How to Get $5,000 in Digital Ocean Credits for Your n8n Self-Hosting
Looking to save money on n8n? Here's how to get $5,000 in Digital Ocean credits for a year instead of paying $24/month for n8n.cloud.
The Cost Breakdown
n8n costs $24 a month if you use their cloud service.
Or you can self-host it with Digital Ocean which costs around $10-$20 a month.
But here's the hack - use Join Secret as I did and get $5,000 in credits for one year!
I just claimed mine and received the full $5,000 credit for Time Hacker Lab.
This alone should save you more than $200 a year.
What is JoinSecret?
Join Secret costs $150, but the savings are substantial:
Save $200+ yearly on n8n alone
Additional savings on make.com ($20/month)
Discounts on Webflow, Stripe, NordVPN and Appify
https://www.joinsecret.com/users/sign_up?via=AdrianMahdian
How to Claim Your Digital Ocean Credits
Join Secret offers a free deal with $200 credit, but click on the premium deal for $5,000 credit for one year
Fill out the form with your information
Use a corporate email (not personal Gmail)
When asked about patch partner, select "Secret"
Complete the rest of the form and wait for approval (mine took about 5-8 days)
Setting Up n8n on Digital Ocean
Once approved:
Sign up with your email
Select "freelancer" option
Add your payment method for security purposes
Create a new project (I named mine "n8n YouTube purpose")
Go to Marketplace and search for "n8n"
Creating Your n8n Droplet
Select your server location (I chose New York)
Use Ubuntu 1.67.1 (version may differ when you're reading this)
Choose either Regular ($6) or Premium AMD ($7) - the premium option gives you better SSD
Set a secure password and save it somewhere safe
Click "Create Droplet"
Connecting to a Domain
Unlike n8n.cloud, self-hosting requires connecting to a DNS:
Log into your domain provider (I use Namecheap)
Go to Advanced DNS settings for your domain
Add an A record with:
Host: n8n
IP Address: [your droplet IP address]
TTL: 1 minute
- Save the record
Finalizing Setup
Go back to Digital Ocean and click on Console
Press Enter at the subdomain prompt
Enter your domain name
Confirm your timezone information
Select your continent and country
Confirm the information
The system will now install everything automatically.
Accessing Your n8n Instance
Once installation completes:
Go to https://n8n.yourdomain.com in your browser
Create your admin account
Set up your password
Complete the registration form
You're now ready to go with a self-hosted n8n instance that's always online!
Testing Your Setup
To verify everything works:
Create a simple workflow with a webhook
Get the webhook URL
Trigger the webhook
Confirm the data comes through correctly
The main advantage is that your triggers are always online.
You don't need to keep your computer running as you would with a locally self-hosted instance.
FAQ
Q: How long does it take to get approved for the Digital Ocean credits?
A: It typically takes 5-8 days for approval after submitting your application.
Q: Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?
A: Basic understanding of DNS and server management helps, but this guide walks you through the process step by step.
Q: Will this work with any domain?
A: Yes, you can use any domain you own to point to your n8n instance.
Q: Is this solution reliable for production workflows?
A: Yes, many businesses use self-hosted n8n on Digital Ocean for production workflows.
Q: What happens after the $5,000 credit expires?
A: After a year, you'll start paying the regular Digital Ocean rates (around $6-7/month for the basic droplet).
