YugabyteDB Aeon: pricing, free tier and alternatives (2026)

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Overview

YugabyteDB is an open-source distributed SQL database. It reuses the upper half of PostgreSQL, so the YSQL API accepts Postgres drivers, ORMs and many extensions, while the storage layer shards and replicates data automatically across nodes with the Raft protocol. It also offers a Cassandra-style API. YugabyteDB Aeon is Yugabyte's managed service on AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, with a bring-your-own-cloud option.

Pricing is per provisioned vCPU per month. Standard starts at $125/vCPU for single-region clusters that survive node or zone outages. Professional starts at $167/vCPU and adds multi-region clusters, read replicas and row-level geo-partitioning for data residency, with enterprise security and point-in-time recovery sold as $25/vCPU add-ons. Storage, backup storage and data transfer are billed separately. Yugabyte recommends at least three nodes with 4 to 8 vCPUs each for production.

The free Sandbox is a single-node cluster for learning, with up to 2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM and 10 GB storage, 15 connections and roughly 500 tables. It pauses after 10 days without activity and is deleted after 15. Because it is single-node it cannot show YugabyteDB's resilience or performance; a free trial of bigger clusters is available on request.

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Pricing and plans

Free tier

Sandbox: one single-node cluster with up to 2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM and 10 GB storage on AWS or GCP, 15 connections, about 500 tables or 12.5M rows; paused after 10 days idle, deleted after 15.

Plan	Price	What you get
Sandbox	$0	Single node, up to 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 10 GB; not for production; pauses when idle
Standard	From $125/vCPU/mo	Zone-level resilience, VPC peering and Private Link, 24x7 support
Professional	From $167/vCPU/mo	Multi-region clusters, read replicas, geo-partitioning; SSO/CMEK and PITR/DR add-ons at $25/vCPU/mo each
Enterprise	Custom	Enterprise security, PITR and DR included, bring-your-own-cloud option

Per-vCPU prices exclude storage and data transfer: disk $0.10/GB-month, backup storage $0.025/GB-month, data transfer $0.01/GB in-region, $0.02/GB cross-region ($0.08/GB in APAC), $0.10/GB to the internet, and provisioned IOPS on AWS $0.0066 per IOPS-month. A production cluster normally needs at least 3 nodes, so the minimum real bill is several times the per-vCPU price. Aeon offers a free trial of larger clusters, but its length is not stated on the pages read. Whether the Sandbox needs a card is not stated. The open-source database is free to self-host. No compliance certifications are listed on the pages read.

Source: www.yugabyte.com/pricing/ · prices as published, excluding tax.

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What it does

PostgreSQL-compatible API: YSQL reuses PostgreSQL's query layer, so Postgres drivers, ORMs and extensions like pg_stat_statements work.
Automatic sharding and replication: Data is split and replicated across nodes with Raft; a cluster tolerates node, zone or region failures depending on topology.
Geo-partitioning: Pin rows to specific regions for data residency, or replicate across three regions synchronously.
Built-in connection pooling: A connection manager removes the need for an external pooler; clusters support 15 connections per vCPU.
Vector search: Vector indexing distributed across the cluster for RAG and AI workloads using SQL.
Migration tooling: YugabyteDB Voyager migrates schema and data from PostgreSQL and Oracle, including live migration.

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Strengths and limitations

Strengths

Postgres compatibility with horizontal scale and automatic failover
Multi-region and geo-partitioned topologies for global apps and data residency
Runs on AWS, Azure and GCP at the same price
Fully open-source database that can be self-hosted
24x7 support on every paid tier

Limitations

Per-vCPU pricing plus a recommended three-node minimum makes production clusters expensive for small apps
Sandbox is single-node, limited to 15 connections, and deleted after 15 days of inactivity
Point-in-time recovery and SSO are add-ons below the Enterprise tier
Storage, backups and data transfer are billed on top
Azure does not support Sandbox clusters or VPC peering

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Who it suits

Good for

Business-critical apps that must survive zone or region outages
Global apps needing data residency by region
Teams outgrowing a single PostgreSQL server

Look elsewhere if

Small apps where a single managed Postgres instance is enough
Hobby projects needing an always-on free database

§6

Alternatives to YugabyteDB Aeon

Tool	From	Free option
Aiven Managed open-source data platform (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, Valkey, OpenSearch, ClickHouse)	$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	Paid
Firebase Backend platform with document and realtime databases	Usage-based	Free tier
MongoDB Atlas Managed document database	$8/mo	Free tier
Neon Serverless Postgres	Usage-based	Free tier

All managed databases →

§7

Questions

Is YugabyteDB Aeon free?

There is a free Sandbox cluster (single node, up to 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 10 GB) for learning. It pauses after 10 days idle and is deleted after 15.

How much does YugabyteDB Aeon cost?

Standard starts at $125 per vCPU per month and Professional at $167, plus storage at $0.10/GB-month and data transfer.

Is YugabyteDB compatible with PostgreSQL?

Its YSQL API reuses PostgreSQL's query layer, so most Postgres drivers, ORMs and tools work.

Is YugabyteDB open source?

Yes. The database is open source and free to self-host; Aeon is the paid managed service.

Which clouds does YugabyteDB Aeon support?

AWS, Azure and Google Cloud, with the same pricing on each.

Sources read for this page