SurrealDB

What it is for

SurrealDB is a multi-model database desk: you deploy an instance, query it, and Cloud Start is $0/hour for the first instance (0.25 vCPU · 1 GB, 1 GB storage free forever). Use it when the job is an instance you start at $0, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is the official SurrealDB Cloud Instances list (api-production / api-staging / analytics-eu, Deploy new instance) from the docs instances-list still — not a pricing card. The cards themselves are ops of Instances.

Key features

• Instances — a Cloud database you deploy (Instances still; pricing Start). One node. The cover “Deploy new instance” is ops. Further Start instances are from $0.021/hour. Studio is ops of querying this.
• SurrealQL — the query language (and GraphQL) you run against an instance (pricing SurrealQL querying). A query, not a cluster. Document / graph / relational / vector in one engine are models of this, not extra desks.
• Access control — table / document / field permissions and custom access methods (pricing Security). A grant, not a query. Cloud RBAC / ABAC print on Start.
• Live queries — a notification when a query’s result changes (pricing Live query notifications). A stream, not a one-shot SELECT. Distributed multi-node live queries are Scale.
• Self-host / Cloud — the BSL/engine you run, or SurrealDB Cloud (GitHub; pricing Cloud / Enterprise). A control plane, not a query. Agent Memory is a different chapter on the same pricing nav — do not count it as a SurrealDB Cloud feature.

Compute and storage are the meters, not extra desks. Branching / forking print as coming soon on Start/Scale.

Who it's for

Best fit: app teams who will stay on Cloud Start at $0/hour (first instance, 1 GB storage, daily backups) while they open a first Instances list, then add a burstable small at $0.021/hour ($15.33/month if it ran 730 hours) when they need a second instance or more CPU.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from surrealdb.com/pricing. Start is pay-as-you-go by the hour. Monthly figures assume 730 hours as printed.

• Start — first instance $0/hour (Free · 0.25 vCPU · 1 GB). 1 GB storage free forever. Further instances from $0.021/hour. Daily automated backups. Vertical scale. Cloud RBAC/ABAC.
• Start compute (per hour / printed month) — Burstable small $0.021 / $15.33; medium $0.044 / $32.12; large $0.093 / $67.89. General purpose medium $0.135 / $98.55; large $0.301 / $219.73; xlarge $0.602 / $439.46; 2xlarge $1.204 / $878.92; 4xlarge $2.409 / $1,758.57.
• Start storage — ≤1 GB free; >1 GB to 512 GB at $0.239/GB.
• Scale — $0.192/node-hour, three nodes minimum. HA, multi-AZ, horizontal scale. Higher tiers available.
• Enterprise — custom self-host / single-tenant. FIPS, commercial support, SLAs. Confirm the live quote — do not invent an Enterprise dollar.
• Annual — discounted; talk to the team. Do not invent the discount percent.

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Limitations / costs

• $0 is the first Start instance only. A second instance starts at $0.021/hour.
• Scale’s floor is 3 × $0.192/hour. That is a cluster, not a $0 card.
• Agent Memory is a different pricing chapter. Do not mix its dollars into this database desk.
• A database desk, not a hosted Postgres clone. For serverless Postgres see Neon. For branching MySQL/Postgres see PlanetScale.

Alternatives

• Neon — serverless Postgres when you want SQL-only, not SurrealQL.
• PlanetScale — branching MySQL/Postgres clusters when you will not run a SurrealDB instance.
• Convex — reactive backend functions when you do not want a multi-model engine.

Official tutorial

Official SurrealDB channel video: Introducing SurrealDB 3.0 (oEmbed author: SurrealDB). First-party 3.0 walkthrough; the Cloud Instances still is the cover. Do not embed Fireship’s “100 Seconds” recap.

Written path: surrealdb.com/pricing plus the Instances still.

Website

https://surrealdb.com

Repository

https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is the official SurrealDB Cloud Instances list from the docs still. Dollars checked on surrealdb.com/pricing (first Start instance $0/hr; further from $0.021/hr; storage $0.239/GB after 1 GB; Scale $0.192/node-hr, 3-node min). Tutorial oEmbed author: SurrealDB.

Last verified

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