Overview
CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database that speaks the PostgreSQL wire protocol, keeps at least three replicas of your data, and can pin rows to specific regions for latency or data-residency rules. CockroachDB Cloud is Cockroach Labs' managed service for it; the same database can also be self-hosted.
On 15 September 2026 Cockroach Labs launched Cockroach Continuum, and new Cloud organizations now get its pricing automatically. There are two editions, both billed per provisioned vCPU-hour and metered by the minute. Standard runs on shared infrastructure on AWS or GCP, single or multi-region, with usage-based storage and a 99.99% SLA; the pricing page's example is about $203/mo for 2 vCPU and 100 GB in us-east-1. Mission Critical runs on dedicated infrastructure on AWS, GCP or Azure with a 99.999% multi-region SLA, customer-managed keys and PCI DSS and HIPAA compliance, from $0.162 per vCPU-hour.
The older Basic plan, which billed purely on usage and had a monthly free allowance, is not on the new pricing page; new users get a 30-day, $400 trial instead. Budget for storage, backups, data transfer and change-data-capture on top of compute, and note that an edition cannot be changed in place: moving between Standard and Mission Critical means backing up and restoring into a new cluster.
Pricing and plans
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $0.092 per vCPU-hour | AWS us-east-1 rate; shared infrastructure, 99.99% SLA, single or multi-region on AWS and GCP, usage-based storage, 1-hour P1 support |
| Mission Critical | $0.162 per vCPU-hour | Dedicated infrastructure, 99.999% SLA with multi-region, AWS/GCP/Azure, CMEK, PCI DSS and HIPAA, 30-minute P1 support; about $1,528/mo for 12 vCPU and 100 GB |
| Enterprise contracts | Custom | Annual and committed-use contracts with volume discounts; credits worth $1 each drawn down by usage |
What it does
- Distributed SQL
- Data is replicated at least three ways and the cluster survives node or zone failures; multi-region clusters can survive a region outage.
- PostgreSQL compatibility
- Uses the PostgreSQL wire protocol, so most Postgres drivers and ORMs connect, though it is a different engine from PostgreSQL.
- Data placement by locality
- Declarative policies pin data to specific regions for latency or regulatory reasons.
- Two editions
- Standard on shared hosts with a 99.99% SLA; Mission Critical on dedicated hosts with a 99.999% multi-region SLA.
- Change data capture
- Changefeeds stream row changes to systems such as Kafka as a paid add-on.
- Self-hosted option
- The same CockroachDB software can run on your own infrastructure, on-premise or in Kubernetes.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Built-in multi-region replication and survival of region failures
- PostgreSQL wire compatibility for existing drivers and ORMs
- Mission Critical edition offers a 99.999% SLA, CMEK, PCI DSS and HIPAA
- Usage-based storage on Standard, so there is no disk to resize
- Runs on AWS, GCP and Azure, or self-hosted
Limitations
- No permanent free tier for new organizations since 15 September 2026, only a 30-day $400 trial
- Compute is billed on provisioned vCPUs even when the cluster is idle
- Storage, backups, data transfer and CDC are billed on top of compute
- An edition cannot be changed in place; switching needs a new cluster and a backup/restore
- Standard is limited to AWS and GCP; Azure needs Mission Critical
Who it suits
Good for
- Applications that must stay up through zone or region failures
- Global apps that need data kept in specific countries or regions
- Financial and regulated workloads that need a 99.999% SLA
- Teams that need more than a single-node PostgreSQL that want horizontal scale
Look elsewhere if
- Hobby projects that need a free database
- Apps that rely on PostgreSQL extensions or exact PostgreSQL behaviour
Pricing history
-
Cockroach Continuum replaces Basic, Standard and Advanced for new organisations
Effective 2026-09-15: new cloud organisations get Standard ($0.092/vCPU-hr in us-east-1) and Mission Critical ($0.162/vCPU-hr) editions and a 30-day, $400 trial; the new pricing page lists no free Basic plan. Existing customers keep their plans. Source ↗
Alternatives to CockroachDB Cloud (Cockroach Continuum)
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Convex Reactive backend and document database | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Tiger Cloud Managed PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB | $30/mo | Free tier | |
| Aiven Managed open-source data platform (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, Valkey, OpenSearch, ClickHouse) | $5/mo | Free tier | |
| Neon Serverless Postgres | Usage-based | Free tier | |
| PlanetScale Managed Postgres and MySQL (Vitess) | $5/mo | ||
| Render Managed PaaS | $7/mo | Free tier |
Questions
Does CockroachDB Cloud still have a free tier?
Not for new organizations: since 15 September 2026 new sign-ups get a 30-day trial with $400 credit instead. Existing customers on the older Basic plan keep their current pricing.
How much does CockroachDB Cloud Standard cost?
The pricing page lists $0.092 per vCPU-hour in AWS us-east-1, about $203/mo for 2 vCPU and 100 GB, plus storage, backups and data transfer; rates vary by region.
Is CockroachDB compatible with PostgreSQL?
It uses the PostgreSQL wire protocol and SQL dialect, so most Postgres clients work, but it is a separate distributed engine and not every PostgreSQL feature or extension is available.
Do I pay for an idle CockroachDB cluster?
Yes. Billing follows provisioned vCPUs and stored data, not query volume, so you must scale down or delete a cluster to stop charges.
What is Cockroach Continuum?
It is the name and pricing model Cockroach Labs launched on 15 September 2026 for its cloud, with Standard and Mission Critical editions billed per vCPU-hour.
Sources read for this page