cheapstack
RSSBrowse stacks
tools / 03 — updated may 2026

Best databases for indie SaaS

Five databases that hit the sweet spot of free-tier-credible, scale-friendly, and serverless-aware. Picked for honest pricing curves, not vendor-marketing.

5 databases · free → $69+/mo · updated may 2026
Skip to TL;DRSee matrix →
tldr.txt — tools/indie-databases.mdour pick
$cat tldr.txt

Supabase if you want Postgres + auth + storage + realtime in one bill. Neon if you want serverless Postgres with branching that maps to your git workflow. MongoDB Atlas if your data is document-shaped instead of relational.

Updated May 2026see how we picked →
the list / 5 tools

The list

Fiveplatforms, ordered editorially — top of list isn’t “best,” it’s the shape that fits the most indie creators. Each card has the verdict tag, the pricing receipt, and the honest fit / skip lists. Affiliate links are disclosed.

01

Supabase

Supabase Inc.
our pick

Postgres + auth + storage + realtime in one platform. Open-source, self-hostable, the default 'batteries-included' indie database.

pricing.txt — supabasemonthly
Free500MB · 50k MAU · pauses 7d idlefree
Pro8GB · 100k MAU · always-on$25/mo
Teamproduction-grade · SOC 2$599/mo
use for
  • You want one bill for database, auth, storage, and realtime — not five integrations.
  • Postgres is your shape (relational data, foreign keys, joins) and SQL is your team's daily tool.
  • Self-host option matters as an exit ramp, even if you never use it.
  • Generous free tier covers genuine production for small projects (50k MAU).
  • Realtime subscriptions on tables are part of the product (presence, live updates).
skip for
  • Free-tier project pause after 7 days of idle is a problem (demo links, rare-traffic projects).
  • You need MySQL, not Postgres.
  • Your workload is single-table-massive-scale — you'd outgrow Supabase Pro before you outgrow the platform.
02

Neon

Neon Inc. · Databricks
serverless pick

Serverless Postgres with copy-on-write branching, scale-to-zero compute, and storage decoupled from compute. Postgres-compatible, no proprietary protocol.

pricing.txt — neonmonthly
Free0.5GB · 191 compute-hr/mofree
Launch1GB · 500hr · 1 branch$19/mo
Scale10GB · branching · history$69/mo
use for
  • Database branching matches how your team works: feature branches, PR previews, destructive-migration testing.
  • Compute-hour pricing fits your traffic shape — your DB doesn't need to be always-on.
  • Pure Postgres compatibility matters; no proprietary protocol or custom client.
  • You want vertical scaling with read replicas to defer the sharding decision as long as possible.
  • Genuinely portable — you can move to self-hosted Postgres without code changes if needed.
skip for
  • You also want auth + storage + realtime in the same bill (Supabase covers that).
  • Cold starts after compute pauses (1-3 seconds) are unacceptable for your latency budget.
  • You need MySQL or you're at multi-TB scale where horizontal sharding is the actual answer.
03

Turso

ChiselStrike · Turso
edge pick

Distributed SQLite (libSQL) with edge replication. Embedded-database simplicity at platform scale. The cheapest credible production database.

pricing.txt — tursomonthly
Hobby9GB · 500 dbs · ~1B rows readfree
Scaler24GB · 6 locations$9/mo
Production60GB · 8 replicas · pro support$29/mo
use for
  • Your app is read-heavy and edge-latency matters — Turso replicates SQLite to multiple regions.
  • You want SQLite's simplicity (single-file, embedded) with multi-region availability.
  • Cost-sensitive at every scale — Turso's free tier handles real production traffic.
  • Your data fits in single-region SQLite mental model (no multi-master writes, no complex sharding).
  • Edge runtimes (Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge) are your deploy target — Turso's libSQL client is built for this.
skip for
  • You need write-heavy multi-region — SQLite's single-writer model fights this.
  • Postgres extensions are core to your stack (pgvector, PostGIS, etc.) — SQLite doesn't have direct equivalents.
  • You expect your relational team to immediately understand SQLite's quirks (no native UUID, looser type system).
04

PlanetScale

PlanetScale Inc.
scale pick

MySQL on Vitess with horizontal sharding, deploy requests, and zero-downtime schema changes. Engineered for write-heavy workloads at scale.

pricing.txt — planetscalemonthly
Hobby$39 minimum · 5GB$39/mo
Scaler Pro10GB · 1 production cluster$99/mo
Enterprisecustom · multi-cluster$$$
use for
  • MySQL is your shape and you want best-in-class operational tooling.
  • Zero-downtime schema migrations on production are a frequent operational concern.
  • You're at multi-TB scale or expect to be — Vitess sharding is the actual answer.
  • Your team can work with the no-foreign-keys constraint (enforced at app layer).
  • Always-on, predictable workloads where flat-tier pricing beats compute-hour metering.
skip for
  • You need a real free tier — PlanetScale removed theirs in 2024 and the floor is $39/mo.
  • Branching was a deciding feature — it was deprecated in 2024 and is still in beta as of May 2026.
  • Your data is Postgres-shaped or you'd rather the foreign keys be database-enforced.
05

