cost after you exceed the $5 credit (still much cheaper overall)

⚙️ Self-Hosting N8N via Railway: Step-by-Step

1. Create a Railway Account

Go to railway.app
Sign up for a free account (Google or GitHub login is fine)

2. Access the N8N Template

Visit: https://railway.app/templates
Search for n8n with workers
Select the template with ~50,000+ downloads
Click Deploy Now

3. Deploy the Template

Once you hit Deploy Now, Railway automatically spins up:

The N8N app
A PostgreSQL database
A Redis queue
Background workers

This usually takes 2–5 minutes. Don’t touch anything while it’s deploying.

4. Access Your N8N Instance

Once deployment is complete, click into the project
Go to the “Settings” tab → “Domains” section
Click the auto-generated public domain to access N8N

You can also set a custom domain here later (e.g., integrations.vertial.com).

🔑 Activating Your N8N Instance

On first login, N8N will prompt for your email and license key.
You’ll receive the activation email—follow it to verify.
Once verified, you’ll land in the N8N editor dashboard.

📥 Importing Workflows

To import your first workflow:

Click “Import” in the N8N editor.
Upload a .json file containing your workflow logic.
Click “Execute Workflow” to test.

Note: Workflow files must be in JSON format.

🧠 Pro Tips

Railway charges for egress (data downloaded), but for N8N automations, this is typically negligible.
If anything fails, click on the service and check “Logs” to troubleshoot.
Keep workflows modular to make debugging and scaling easier.

✅ Summary

Feature	Hosted N8N.io	Railway Self-Hosted
Pricing	$24/month	$5/month base
Custom Domain Support	Yes	Yes
Open Source	Yes	Yes
Fully Configurable	Limited	Full access
Suitable For	Non-tech users	Builders & Tinkerers

🧭 Next Steps

Explore templates and install pre-built workflows.
Set up basic automation: Gmail, Airtable, OpenAI, Slack, etc.
Begin chaining logic using conditional nodes and custom scripts.

🧠 Bonus

Want more workflows? Import from JSON files I’ve created. These include:

Email autoresponders
Telegram alerts
AI-based classification
Lead routing logic

More coming soon.

🎓 FAQs

Q: What happens if I use over $5 worth on Railway?
A: You’ll be billed based on usage, but even with active use, it’s cheaper than N8N’s $24 plan.

Q: Can I use this for business automations?
A: Absolutely. It’s ideal for custom internal tools, automation, and API orchestration.

Q: Do I need to know how to code?
A: Not necessarily. But knowing basic JavaScript helps unlock more powerful customizations.

You’re Ready 🚀

🚀 Ready to try n8n? Get started with n8n using my affiliate link!

You’ve now set up a production-ready, low-cost automation platform for just $5/month. Start building your workflows and scale as you grow.

From US$27 Cloud to $5 DIY: n8n in Two Ways