Node-RED Pricing 2026 —
100% Free & Open-Source
Node-RED is completely free under Apache 2.0. There's no paid tier — you run it yourself. Here's what server costs look like and how it compares to other automation tools.
Quick verdict
Completely free — no tiers, no cloud, no paid version. Node-RED is the best choice for IoT, hardware, and event-driven pipelines. If you need SaaS integrations (Slack, Google Sheets, CRMs), n8n or Make are better fits.
Node-RED Cost Breakdown
Self-Hosted
$0/mo
Only option
- Fully free, forever
- Apache 2.0 license
- No ops limits
- No workflow caps
- Runs on Raspberry Pi
Server cost
~$4/mo
- Hetzner CX22 ~$4/mo
- DigitalOcean ~$6/mo
- Oracle Free Tier $0
- Raspberry Pi $0 extra
FlowFuse Cloud
$15/mo
- Managed Node-RED
- Team collaboration
- DevOps pipeline
- By FlowFuse (3rd party)
*Node-RED has no official paid cloud. FlowFuse is a third-party managed service built on Node-RED.
Node-RED vs Competitors
| Tool | Entry price | Self-host | Best for | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Node-RED | $0 | Yes (only) | IoT, event-driven, hardware | Apache 2.0 |
| n8n | $0 (self-host) | Yes (free) | SaaS automation, AI nodes | Sustainable Use |
| Automatisch | $0 (self-host) | Yes (free) | Simple Zapier replacement | AGPL |
| Make | $9/mo | No | Visual builders, low cost | Proprietary |
| Zapier | $20/mo | No | Non-technical, 7k+ integrations | Proprietary |
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, completely. Node-RED is free and open-source under the Apache 2.0 license. There is no paid version of Node-RED itself. You only pay for the server you run it on — typically $0–$8/mo depending on the hardware.
Choose Node-RED if you're working with IoT devices, MQTT, hardware sensors, or event-driven data pipelines. Choose n8n if you need SaaS integrations (Slack, Notion, Google Sheets) or AI workflow nodes — n8n has 400+ pre-built connectors vs Node-RED's community nodes.
Yes — Node-RED was originally designed for IoT and runs excellently on Raspberry Pi. It's one of the most popular use cases: local home automation, sensor data collection, and hardware control, all at zero software cost.
Not officially. FlowFuse offers a managed Node-RED platform starting at ~$15/mo, but it's a third-party product. The Node-RED project itself only provides self-hosted software.