Free Database Options in 2025: Relational, NoSQL & More
Choosing a database hosting service is a big decision for developers, and it gets harder on a budget. In 2025 there are free options in every major category: relational databases, NoSQL databases (including document stores, key-value stores, column-family stores, and graph databases), time-series databases, and vector databases. This post compares the main free tiers, looking at features, limits, and reliability based on research and community feedback.
Key takeaways
- Neon offers a dependable serverless PostgreSQL tier with 3 GB of storage, a good fit for hobbyist projects.
- Turso has a generous free SQLite tier, though past data loss incidents warrant caution.
- Upstash has free Redis and vector database plans, a good fit for prototyping and lightweight applications.
- MongoDB Atlas and IBM Cloudant both have reliable document store free tiers.
- DataStax Astra DB has a free Cassandra-based tier for column-family stores.
- Neo4j AuraDB has a free plan for graph databases.
- InfluxDB has a generous free tier for time-series data.
- VPS providers like Contabo and Netcup offer flexible options for self-hosted databases.
- Cloud platforms such as Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure have free credits for short-term projects.
Relational databases
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL is one of the established relational databases, known for its reliability and large feature set.
| Provider | Storage | Compute | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neon | 3 GB | 100 hours/month | Branching, recovery, extensions | Non-primary branches pause at limit |
| Supabase | 500 MB | 100,000 rows read | Authentication, real-time | Projects pause after inactivity |
| CockroachDB | 10 GiB | 50M request units | High availability, scalability | Limited resources for large workloads |
| Aiven | 5 GB | 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM | Daily backups, security | Limited resources |
- Neon (Neon) has a reliable serverless PostgreSQL tier with negligible cold-start delays, logical replication, and support for over 150 extensions. It is a good fit for experimentation or small applications.
- Supabase (Supabase) is an open-source Firebase alternative with authentication and real-time features, though backups are limited.
- CockroachDB (CockroachDB) is a NewSQL database compatible with PostgreSQL, built around high availability for scalable systems.
- Aiven (Aiven) has premium features like daily backups and enhanced security, aimed at developers who care about data safety.
MySQL
MySQL is a popular relational database, known for performance and ease of use. Many providers also support MariaDB, its compatible open-source fork.
| Provider | Storage | Databases | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| InfinityFree | Unlimited | Up to 400 | MySQL 8.0/MariaDB 10.6, WordPress | Limited support, DDoS protection |
| HelioHost | Unlimited | Unlimited | Remote access, open-source apps | Community-based support |
| Aiven | 5 GB | - | Daily backups, security | Limited resources |
| db4free.net | - | - | Testing environment | Not suitable for production |
- InfinityFree (InfinityFree) includes MySQL and MariaDB in its free web hosting, a practical choice for basic projects.
- HelioHost (HelioHost) has unlimited databases, remote access, and MariaDB compatibility.
- Aiven (Aiven) has a secure MySQL and MariaDB option with advanced features.
- db4free.net (db4free.net) is meant for testing, not for production use.
SQLite
SQLite is a lightweight embedded relational database, known for its simplicity.
| Provider | Storage | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turso | Generous | Serverless | Past data loss incidents, no Java SDK |
- Turso (Turso) offers a serverless SQLite tier with generous free storage, though prior data loss events (X Post) suggest regular backups are prudent.
- Managed SQLite hosting options are scarce due to its embedded nature; self-hosting on a VPS remains a viable alternative.
NoSQL databases
Document stores
Document stores manage semi-structured data in JSON-like formats, so they stay flexible across a wide range of use cases.
| Provider | Storage | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| MongoDB Atlas | 512 MB | Monitoring, backups | Single cluster, no sharding |
| IBM Cloudant | 1 GB | Basic support, monitoring | Limited throughput |
- MongoDB Atlas (MongoDB Atlas) provides a free 512 MB cluster, suitable for small-scale applications.
- IBM Cloudant (IBM Cloudant) offers a 1 GB Lite plan for testing and prototyping.
