Lead capture & CRM
New form enquiry AI qualifies the lead CRM + rep assigned Slack alert
Hot leads routed to sales immediately; cool leads into the nurture sequence.
Worldwide remote — scoping calls this week
n8n workflow automation — one execution, not ten tasks.
If you're running more than a handful of automations on Zapier, you've watched the invoices climb as the workflows got smarter. n8n charges per workflow run — not per step — which makes serious automation 4–10× cheaper and far more flexible. I design, build, and deploy n8n workflows: starting from scratch, migrating your Zapier or Make setup across, or standing up a self-hosted n8n instance properly. Documented, tested, and built to last.
The Platform
What is n8n?
n8n is an open-source workflow automation platform — think Zapier, but with a fundamentally different pricing model and far more technical headroom. Instead of charging for every individual step, n8n charges per complete workflow run, which makes complex automation dramatically cheaper. It connects 400+ apps out of the box, supports custom code nodes for anything it doesn't cover natively, and runs either on n8n's cloud or on a server you control. It's the platform teams migrate to when they outgrow Zapier — and the numbers behind it back that up:
230,000+ active users building on n8n
$2.5B valuation — $180M raised in 2025
400+ native app integrations, plus HTTP nodes for any API
112,000 GitHub stars added in 2025 — fastest-growing JS project
The Maths
Why businesses are moving to n8n.
Zapier charges per task — and every step in a workflow is a task. A 10-step workflow running 1,000 times a month is 10,000 tasks: around $99/month on Zapier's Professional plan, for that one workflow. n8n charges per execution — one complete run of the whole workflow, however many steps it has. The same workload is 1,000 executions, and an n8n plan covering ten times that costs $24 a month.
For businesses running five to ten complex workflows, the saving is commonly £500–£1,000+ a month — which means professionally built workflows typically pay for themselves within 3–6 months.
The hidden trap worth knowing: on n8n Cloud, a polling trigger checking for new data every 5 minutes burns ~8,640 executions a month on its own. I design workflows around webhook triggers wherever possible — which avoids the problem entirely.
The Catalogue
What I build.
Concrete examples beat abstract promises. Scan for the one that looks like your Tuesday — every workflow below is trigger → result, the way n8n actually thinks:
E-commerce & orders
New WooCommerce order Invoice in Xero Stock updated Customer confirmed
Abandoned cart detected → recovery email sequence → logged in the CRM.
Internal operations
8am, every day Pull data from 4 systems Format the report Post to Slack
New starter onboarded → accounts created in six systems automatically.
AI-powered workflows
Inbound email AI classifies & drafts reply Human approves Sent
Document uploaded → AI extracts the key fields → CRM populated. No retyping.
Data sync & integration
Inventory changes Two-way sync fires WooCommerce ⇄ Xero ⇄ warehouse
Nightly database backup straight to Google Drive — quietly, forever.
Zapier / Make migration
Audit your Zaps Rebuild in n8n Test & cut over Cancel Zapier
Rebuilt with better error handling than the originals — then the invoice stops.
If your situation isn't on the list, that's normal — these are categories, not limits. n8n plus custom code nodes reaches almost anything with an API.
Straight Answer
n8n Cloud or self-hosted? Here's the honest answer.
Most buyers don't need to run their own server — and I'll tell you so. I build the automations; the server is a separate conversation, with clear trade-offs either way:
My usual recommendation
n8n Cloud
From $24/month, with updates, backups, and uptime all handled by n8n. No server to own, nothing to patch at 2am. Unless you have specific data sovereignty requirements or very high workflow volumes, this is where I'll usually point you — and you pay n8n directly, not me.
Self-hosted n8n
The free Community Edition on your own VPS — hosting from roughly £10–50/month. The right choice when:
- You're processing sensitive data that can't leave your infrastructure
- Your workflow volumes are high enough that self-hosting is significantly cheaper
- You already have a VPS or server that you actively manage
- You need features only available in the Enterprise edition
The honest bit: once a self-hosted instance is set up and handed over, the server is yours to maintain — updates, security patches, storage. If you're comfortable with a Linux box, the one-time setup works well. If you're not, take the managed maintenance add-on below — or stay on n8n Cloud, which is the more sensible choice without Linux skills in-house. Server work is home turf for me either way — it's the same discipline as my hosting & DevOps service.
The Offer
One core service. Three add-ons.
