Hi everyone! I’m working with n8n on my own server and really love the platform. The problem I’m running into is that all the API calls and service connections are costing me quite a bit of money while I’m still figuring things out. Since I’m experimenting with lots of different automation ideas, these charges keep piling up. Does anyone have suggestions for keeping expenses low during the learning phase? Maybe there are certain hosting setups or ways to structure workflows that don’t hit your wallet so hard? I’d appreciate any tips from people who’ve dealt with this same issue.
Been there! I tackled this by building most of my workflows with local test data first, then connecting to real APIs later. Tons of services have free tiers perfect for testing - Mailgun, Twilio, most database providers give you generous quotas to work with. I also batch my API calls and throw in delay nodes to avoid hitting rate limits that bump you into paid tiers. Try switching to flat monthly pricing instead of per-call billing while you’re developing. You can always optimize once you know what your production setup actually needs.
docker containers saved my butt for dev - super easy to spin up local instances. most cloud providers give dev/testing credits too, so check that out. i burnt cash running stuff in production mode while learning (rookie mistake lol). also, use ngrok for webhooks instead of paying for endpoints.
During my own experience with n8n, I faced high costs while developing workflows. One effective approach was to use a separate testing environment with mock APIs, which allowed me to simulate responses without incurring additional charges. Additionally, I disabled most workflows and triggers, opting to run processes manually to minimize expenses. Utilizing tools like Webhook.site helped me capture API responses without constant charges, significantly reducing my overall development costs while maintaining effective testing.