Plans & Pricing
SerenDB offers plans to support you at every stage—from your first prototype to production at scale. Start for free, then pay only for what you use as your needs grow.
The plans described on this page are SerenDB's new usage-based pricing plans, introduced August 14, 2025. If you signed up for a paid plan earlier, you may still be on a legacy plan. To switch to a new plan, see Change your plan. Free plan users were automatically moved to the new Free plan described below, unless you signed up through Vercel or Azure Marketplace.
If you signed up with SerenDB through **Vercel** or **Azure Marketplace**, you are still on a [SerenDB legacy plan](/docs/introduction/legacy-plans) — this applies to both Free and paid plans. The new usage-based pricing plans will be introduced on these platforms at a later date.
Plan overview
Compare SerenDB's Free, Launch, and Scale plans.
For AI agent platforms that provision thousands of databases, SerenDB offers an **Agent Plan** with custom resource limits and credits for **your** free tier. [Learn more](https://serendb.com/use-cases/ai-agents)
Plan feature
Free
Launch
Scale
Prototypes and side projects
Startups and growing teams
Production-grade workloads and larger companies
Up to 2 CU (2 vCPU / 8 GB RAM)
Up to 16 CU (16 vCPU / 64 GB RAM)
Up to 16 CU (fixed computes up to 56 vCPU / 224 GB RAM)
Plan features
This section describes the features listed in the Plan overview table.
Learn how to manage your SerenDB costs effectively with our [cost optimization guide](/docs/introduction/cost-optimization), which covers strategies for compute, storage, branches, and data transfer.
☑ Price
Price is the minimum monthly fee for the plan. This is the minimum amount you'll be billed if your usage is less than $5.
If you sign up for a paid plan part way through the month, the minimum monthly fee amount is proroated from the sign-up date.
For Launch and Scale, the minimum monthly fee is $5. Usage for compute, storage, extra branches, and other features is billed at the published rates (see the Plan overview table).
On the Free plan, there is no monthly cost. You get usage allowances for projects, branches, compute, storage, and more — for $0/month.
☑ Who it's for
Free — Prototypes, side projects, and quick experiments. Includes 20 projects, 100 CU-hours/project, 0.5 GB storage per branch, and 5 GB of egress. Upgrade if you need more resources or features.
Launch — Startups and growing teams needing more resources, features, and flexibility. Usage-based pricing starts at $5/month.
Scale — Production-grade workloads and large teams. Higher limits, advanced features, full support, compliance, additional security, and SLAs. Usage-based pricing starts at $5/month.
☑ Projects
A project is a container for your database environment. It includes your database, branches, compute resources, and more. Similar to a Git repository that contains code, artifacts, and branches, a project contains all your database resources. Learn more about SerenDB's object hierarchy.
For most use cases, create a project for each app or customer to isolate data and manage resources.
Included per plan:
Free: 20 projects
Launch: 100 projects
Scale: 1,000 projects (soft limit — request more if needed via support)
☑ Branches
Each SerenDB project is created with a root branch, like the main branch in Git.
Postgres objects — databases, schemas, tables, records, indexes, roles — are created on a branch.
You can create child branches for testing, previews, or development.
Included per plan:
Free: 10 branches/project
Launch: 10 branches/project
Scale: 25 branches/project
See Extra branches for overage costs and Storage for how branch storage is billed.
Projects can have multiple root branches, with limits based on your plan. See Branch types: Root branch for details.
☑ Extra branches
On paid plans, you can create extra child branches. Extra branches beyond your plan's branch allowance (outlined above) are billed in branch-months, metered hourly.
1 extra branch × 1 month = 1 branch-month
Cost: $1.50/branch-month (~$0.002/hour).
Example: The Launch plan includes 10 branches/project. You create 2 extra branches for 5 hours each → 10 extra branch-hours × $0.002/hour = ~$0.20 total.
Extra branches are not available on the Free plan. Delete branches or upgrade if you need more.
The maximum number of branches you can have per project:
Launch: 5,000 branches/project
Scale: 5,000 branches/project
If you need more, contact Sales.
