Buf

What it is for

Buf is a hosted Protobuf-registry-plus-Studio desk: you open Studio, and Community is Free. Use it when the job is schemas and RPCs you start at $0, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is the official Buf Studio share dialog (https://demo.connect.build, JSON {"sentence": "I feel happy."}, Connect selected, share link to studio.buf.build) from the docs still — not a pricing card. The request itself is ops of Studio. Buf bills Community Free / Teams $0.50 per type / month / Pro $5 per type / month with a $3,000 / month Pro minimum.

Key features

• Studio — a request you send against a Protobuf API (cover still; docs). One request. Cover Body / Headers / Options / Docs and Send sit here.
• Repositories — a Protobuf module you publish on the BSR (pricing repositories; cover Admin Repositories nav on the agent-preset still). A repo, not a Studio request. Community: unlimited public. Teams: unlimited private.
• Organizations — the billing folder above repos (pricing; Admin Organizations). An org, not a repo.
• Studio Agent presets — a URL you save so Studio can reach private RPCs (docs still). A preset, not an org.
• Favorites / History — a saved Studio request you reload or share (cover Share; docs). A favorite, not a preset.

The Buf CLI is install. Generated SDKs on the official video are output of the registry. Types (messages / enums / RPCs) are the meter. Pro’s $3,000 minimum is the floor, not a sixth desk.

Who it's for

Best fit: API teams who will stay on Community Free (unlimited public repos) while they open a first Studio request, then buy Teams at $0.50 / type / month when private modules appear — or Pro at $5 / type / month ($3,000 minimum) for a private BSR instance.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from buf.build/pricing. Tiles print Community Free / Teams $0.50 per type / month / Pro $5 per type / month (*minimum spend of $3,000 / month) / Enterprise Custom.

• Community — Free. Unlimited public repositories. Community Slack.
• Teams — $0.50 per type / month. Unlimited private repositories. Email support within 48 business hours. Example on the page: 100 private types → $50 / month; 150 average types → $75 / month.
• Pro — $5 per type / month. $3,000 / month minimum. Private BSR instance, unlimited organizations, audit logging, SCIM. 30-day trial.
• Enterprise — Custom. Self-host / on-prem, isolation. Do not invent an Enterprise dollar.

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Limitations / costs

• Community Free is public repos. A private type is Teams at $0.50 / type / month.
• Pro’s $5 / type tile has a $3,000 / month floor. Small private graphs stay on Teams.
• A schema desk, not an auth desk. For Stytch’s $0 / 10k MAU RBAC see Stytch.

Alternatives

• Stytch — org/member RBAC when the “schema” is an identity, not a .proto.
• Infracost — plan comments when you want FinOps on IaC, not Protobuf types.
• BuildBuddy — Bazel results when the job is a build log, not a schema registry.

Official tutorial

Official Buf channel video: Generate Python SDKs with the Buf Schema Registry (oEmbed author: Buf). First-party BSR clip; the Studio share still is the cover. Generated SDKs on the video are output of Repositories, not a second listing.

Written path: buf.build/pricing plus the Studio still.

Website

https://buf.build

Repository

https://github.com/bufbuild/buf

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is the official Buf Studio share dialog from the docs still. Dollars checked on buf.build/pricing (Community Free; Teams $0.50/type/mo; Pro $5/type/mo min $3,000; Enterprise custom). Tutorial oEmbed author: Buf.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.