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one-click

DigitalOcean

1-click Droplet from the DO Marketplace.

Difficulty
Monthly cost from: ~$6–24/mo
Best for: Devs who like DO's UX and want fast bootstrap.

Deploy n8n on a DigitalOcean Droplet (via the Marketplace 1-Click Docker image or your own Compose file) or on the App Platform for a more PaaS-like experience.

Pros

  • 1-click Marketplace image
  • Great docs
  • Managed Postgres available
  • Snapshots & backups built-in

Cons

  • Bandwidth caps on smaller plans
  • Managed DB adds cost

Prerequisites

  • DigitalOcean account with billing set up
  • A domain with DNS you control
  • Comfort with SSH or the DO App Platform UI

Step-by-step guide

  1. Step 1

    Create a Droplet

    Pick the Docker Marketplace image, 2GB+ RAM, and your closest region.

  2. Step 2

    SSH in & install Compose

    The Docker Marketplace image ships Docker pre-installed; add the Compose plugin if missing.

    apt update && apt install docker-compose-plugin -y

  3. Step 3

    Deploy the stack

    Reuse the standard Postgres + n8n + Caddy docker-compose.yml.

    services:
  postgres:
    image: postgres:16
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: n8n
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      POSTGRES_DB: n8n
    volumes: [ pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data ]

  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on: [ postgres ]
    ports: [ "5678:5678" ]
    environment:
      DB_TYPE: postgresdb
      DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST: postgres
      DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE: n8n
      DB_POSTGRESDB_USER: n8n
      DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
      N8N_HOST: ${N8N_HOST}
      N8N_PROTOCOL: https
      N8N_PORT: 5678
      WEBHOOK_URL: https://${N8N_HOST}/
      N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY: ${N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      GENERIC_TIMEZONE: Europe/Berlin
    volumes: [ n8n_data:/home/node/.n8n ]

  caddy:
    image: caddy:2
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports: [ "80:80", "443:443" ]
    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_config:/config

volumes: { pgdata: {}, n8n_data: {}, caddy_data: {}, caddy_config: {} }

  4. Step 4

    Point DNS & verify HTTPS

    Add an A record to the Droplet's IP; Caddy auto-provisions the certificate on first request.

Scaling & queue mode

For higher throughput, switch to queue mode: set EXECUTIONS_MODE=queue, add a Redis instance, and run one or more separate `n8n worker` containers alongside the main process. The main instance handles the editor UI and webhooks while workers pull jobs from Redis. Scale worker replicas horizontally as load grows, and use a managed Postgres (with read replicas if needed) once execution volume is high.

Backup & upgrade

Back up the Postgres database (pg_dump on a cron schedule, or your provider's managed snapshot feature) and the n8n_data volume (contains binary data & config). Before upgrading, snapshot both, read the release notes for breaking changes, pull the new image tag, then `docker compose up -d`. Roll back by restoring the previous image tag + database snapshot if anything fails.

Security checklist

  • Always run behind HTTPS (Caddy/Traefik/Nginx + Let's Encrypt) — never expose port 5678 directly.
  • Set a strong, permanent N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY and back it up (losing it breaks stored credentials).
  • Use Postgres, not the default SQLite, for anything beyond local testing.
  • Enable N8N_BASIC_AUTH or an SSO/proxy layer if the instance is reachable from the internet.
  • Restrict inbound firewall rules to 80/443 (and SSH from your IP only).
  • Keep the n8n image pinned and update on a schedule instead of always using :latest in production.

Cost breakdown

  • Basic Droplet (2GB)$12/mo
  • Managed Postgres (optional)from $15/mo

Troubleshooting & FAQ

+Can I use SQLite instead of Postgres?

n8n defaults to SQLite, which works for testing but isn't recommended for production: no concurrent writers, harder backups, and risk of corruption under load. Use Postgres for anything real.

+My webhooks return 404 / don't trigger — why?

WEBHOOK_URL must match the public HTTPS URL exactly (including trailing slash), and the workflow must be activated (not just saved) for production webhook URLs to work.

+How do I move from DigitalOcean to another host later?

Export workflows/credentials with the n8n CLI (`n8n export:workflow --all` / `export:credentials --all`) or the REST API, restore the Postgres dump on the new host, then import.

+Do I lose data if the container restarts?

No, as long as n8n_data and the Postgres volume are mounted as named Docker volumes (not ephemeral container storage), your data persists across restarts and image updates.

Official documentation