n8n Gateway Credits lets Cloud users run supported AI models and tool services from one prepaid balance, with no provider signups and no API keys to manage
You want to test an idea in n8n. The workflow needs Claude, a live web search, and a PDF parser. Until now, that meant three provider accounts, three billing setups, and three API keys pasted into credential fields.
On September 16, 2026, n8n removed most of that. The company released Gateway Credits, letting Cloud users run supported AI models and tool services without creating separate provider accounts or managing API keys.
Pick Gateway Credits From a Dropdown
n8n version 2.36 carries the feature. If you are on a self-service Cloud Starter or Pro plan, you open a node’s credential dropdown and select “Gateway credits” instead of adding your own provider credential.
Usage draws from a single prepaid balance held inside n8n, rather than billing each provider separately. n8n says it follows each provider’s published list price where one exists, and publishes all rates on one public pricing page.
The balance displays in real currency. The Cloud Admin Panel breaks consumption down by service and by individual workflow, so you can see which automation is spending your money.
Instance owners get two switches. You can enable or disable Gateway Credits for the entire workspace from the Cloud Admin dashboard, and set up automatic top-ups so a workflow does not halt mid-run.
One privacy detail matters here. The external provider receives the content of your request, such as a prompt or document. It does not receive your identity or n8n account details.
Six Model Providers, Five Tool Services
The launch covers six model providers: Anthropic, Google Gemini, OpenAI, Alibaba Cloud (Qwen), Kimi.ai, and MiniMax.
It also covers five tool services: Brave Search, Browserbase, Firecrawl, LlamaParse, and PDF.co.
n8n shows them working together in a weekly competitive-intelligence workflow. Brave Search gathers live web results, Browserbase navigates dynamic pricing pages, LlamaParse extracts structured data from PDF briefs, and a chosen model synthesizes the output into a comparative update.
n8n Assistant, the built-in natural-language workflow builder, can apply Gateway Credits automatically when you name a supported service and have no existing credential for it. That shrinks the gap between describing an idea and getting a first successful execution.
Eligible new Cloud accounts, including trial accounts, start with a small Gateway Credits balance. Existing paying Starter and Pro customers received a one-time allowance during the rollout.
n8n calls the list a starting point, not a final set. It plans to expand providers and give teams finer control over credit allocation across an instance. Self-hosted instances are on the roadmap, but they need extra infrastructure and are not included in this release.
If signup friction has kept you from testing a model or a scraper, the dropdown is now the fastest way in.