☑ Compute
Compute usage depends on compute size and runtime.
Measured in CU-hours (Compute Unit hours)
1 CU = 1 vCPU + 4 GB RAM
RAM scales at a 4:1 ratio (4 GB RAM per 1 vCPU)
Compute sizes up to 56 CU (plan-dependent)
.25
.25
1 GB
.5
.5
2 GB
1
1
4 GB
2
2
8 GB
3
3
12 GB
...
...
...
56
56
224 GB
Formula:
compute size × hours running = CU-hoursExamples:
0.25 CU for 4 hours = 1 CU-hour
2 CU for 3 hours = 6 CU-hours
8 CU for 2 hours = 16 CU-hours
Free: 100 CU-hours/project/month (enough to run a 0.25 CU compute in a project for 400 hours/month). Launch: $0.14/CU-hour Scale: $0.26/CU-hour
All computes in your project count toward usage. Each branch has a read-write compute by default; read replicas add read-only computes.
Compute with autoscaling
Autoscaling changes compute size between a defined min and max. Estimate usage as:
average compute size × hours running = CU-hoursCompute with scale to zero
Scale to zero suspends computes after inactivity to compute usage and cost.
☑ Autoscaling
Adjusts compute size between defined limits based on demand.
Free: Up to 2 CU (2 vCPU / 8 GB RAM)
Launch: Up to 16 CU (16 vCPU / 64 GB RAM)
Scale: Up to 16 CU for autoscaling; fixed sizes up to 56 CU (vCPU / 224 GB RAM)
Autoscaling is capped at 16 CU. Scale supports fixed computes above 16 CU.
☑ Scale to zero
Suspends computes after inactivity.
Free: 5 min inactivity — cannot disable
Launch: 5 min inactivity — can disable
Scale: Fully configurable — 1 minute to always on
☑ Storage
Storage is your data size, billed on actual usage in GB-months, measured hourly.
Launch/Scale plan storage cost: $0.35/GB-month
Root branches: billed on actual data size (logical data size)
Child branches: billed on the storage delta from the parent
When a child branch is created, it adds no storage initially. Once you make writes (inserts, updates, or deletes) to the child branch, the delta grows and counts toward storage.
Storage on child branches never decreases — it grows as data changes accumulate over time.
Because data changes on child branches accumulate over time and never decrease, unmanaged child branches can lead to high storage usage and unexpected bills. To keep costs under control:
Set a time to live on development and preview branches
Delete child branches when they're no longer needed
Never use child branches as your primary production branch — use a root branch instead. Root branches are billed on your actual data size, not data changes over time.
Free plan users get 0.5 GB of storage per project
☑ Public network transfer
Public network transfer (egress) is the total volume of data sent from your databases over the public internet during the monthly billing period.
Public network transfer includes data sent via logical replication to any destination, including other SerenDB databases.
Allowances per plan:
Free: 5 GB/month
Launch: 100 GB/month, then $0.10/GB
Scale: 100 GB/month, then $0.10/GB
☑ Monitoring
View metrics such as RAM, CPU, connections, and database size in the Monitoring dashboard in the SerenDB Console.
Retention of metrics data differs by plan:
Free: 1 day
Launch: 3 days
Scale: 14 days
See Monitoring dashboard for details.
☑ Metrics/logs export
Export metrics and Postgres logs to Datadog or any OTel-compatible platform. Available only on the Scale plan.
☑ Instant restore
SerenDB stores a change history to support instant restore.
Free: No charge, 6-hour limit, capped at 1 GB of change history
Launch: Up to 7 days, billed at $0.20/GB-month
Scale: Up to 30 days, billed at $0.20/GB-month
You can change your restore window to control how much change history you retain. See Instant restore for details.
The change history is a log of write operations in the form of Postgres Write-Ahead Logs.
☑ Restore window
How far back you can restore data.
The maximum restore window per plan:
Free: No charge, 6-hour limit, capped at 1 GB-month of changes
Launch: Up to 7 days
Scale: Up to 30 days
The restore window defaults are 6 hours for Free plan projects and 1 day for paid plan projects.
