Brief
n8n Gateway credits let Cloud users call AI models without a provider account or API key
Starting with n8n v2.36, select n8n Cloud plans can use supported AI models and tool services without creating a provider account or generating an API key. Six model providers and five tool services are described as working out of the box.
The change replaces a credential with a billing choice. Where a user would previously add a provider credential to reach a model or tool service, they can now pick Gateway credits instead. The source says this applies to supported AI models and tool services on select n8n Cloud plans, with six model providers and five tool services available immediately, from n8n v2.36 onward.
The evidence does not name the six providers, the five tool services, the eligible Cloud plans, or how credits are priced and consumed. Until those are known, the practical difference is narrow but real: it removes an account signup and key-generation step for work that fits inside the covered set, and it keeps that access inside the n8n billing relationship rather than a separate provider one.
Our reading
For teams already on n8n Cloud, this collapses a recurring onboarding chore — per-provider accounts and keys — into a single in-platform credit choice, which matters most where keys are handed around or rotated by hand, or where a provider account is the slow part of a prototype. It is less interesting to anyone who needs a provider not on the unnamed list, or who has negotiated direct provider p…
What to do or watch
Check whether your n8n Cloud plan is one of the select plans and whether the providers you rely on are among the six covered; the unresolved questions are the provider and tool service list, the eligible plans, and how Gateway credits are priced and consumed.
Source details and supporting facts
Each line is stated by the page named above it.
Stated by n8n
- Starting with n8n v2.36, you can use supported AI models and tool services on select n8n Cloud plans without creating a provider account or generating an API key.
- Six model providers and five tool services work right out of the box.
- You can choose Gateway credits instead of adding a credential.
Sources
- n8nText stored 17 September 2026
How this story was checked. Written from the 1 page listed above, stored 17 September 2026; claims checked against that stored text on 17 September 2026.
What that means
- 3 of 3 reported statements were confirmed against the page that carries them; the rest were removed rather than published.
- Figures in the text were required to appear in the stored source text: yes. Identifiers: yes.
- The check reads stored text only: no claim rests on a fresh look that did not happen.
- Where the reporting was silent, the text says so instead of filling the gap.