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Serverless PostgreSQL billed per operation · by Prisma

Prisma Postgres

Managed PostgreSQL from the makers of Prisma ORM, billed per query operation and storage instead of compute size, with a no-card free plan and spend limits.

Visit prisma.io ↗ Alternatives Free tier EU region
Prisma Postgres homepage
§1

Overview

Prisma Postgres is the managed PostgreSQL service from the company behind Prisma ORM. Instead of choosing an instance size, you pay for operations (each query is one) and for storage, and the database scales automatically. Direct TCP connections have been generally available since October 2025, so Drizzle, Kysely, TypeORM, psql and other Postgres tools work alongside Prisma ORM, and pgvector is supported.

The Free plan gives 200,000 operations and 500 MB a month across up to 50 databases and never bills; when you hit the cap, you stop. Starter at $10/mo includes 1M operations and 10 GB with 7-day daily backups; Pro at $49/mo and Business at $129/mo include more operations and storage at lower overage rates, more connections, and compliance (HIPAA from Pro, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 at Business). Each plan also includes an allowance for Prisma Compute, Prisma's app hosting.

The model favours apps with modest, spiky or bursty traffic, since idle time costs nothing. Heavy query volumes can get expensive on Starter at $8 per million operations, so estimate operations before choosing it for a busy app, and set a spend limit.

§2

Pricing and plans

Free tier · no card

Free plan: 200,000 operations a month, 500 MB storage, up to 50 databases, 10 connections; hard cap, never billed. Includes a small Prisma Compute allowance.

At the limit Stops at the limit The free plan is a hard cap: when you hit it, operations stop and nothing is billed.

No backups
Plan Price What you get
Free $0 200k operations, 500 MB storage, 50 databases, 10 connections, no backups, community support
Starter $10/mo 1M operations then $8 per million; 10 GB then $2/GB; 1,000 databases; daily backups kept 7 days; spend limits
Pro $49/mo 10M operations then $2 per million; 50 GB then $1.50/GB; 500 pooled connections; HIPAA; standard support
Business $129/mo 50M operations then $1 per million; 100 GB then $1/GB; 30-day backups; SOC 2, ISO 27001; premium support
Custom Custom Volume discounts and custom terms for high-volume teams

Each plan price covers both Prisma Postgres and Prisma Compute (app hosting) allowances; the database figures are listed here. One query counts as one operation regardless of compute or data size. Data transfer is listed as unlimited in the plan table, although the page also mentions 250 GB database egress included then $0.09/GB; the Accelerate global cache has its own operation and egress overage prices. Spend limits are on paid plans; the free plan is a hard cap. HIPAA is listed from Pro, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 at Business. Plans can also be managed through Vercel's marketplace.

Source: www.prisma.io/pricing · prices as published, excluding tax.

§3

What it does

Operation-based billing
Each query is one operation; you pay for operations and GB stored, not for CPU, RAM or hours.
Spend limits
Paid plans can cap monthly spend; the free plan has a hard cap and never bills.
Standard Postgres connections
Works with Prisma ORM, Drizzle, Kysely, TypeORM, psql and GUI tools; pg_dump in and out; pgvector supported.
Per-PR databases
When used with Prisma Compute, each preview deployment gets its own isolated database branch.
Managed connection pool
Pooled connections from 10 (Free) to 1,000 (Business), with direct connections from 10 to 100.
Query insights and Studio
Built-in query performance insights and a data browser/editor on every plan.
§4

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • No-card free plan that cannot generate a bill
  • Simple pricing unit with spend limits on paid plans
  • Up to 1,000 databases on paid plans, useful for per-tenant or per-preview databases
  • EU regions in Paris and Frankfurt
  • Tight integration with Prisma ORM, but not tied to it

Limitations

  • Free plan has no backups and only 500 MB of storage
  • Operation overage on Starter is $8 per million, so query-heavy apps should move to Pro or Business
  • Six regions only, all in North America, Europe and East Asia
  • SOC 2 and ISO 27001 are listed only on the $129/mo Business plan
  • Per-PR branching is tied to deploying the app on Prisma Compute
§5

Who it suits

Good for

  • TypeScript side projects and MVPs that want a free Postgres
  • Apps with bursty or low traffic that should cost little when idle
  • Teams already on Prisma ORM
  • SaaS apps that need many small databases

Look elsewhere if

  • Query-heavy workloads where a fixed-size instance is cheaper
  • Teams that need regions outside the six offered
§6

Alternatives to Prisma Postgres

Tool From Free option Stages
Crunchy Bridge Managed PostgreSQL on AWS, Azure and GCP
$9/mo Paid
MongoDB Atlas Managed document database
$8/mo Free tier
Scaleway Managed Databases Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL and serverless Postgres
€0.0156/hr Paid
Render Managed PaaS
$7/mo Free tier
Nile Serverless PostgreSQL for multi-tenant SaaS
$15/mo Free tier
Turso SQLite-compatible cloud database
$5.99/mo Free tier

All managed databases →

§7

Questions

Is Prisma Postgres free?

Yes, the Free plan includes 200,000 operations and 500 MB of storage a month with no credit card, and it is a hard cap rather than a bill.

What counts as an operation in Prisma Postgres?

Each database query counts as one operation, regardless of how much compute or data it uses.

Can I use Prisma Postgres without Prisma ORM?

Yes. Direct TCP connections are generally available, so any Postgres driver, ORM or tool such as psql can connect.

Does Prisma Postgres have backups?

Paid plans have daily backups, kept 7 days on Starter and Pro and 30 days on Business; the Free plan has none.

Which regions does Prisma Postgres run in?

us-east-1, us-west-1, eu-west-3 (Paris), eu-central-1 (Frankfurt), ap-northeast-1 (Tokyo) and ap-southeast-1 (Singapore).

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