Spinning up n8n and Twenty CRM with Docker Compose takes ten minutes and costs $0 for a solo test. Surprises hit later, when a second teammate needs workflow access or sales reps see every deal in the pipeline.
Both projects lock key multi-user features above their free self-hosted editions. Checking those walls early saves painful migrations.
1. n8n: unlimited executions, zero workflow sharing on Community
Under the Sustainable Use License 1.0 (fair-code, not OSI open source), self-hosting n8nio/n8n Community on 2 vCPUs and 4 GB RAM with PostgreSQL gives internal teams unlimited workflows, executions, and users for $0. Agencies may run flows on their own instance for clients if external users never edit logic and you avoid managed hosting or white-labeling.
The catch hits team collaboration: Community omits Projects and workflow or credential sharing. Only the instance owner and creator can access a workflow or credential. SAML/LDAP SSO, environments, and Git version control are also paid-only (folders and pinned debug data unlock free with an email license key, and queue workers work).
Unlocking self-hosted sharing jumps to Business at €667/month billed annually (under 100 staff, 40,000 monthly executions). Small teams often find Cloud Starter (€20/month) or Cloud Pro (€50/month) billed annually far cheaper.
Full primary-source links live on our n8n license and self-hosted vs Cloud cost breakdown.
2. Twenty CRM: AGPL app exception, 2 GB floor, and row-level gates
Twenty (twentyhq/twenty) runs four Docker Compose containers (server, worker, PostgreSQL, Redis) and needs at least 2 GB RAM or processes crash. Set SERVER_URL, keep @ / # % out of PG_DATABASE_PASSWORD, and back up ENCRYPTION_KEY—losing it breaks every encrypted OAuth token in Postgres.
Its AGPL-3.0 core includes an explicit Twenty Application Exception: external apps built over REST, GraphQL, webhooks, or the SDK stay closed-source, while core edits served over a network must share source.
Self-hosted Pro offers unlimited users and field-level roles for $0. Hiding deals between reps (row-level permissions) plus SAML/OIDC SSO requires self-hosted Organization at $19/user/month billed yearly—more than Twenty Cloud Pro at $9/user/month yearly. See Twenty CRM self-hosted permissions and RAM requirements.
3-Step Rule of Thumb
- Solo ops automation → Self-host n8n Community ($0 on 4 GB RAM).
- Multi-editor flows under €667/month → Compare n8n Cloud Starter (€20/month); self-host Twenty only when reps may share one pipeline.
- Comparing more tools? Check primary-source license rules and server floors across 22 business apps at BuilderStack.
