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.
Pricing and plans
checked 28 Sept 2026Free 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.
| 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 |
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.
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
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
Alternatives to Prisma Postgres
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aiven Managed open-source data platform (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, Valkey, OpenSearch, ClickHouse) | $5/mo | Free tier | |
| Appwrite Cloud Open-source backend-as-a-service (database, auth, storage, functions, hosting) | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Cloudflare D1 Serverless SQLite database | $5/mo | Free tier | |
| Convex Reactive backend and document database | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Crunchy Bridge Managed PostgreSQL on AWS, Azure and GCP | $9/mo | ||
| Firebase Backend platform with document and realtime databases | Usage-based | Free tier |
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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