MongoDB Atlas

MongoDB Inc.
document pick

Managed MongoDB. Document database with global replication, full-text search bundled, and a free tier that's genuinely production-credible. The default when your data is document-shaped instead of relational.

pricing.txt — mongodb-atlasmonthly
Free (M0)512MB · shared cluster · production-okfree
Serverlesspay-per-operation · 2-regionfrom $0.01/op
M1010GB · 2GB RAM · always-on$57/mo
use for
  • Your data is document-shaped (nested objects, schema-on-read) and Postgres JSON columns feel like fighting the model.
  • You need full-text search bundled (Atlas Search is the differentiator vs running your own).
  • Multi-region replication is a day-one requirement and you want it managed.
  • Free M0 tier is genuinely production-credible — small SaaS run it for a year before paying.
  • Your team already speaks MongoDB Query Language — switching to SQL would be the cost, not the win.
skip for
  • Your data is fundamentally relational with foreign keys and joins — Postgres-shaped problems get awkward in MongoDB.
  • Cost is the deciding factor at scale — the jump from free M0 to M10 is steep ($0 → $57/mo).
  • You want to avoid vendor-managed databases and prefer self-hosted Postgres-shaped tooling.
scoreboard / category matrix

Category scoreboard

Six dimensions, 5tools. The olive dot marks the clear winner per row when there is one — most rows have multiple credible answers. Use this for shape-spotting, not for ranking.

dimension
Supabase
Neon
Turso
PlanetScale
MongoDB
Free tier
500MB · 50k MAU
0.5GB · 191hr
9GB · 500 dbs
no · $39 floor
Starter · all features
Cheapest paid tier
$25/mo · Pro
$19/mo · Launch
$9/mo · Scaler
$39/mo · Hobby
$25/mo · Pro
Engine
Postgres
Postgres
SQLite (libSQL)
MySQL · Vitess
MongoDB
Self-hostable
yes · OSS
yes · Postgres
yes · libSQL
no · Vitess possible
yes · OSS Mongo
Branching
no · DB clones
yes · copy-on-write
yes · per-branch DB
deprecated · beta
no · snapshot restore
Bundled features
auth + storage + realtime
Postgres only
DB only
DB only · deploy reqs
Atlas Search · charts
decision / when to pick which

When to pick which

Five user shapes, fivepicks. The right answer depends on what you’re optimizing for — revenue model, content shape, growth lever, ownership appetite.

  1. Need Postgres + auth + storage + realtime in one bill
    Supabase

    If you want batteries included — auth, storage, realtime, edge functions, and Postgres — Supabase is the path of least resistance. The bundle stays cheap at small scale and gives you a Pro flat tier ($25/mo) that handles real product traffic. Self-host as an exit ramp.

  2. Want serverless Postgres with branching for git-shaped workflows
    Neon

    If branching maps to your team's workflow — PR previews, feature-branch testing, destructive migration trial runs — Neon is the only mature implementation. Compute scale-to-zero on the free tier; Pro is $19/mo. Pure Postgres protocol, no lock-in.

  3. Read-heavy app, edge-replicated, cost is the deciding factor
    Turso

    If your app is read-heavy and you want sub-50ms reads from multiple regions, Turso is the cheapest credible production stack. SQLite quirks are real but worth it for the edge-replication story. $9/mo Scaler tier handles serious traffic.

  4. MySQL shape, zero-downtime schema changes, scale-aware
    PlanetScale

    If MySQL is your engine and zero-downtime schema migrations are part of your deploy story, PlanetScale is the only realistic answer. Plan for the $39/mo floor; the value is the operational tooling.

  5. Document-shaped data, full-text search bundled, multi-region replication
    MongoDB Atlas

    If your data is document-shaped (nested, schema-on-read) and you'd rather not bolt search onto Postgres, MongoDB Atlas is the boring-correct choice. Free M0 cluster runs real workloads for a year. Atlas Search is bundled. Pick when your team already speaks MongoDB and the alternative is fighting Postgres JSON columns.

honest mentions / runners-up

Honest mentions

Tools that show up in adjacent searches but didn’t make the editorial five. Listed for context — not a recommendation, not a takedown.

  • Convex

    Reactive backend platform — TypeScript-typed database + functions + realtime queries. Compelling for collab/realtime apps where Postgres + websockets feels like a fight. Pick when reactivity is core and your team is React/Next.js end-to-end. Generous free tier; Pro $25/mo.

  • Firebase Firestore

    Document database with realtime listeners. Mature, Google-owned, pay-per-operation pricing that punishes hot read patterns. Listed for context — see Firebase vs Supabase comparison.

  • Xata

    Postgres + search + branching. Smaller player than Neon; the search integration is the differentiator. Promising but younger.

  • DynamoDB

    AWS's NoSQL workhorse. Industrial-grade for the right access patterns; punishing learning curve and bill if you misshape your data. Skip for indie unless AWS is your existing stack.