Overview
Nile is PostgreSQL re-engineered for multi-tenant B2B applications. Instead of one database per customer or one shared schema guarded by row-level security, Nile lets you declare tenant-aware tables and connect with a tenant context, so queries only see that tenant's rows. You still have one database for schema migrations, which Nile runs atomically across all tenants, and you can keep shared tables for data every tenant needs. pgvector is supported for per-customer embeddings in AI features.
Compute is a shared, multi-tenant serverless layer. You are billed by query tokens and storage, not by instance, and databases do not pause or cold-start, including on the free plan. The Free plan allows unlimited databases and tenants with 50 million query tokens and 1 GB of storage; Pro at $15/mo raises that to 150 million tokens and 5 GB with a 99.95% SLA; Scale at $350/mo gives 50 GB and a 99.99% SLA. On any plan, including Free, you can pay for extra usage instead of upgrading.
Before committing production data, note that several features on the pricing page (provisioned compute, branching, database and tenant-level backups, global placement and SOC 2) are still marked as coming soon. Nile also ships an open-source auth library for B2B apps that stores users and tenants in the same database.
Pricing and plans
Free tier
Free plan: unlimited databases and tenant databases, 50 million query tokens and 1 GB storage a month per workspace, no pausing or cold starts; extra usage can be paid for without upgrading.
At the limit Not stated The vendor does not say what happens at the limit, or we have not found it yet.
No backups| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited databases and tenants, 50M query tokens, 1 GB storage (then $1.50/GB) |
| Pro | $15/mo | 150M query tokens then $0.05 per million; 5 GB then $1.00/GB; 99.95% SLA; 10,000 connections; workspace sharing; email support |
| Scale | $350/mo | 50 GB then $0.75/GB; 99.99% SLA; 100,000 connections |
| Enterprise | Custom | Large-scale workloads, advanced security and admin controls |
What it does
- Virtual tenant databases
- Tenant-aware tables isolate each customer's rows, and a connection can be restricted to a single tenant without hand-written row-level security.
- Cross-tenant schema migrations
- DDL runs once and applies atomically across all tenants; standard Postgres tooling still works.
- Serverless compute without cold starts
- Shared compute is billed per query token and databases never pause, even on the free plan.
- pgvector per tenant
- Store embeddings next to tenant data for multi-tenant RAG applications.
- Built-in B2B auth
- Nile Auth handles users, tenants, magic links and social login with unlimited active users, billed only through database usage.
- Tenant dashboards
- The console shows growth and query metrics per customer.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Tenant isolation built into the database rather than the application
- Free plan with unlimited databases and no pausing
- Pay-for-overage model: you can stay on a tier and pay for extra usage
- EU region in Frankfurt
- Auth for B2B apps included at no per-user cost
Limitations
- Backups, branching, provisioned compute and SOC 2 are marked 'coming soon' on the pricing page
- Only two documented regions for new databases (AWS us-west-2 and eu-central-1)
- Query tokens are an abstract unit, so costs are harder to predict than instance pricing
- A modified Postgres with tenant-aware tables means a different data model from a plain Postgres app
Who it suits
Good for
- B2B SaaS products with many customer organizations
- Multi-tenant AI apps storing per-customer embeddings
- Early-stage SaaS that wants tenant isolation without running a database per customer
Look elsewhere if
- Single-tenant or consumer apps that gain nothing from tenant virtualization
- Regulated workloads that need SOC 2, backups and PITR today
Alternatives to Nile
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nhost Postgres + GraphQL backend platform | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Appwrite Cloud Open-source backend-as-a-service (database, auth, storage, functions, hosting) | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Supabase Managed Postgres backend platform | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Firebase Backend platform with document and realtime databases | Usage-based | Free tier | |
| Scaleway Managed Databases Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL and serverless Postgres | €0.0156/hr | ||
| Prisma Postgres Serverless PostgreSQL billed per operation | $10/mo | Free tier |
Questions
Is Nile free?
Yes, the Free plan includes unlimited databases and tenants, 50 million query tokens and 1 GB of storage a month, and the database never pauses.
What are Nile query tokens?
Abstract units of CPU and memory consumed by queries on Nile's serverless compute; Pro includes 150 million and charges $0.05 per million after that.
How is Nile different from using row-level security in Postgres?
Nile makes tenants a database concept: tenant-aware tables and tenant-scoped connections isolate data without writing RLS policies or app-level checks.
Does Nile have backups?
Database and tenant-level backups are listed as coming soon on Nile's pricing page, so check their status before relying on them.
Where can Nile databases be hosted?
The API documents AWS us-west-2 (Oregon) and AWS eu-central-1 (Frankfurt) for new databases.
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