Key-value stores
Key-value stores are built for fast access to simple data structures.
| Provider | Storage | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstash | 256 MB | Persistence, global replication | Limited commands |
| Redis Cloud | 30 MB | Basic functionality | No persistence |
| Aiven | 5 GB | Daily backups, security | Limited resources |
- Upstash (Upstash) provides serverless Redis with 500,000 monthly commands.
- Redis Enterprise Cloud (Redis) offers 30 MB of storage without persistence.
- Aiven (Aiven) has a secure Redis setup with daily backups.
Column-family stores
Column-family stores are designed for large datasets with high read/write throughput.
| Provider | Storage | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| DataStax Astra DB | 5 GB | Serverless, 30M operations/month | One database per organization |
- DataStax Astra DB (DataStax Astra DB) has a free Cassandra-based tier with 5 GB of storage, a good fit for mid-sized projects.
Graph databases
Graph databases focus on relationships between data points.
| Provider | Storage | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neo4j AuraDB | 1 GB | Monitoring, backups | Single instance, limited nodes |
- Neo4j AuraDB (Neo4j AuraDB) offers 1 GB of storage for small graph-based projects.
Time-series databases
Time-series databases store timestamped data, such as metrics or IoT streams.
| Provider | Storage | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| InfluxDB | - | 30-day retention, unlimited queries | Limited write rate |
- InfluxDB Cloud (InfluxDB) has 30-day data retention, enough for tracking metrics.
Vector databases
Vector databases support machine learning and similarity search applications.
| Provider | Vectors | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstash Vector | 200M | 10,000 queries/day, metadata filtering | Limited data size |
| Pinecone | 100,000 | Basic support, monitoring | Single index |
- Upstash Vector (Upstash) holds up to 200 million vectors.
- Pinecone (Pinecone) supports 100,000 vectors for prototyping.
VPS for database hosting
Virtual Private Servers (VPS) give you a customizable environment for self-hosted databases.
| Provider | Price | Storage | Features | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contabo | €4.50/month | 75 GB NVMe | 3 vCPUs, 8 GB RAM | Limited snapshots |
| Netcup | €3.10/month | 20 GB SSD | 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM | Limited resources |
- Contabo (Contabo) has cheap VPS plans for self-managed databases.
- Netcup (Netcup) suits smaller self-hosted projects.
Cloud providers
The major cloud platforms offer free credits or tiers for database services.
| Provider | Offering | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud | $300 credit, 1 GB Firestore | No free Cloud SQL |
| AWS | 750 hours RDS, 25 GB DynamoDB | Limited duration |
| Azure | 100,000 SQL operations, 5 GB Cosmos DB | Limited resources |
- Google Cloud (Google Cloud) gives you $300 in credits for 90 days.
- AWS (AWS) includes 750 hours of Amazon RDS usage.
- Azure (Azure) provides free tiers for SQL Database and Cosmos DB.
Conclusion
This post covers all major database categories, from relational systems to specialized ones. For PostgreSQL, Neon and Supabase are the strongest picks. Aiven is the best of the MySQL and MariaDB options. Turso’s SQLite tier needs caution after past data loss incidents, and Upstash covers both Redis and vector databases. The newer categories have free tiers too: document stores (MongoDB Atlas), column-family stores (DataStax Astra DB), graph databases (Neo4j AuraDB), and time-series databases (InfluxDB). VPS and cloud providers round out the self-hosted options. Picking one still comes down to reliability, limits, and what the project needs.
Sources
Neon Free Tier Documentation
Supabase Pricing and Plans
CockroachDB Pricing Details
Turso Incident Report 2023
Upstash Redis and Vector Pricing
MongoDB Atlas Free Tier Details
IBM Cloudant Pricing Information
DataStax Astra DB Pricing
Neo4j AuraDB Pricing Overview
InfluxDB Cloud Pricing Details
Pinecone Pricing and Plans
Aiven Free Plan Details
InfinityFree Hosting
HelioHost Features Overview
db4free.net MySQL Testing
Redis Enterprise Cloud Free Tier
Google Cloud Free Program
AWS Free Tier Details
Azure Free Account Information
X Post on Turso Data Loss