Pick DuckDB if
analysts and app teams who will stay on local DuckDB at $0 (MIT) while they open a first UI notebook, then attach MotherDuck only when they need a hosted share.
Read the DuckDB pageDuckDB vs MotherDuck
Our take
Pick DuckDB if analysts and app teams who will stay on local DuckDB at $0 (MIT) while they open a first UI notebook, then attach MotherDuck only when they need a hosted share. Pick MotherDuck if solo analysts who will stay on Lite $0 (10 GB + 10 Pulse hours), then buy Business at $250/org/month plus usage when they need Standard+ instances, Flights at scale, and a 99.9% SLA.
Best for
DuckDB A columnar query you open on one machine
MotherDuck Cloud DuckDB metered in CU-hours and GB
Free plan
DuckDB $0 · mIT. Local / embeddable. Governed by the DuckDB Foundation
MotherDuck $0 · no card. Up to 3 internal users and 2 service accounts. 10 GB storage and 10 Pulse hours / month included. Pulse instances only. Preset RBAC. Community support. 1-day snapshots. Lite without a card includes 30 minutes/day of F4 Flights
Lowest paid
DuckDB Not published by the vendor
MotherDuck Storage $0.04/mo
Next step up
DuckDB
MotherDuck Flights $0.15/hour
Coding agent
DuckDB
MotherDuck Flights
Runs where
DuckDB Hosted
MotherDuck
Watch out
DuckDB Local UI is not a warehouse SLA
MotherDuck Lite is Pulse-only
Last checked
DuckDB 2026-10-23 · duckdb.org
MotherDuck 2026-10-22 · motherduck.com/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick MotherDuck if
solo analysts who will stay on Lite $0 (10 GB + 10 Pulse hours), then buy Business at $250/org/month plus usage when they need Standard+ instances, Flights at scale, and a 99.9% SLA.
Read the MotherDuck page