PocketBase vs Render
Open-source backend in a single Go binary
vs. Unified cloud for apps, databases, and static sites
Pricing tiers
PocketBase
Self-Hosted
MIT-licensed single binary. Run on any VPS / Docker / bare metal. No usage caps — only limited by your server.
$0 base (usage-based)
Render
Postgres — Free
30-day limit. 256 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU, 1 GB storage. Rotates.
Free
Hobby (Free)
Free workspace. 1 project, 2 envs, 100 GB bandwidth. Includes free Web Services + static sites + dev DB.
Free
Key Value (Redis) — Free
25 MB. Ephemeral.
Free
Web Service — Free
Free (spins down with idle). 512 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU.
Free
Postgres — Basic
256 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU. Always-on.
$6/mo
Web Service — Starter
Always-on. 512 MB RAM, 0.5 CPU.
$7/mo
Key Value — Starter
256 MB RAM.
$10/mo
Professional
$19/user/month. Unlimited projects, 500 GB bandwidth, up to 10 team members.
$19/mo
Web Service — Standard
Always-on. 2 GB RAM, 1 CPU.
$25/mo
Organization
$29/user/month. Unlimited members, 1 TB bandwidth, compliance certs.
$29/mo
Postgres — Pro
4 GB RAM, 1 CPU.
$55/mo
Web Service — Pro
Always-on. 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU.
$85/mo
Web Service — Pro Plus
Always-on. 8 GB RAM, 4 CPU.
$175/mo
Enterprise
Custom. Centralized team management, dedicated support.
Custom
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing self-hosted on PocketBase vs hobby on Render.
| Metric | PocketBase | Render |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
PocketBase · 12 features
- Access Rules — Record-level access rules (filter expressions) referencing @request and @collect…
- Admin Dashboard — Built-in web UI for schema + data management.
- Auth — Email+password, OAuth2 (Google, GitHub, Facebook, Apple, Discord, Microsoft, etc…
- Backups — Built-in backup/restore with S3 upload option.
- Built-in Mailer — SMTP integration for verification, password reset, magic link emails.
- Collections — Schema-defined record types with fields, validations, and record/admin/auth acce…
- Embedded JS Engine — JavaScript VM (goja) lets you write hooks in JS without recompiling.
- Extend as Go Library — Embed PocketBase in a larger Go app, add custom routes and events.
- File Storage — Local filesystem or S3-compatible storage with access rules.
- Hooks — Server-side Go or JavaScript hooks that run on CRUD events (OnRecordBeforeCreate…
- Migrations — JS/Go migration scripts applied on startup.
- Realtime Subscriptions — SSE-based subscriptions to collection changes.
Render · 13 features
- Autoscaling — Metric-based autoscale of instances.
- Background Workers — Process queue workers. No HTTP entrypoint.
- Blueprints (render.yaml) — Infrastructure-as-code config for all services.
- Cron Jobs — Scheduled Docker jobs.
- Custom Domains — Free SSL, automatic cert renewal.
- DDoS Protection — Built-in.
- Persistent Disks — Attach persistent SSD to services.
- Preview Environments — Per-PR preview envs with their own DB and services.
- Private Services — Internal services not exposed to the public internet.
- Render Key Value (Redis) — Managed Redis-compatible key-value store.
- Render Postgres — Managed PostgreSQL with automated backups.
- Static Sites — Git-backed static hosting with global CDN, free SSL.
- Web Services — Long-running HTTP services with auto-scale + health checks.
Developer interfaces
| Kind | PocketBase | Render |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | — | Render CLI |
| SDK | Go API (extend as library), pocketbase (Dart), pocketbase (JS SDK) | — |
| REST | REST API | Render REST API |
| MCP | — | Render MCP |
| OTHER | Admin Dashboard, Realtime SSE | — |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Outbound links to PocketBase and Render are plain references to their official websites. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.
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