Workflow design & build
The centre of everything: I design and build n8n workflows to your exact requirements — on your n8n Cloud account, your self-hosted instance, or one I set up for you first. Every build covers:
- Workflow architecture — the trigger, the steps, the conditional logic
- API connections and credential configuration
- Error handling — what happens when a step fails: retry, alert, or fallback
- Testing against real data before anything goes live
- Documentation — what it does, what it connects to, how to monitor it
Fixed price per workflow From £300
Scoped and quoted before any work starts. Bundle pricing for multiple workflows built together.
Talk to HefinSelf-hosted n8n setup
£350 one-time
A production-ready n8n instance on your VPS: Docker, nginx reverse proxy, SSL, custom domain, backups configured, full handover documentation. You own and operate it from day one.
Managed server maintenance
From £75/month
For self-hosted clients who don't want to run a Linux server: monthly n8n updates, security patches, uptime monitoring, backup verification, and one person to call when something looks wrong.
Workflow retainer
From £200/month
For teams whose automation needs keep growing: new workflow builds each month, updates when connected apps change their APIs, monitoring, and a monthly summary of what ran and what was fixed.
Process
How it works.
Discovery conversation
Tell me what you're trying to automate — the trigger, the systems involved, what the output should look like. Migrating from Zapier or Make? Share the existing workflows too.
Scoping and fixed quote
I map the workflow architecture, flag any complexity, and give you a fixed price per workflow. The platform recommendation — n8n Cloud or self-hosted — is part of this conversation.
Build and test
Workflows built and tested against real data, with edge cases and failure scenarios handled. For self-hosted setups, the server is provisioned and configured before deployment starts.
Handover and documentation
Written documentation: what each workflow does, what triggers it, how to monitor execution history, and what to do if something looks wrong. No mystery boxes.
Investment
What it costs.
Workflow pricing depends on how many apps connect, the complexity of the logic, whether AI nodes are involved, and how much error handling the job deserves. A simple automation and a multi-system pipeline are genuinely different jobs — so they're priced as different jobs.
- Simple workflow — 2–3 apps, straightforward trigger and action From £300
- Medium workflow — 4–6 apps, conditional logic, error handling From £500
- Complex workflow — custom API work, AI nodes, multi-branch logic From £800
- Zapier / Make migration — per workflow, complexity applies From £250
- Self-hosted n8n setup — one-time £350
- Managed server maintenance From £75/mo
- Workflow maintenance retainer From £200/mo
Every workflow is quoted at a fixed price after a scoping conversation — and multiple workflows built together share discovery and setup, which makes bundles cheaper for both of us.
Questions
Asked every time.
Including the one everyone's too polite to ask — what happens when it breaks. Anything else, ask away: straight answers, same day.
I'm not technical. Can I use n8n?
If you're on n8n Cloud, day-to-day operation needs no server knowledge at all — you log in, see your workflow execution history, and the automations run. Building and maintaining workflows is the part that needs technical expertise; that's why you'd hire me. Monitoring them and understanding what they do doesn't.
What happens if a workflow breaks?
Workflows break for two common reasons: a connected app changes its API — the automation equivalent of a road closure — or incoming data arrives in an unexpected format. Good workflow design plans for both: error handling that retries automatically or sends an alert when something fails. I document what each failure mode looks like, so you know when to contact me versus when it'll resolve itself.
Can you migrate all my Zapier workflows to n8n?
Yes. I audit your existing Zapier setup, map each workflow, and rebuild them in n8n — usually with better error handling than the originals. Every workflow is tested before you cancel the Zapier subscription, and timing the cut-over so nothing falls through the gap is part of the job.
Do I need to self-host, or should I use n8n Cloud?
For most clients I recommend starting on n8n Cloud — simpler, no server to manage, and the pricing is reasonable for most volumes. Self-hosting earns its keep when data residency matters, when execution volumes are very high, or when you already run infrastructure that makes the hosting cost negligible. I'll give you a straight recommendation during scoping.
Can you build workflows involving AI — OpenAI, Claude, and so on?
Yes. n8n has native integrations for OpenAI, Anthropic, and other LLM providers, plus AI agent nodes. AI workflows need careful design around token costs, response handling, and failure modes — but they're squarely in scope. My AI integration service covers standalone AI builds; n8n is the automation layer that connects AI to everything else you run.
Got something you want automated?
Describe the workflow: what triggers it, what systems are involved, and what the end result should be. If it's a Zapier migration, tell me how many workflows and what they connect. I'll come back with a platform recommendation and a fixed price. Most businesses have three to five obvious automations that would immediately save hours every week — the scoping conversation usually surfaces them fast.
Fixed price per workflow Worldwide remote Documented & tested