Hasura vs PostGraphile Pricing 2026
The GraphQL backend showdown: Hasura's managed platform vs PostGraphile's self-hosted flexibility.
Key Price Comparison
- Hasura Cloud (Managed): Free tier + $99/month Pro (5 API requests/sec)
- PostGraphile (Self-Hosted): Free open source + hosting costs ($10–200+/mo depending on deployment)
- Total Cost (Production): Hasura ~$99–499/mo, PostGraphile ~$20–150/mo (with hosting)
- Developer Time Investment: Hasura = minimal; PostGraphile = 1–2 weeks for deployment + maintenance
- Best for: Hasura = startups, fast time-to-market, no DevOps; PostGraphile = control, lower cost, existing infra
Full Pricing Breakdown
Hasura Cloud Plans (2026)
| Plan | Cost | Requests/sec | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free (Starter) | $0/month | 2 requests/sec | Development, prototyping, hobby projects |
| Pro | $99/month | 5 requests/sec (burstable to 30) | Early-stage startups, MVP launch |
| Team | $199/month | 15 requests/sec (burstable to 100) | Growing startups, team collaboration |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Unlimited (custom SLA) | Scale-up, high-traffic applications |
PostGraphile Deployment Cost Breakdown
| Deployment Type | Monthly Cost | Database Included | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Localhost / Development | $0 | Local PostgreSQL | Dev environment |
| Vercel / Netlify (Serverless) | $0–20 | External (e.g., Supabase $10–50/mo) | Prototyping, low-traffic APIs |
| Heroku (Managed Container) | $7–50 | Heroku Postgres $50–200/mo | Simple production, no DevOps |
| DigitalOcean / AWS (VPS) | $5–100+ | Self-managed or RDS/DO Managed $50–300/mo | Scaling, cost-control, multiple services |
| Kubernetes (EKS/GKE/DO) | $50–200+ | Managed database $50–300+/mo | Enterprise, high-availability, autoscaling |
True Cost Comparison (Annual + Developer Time)
Scenario 1: Early-Stage MVP (5K requests/month)
| Cost Component | Hasura Cloud Free | Hasura Cloud Pro | PostGraphile (Vercel) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform/Hosting | $0 | $1,188/yr | $0–240/yr |
| Database (PostgreSQL) | Included | Included | $120–600/yr (Supabase) |
| Setup/Maintenance (Developer Time) | 2 hours ($100) | 2 hours ($100) | 40 hours ($2,000) |
| TOTAL (Year 1) | $100 | $1,288 | $2,120–2,600 |
Scenario 2: Growth Stage (500K requests/month, need 20 req/sec)
| Cost Component | Hasura Cloud Team | PostGraphile (DigitalOcean) |
|---|---|---|
| Platform/Hosting | $2,388/yr (Team plan) | $600/yr (App VM) + $1,200/yr (Database) |
| Monitoring / Logging | Included | $0–200/yr (optional: Sentry, etc.) |
| Maintenance (Ongoing) | 10 hr/yr (~$500) | 50 hr/yr (~$2,500) |
| TOTAL (Annual) | $2,888 | $4,500 |
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Hasura | PostGraphile |
|---|---|---|
| GraphQL Auto-Generation | ✓ (UI dashboard) | ✓ (CLI, smart conventions) |
| Real-Time Subscriptions | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom Resolvers | ✓ (Actions, webhooks) | ✓ (Smart tags, plugins) |
| Role-Based Access Control | ✓ (UI rules) | ✓ (via plugins/functions) |
| Performance Monitoring | ✓ (Built-in dashboard) | ◐ (External tools needed) |
| Managed Infrastructure | ✓ (Fully managed) | ✗ (You manage) |
| Scalability Headroom | ✓ (Auto-scales, generous limits) | ✓ (Unlimited if scaled properly) |
| Team Collaboration UI | ✓ (GraphQL editor, live preview) | ◐ (Code-first, less visual) |
| Vendor Lock-In Risk | ◐ (Platform-specific) | ✓ (Open source, portable) |
| Customization Freedom | ◐ (Limited to platform) | ✓ (Full control) |
When to Choose Each
Choose Hasura If:
- You're building fast and need to launch quickly — 1 hour to production, no DevOps knowledge required
- You don't want to manage infrastructure — Hasura handles scaling, backups, monitoring, security
- You want an admin dashboard for non-technical users — Click to create relationships, permissions, custom logic
- Your team isn't familiar with backend infrastructure — Hasura abstracts complexity away
- You need real-time subscriptions out-of-the-box — Built-in, no extra setup
- You're willing to pay for convenience — $99–499/mo is worth it if you save 100+ hours of DevOps work
Choose PostGraphile If:
- You're comfortable managing your own infrastructure — Have a DevOps person or want full control
- You want to minimize recurring costs — $0 software + $20–150/mo hosting is often cheaper than Hasura
- You need vendor independence — Open source, can migrate away anytime without lock-in
- You have an existing PostgreSQL database — PostGraphile auto-generates API from your schema
- You need deep customization — Unlimited plugins, direct database manipulation, custom resolvers
- You're at scale and need cost optimization — At high traffic, self-hosting often beats managed pricing
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I switch from Hasura to PostGraphile later?
Yes, but with work. Both expose standard GraphQL APIs, so client code remains the same. Database schema, permissions, and custom logic will need migration. Plan for 2–4 weeks of engineering work for a production move.
Is Hasura free tier suitable for production?
No. Free tier has only 2 requests/sec (about 172K requests/day). Most production apps need at least $99/mo Pro tier. PostGraphile's free tier is more suitable if you self-host and manage scaling.
What about using both (hybrid approach)?
Possible but not recommended. Most teams pick one. If you absolutely need it, use Hasura for standard CRUD and PostGraphile for custom logic, but this adds complexity.
How much developer time does PostGraphile require?
Setup: 1–2 days. Ongoing maintenance: 5–10 hours/month for updates, scaling, monitoring, backups. Hasura needs ~30 min/month. For teams with engineers, PostGraphile is fine. For pure product teams, Hasura's maintenance savings are huge.
Which has better performance?
Both are fast. Hasura's managed infrastructure is optimized. PostGraphile's performance depends on your deployment. With equivalent hardware, PostGraphile slightly edges out Hasura, but the difference is negligible for most apps.
Can I use Hasura self-hosted?
Yes, Hasura Community Edition is open source. Self-hosting Hasura makes pricing similar to PostGraphile (~$50–200/mo), but you get Hasura's UI benefits plus the ability to manage it yourself.
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Last updated: May 2026. Pricing and features accurate as of publication. Check vendor websites for current details. This comparison is informational; not a recommendation.