The restore window is configurable. Shortening it can reduce instant restore storage costs but limits how far back you can restore. See Configure your restore window.
☑ Private network transfer
Bi-directional data transfer to and from your databases over private networking.
Private networking is available on the Scale plan. It uses AWS PrivateLink to bypass the public internet.
Billed at $0.01/GB for network transferred to and from SerenDB. You'll only see this on your bill if you enable this feature.
☑ Compliance and security
Compliance certifications available on Scale:
SOC 2
SOC 3
ISO 27001
ISO 27701
GDPR
CCPA
HIPAA (additional charge)
Security features:
Protected branches — safeguards for critical data (available on Launch and Scale)
IP Allow — restricts access to trusted IPs (available on Scale)
Private Networking — secure private connections via AWS PrivateLink (available on Scale)
☑ Uptime SLA
Guaranteed service availability is offered on the Scale plan. Contact Sales for details.
☑ Support
Support level by plan:
Free: Community support
Launch: Standard support (billing issues only)
Scale: Standard support, with Business or Production support plans available for an additional fee
See Support for details.
Usage metrics
The following metrics may appear on your SerenDB invoice. Each metric represents a specific type of usage that contributes to your monthly bill.
Metric
Description
Compute (CU-hour)
Total compute usage in CU-hours (Compute Unit hours). Learn more.
Extra branches (branch-month)
Number of extra branches beyond your plan allowance, metered hourly. Learn more.
Instant restore storage (GB-month)
Storage used for instant restore, billed per GB-month. Learn more.
Storage (root branches, GB-month)
Data storage for root branches, billed per GB-month. Learn more.
Storage (child branches, GB-month)
Data storage for child branches (delta), billed per GB-month. Learn more.
Public network transfer (GB)
Outbound data transfer (egress) from your databases to the public internet. Learn more.
Private network transfer (GB)
Bi-directional data transfer to and from your databases over private networking (e.g., AWS PrivateLink). Learn more.
Minimum spend
Minimum monthly fee for the plan before usage-based charges. Learn more.
Usage-based cost examples
The following examples show what your monthly bill might look like on the Launch and Scale plans at different levels of usage. Each example includes compute, storage (root and child branches), and instant restore history. Your actual costs will depend on your specific workload, usage patterns, and configuration.
Note: The "billable days" shown below refer to active compute time — the total hours your compute is actively running in a month. Computes can scale to zero when idle, so you may accumulate these hours in shorter periods of usage throughout the month rather than running continuously.
Launch plan
Example 1 (less than $5 usage)
Compute: ~10 CU-hours = 1 CU × 10 hours — $1.40 (10 CU-hours × $0.14/CU-hour)
Root branch storage: 2 GB — $0.70 (2 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Child branch storage: 1 GB — $0.35 (1 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Instant restore history: 1 GB — $0.20 (1 GB × $0.20/GB-month)
Subtotal: $2.65 Minimum monthly fee: $5.00 Amount due: $5.00
Example 2
Compute: ~120 CU-hours = 1 CU × 120 hours (about 5 billable days) — $16.80 (120 CU-hours × $0.14/CU-hour)
Root branch storage: 20 GB — $7.00 (20 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Child branch storage: 5 GB — $1.75 (5 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Instant restore history: 10 GB — $2.00 (10 GB × $0.20/GB-month)
Amount due: $27.55
Example 3
Compute: ~250 CU-hours = 2 CU × 125 hours (about 5.2 billable days) — $35.00 (250 CU-hours × $0.14/CU-hour)
Root branch storage: 40 GB — $14.00 (40 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Child branch storage: 10 GB — $3.50 (10 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Instant restore history: 20 GB — $4.00 (20 GB × $0.20/GB-month)
Amount due: $56.50
Scale plan
Example 1
Compute: ~1,700 CU-hours = 4 CU × 425 hours (about 17.7 billable days) — $442.00 (1,700 CU-hours × $0.26/CU-hour)
Root branch storage: 100 GB — $35.00 (100 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Child branch storage: 25 GB — $8.75 (25 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Instant restore history: 50 GB — $10.00 (50 GB × $0.20/GB-month)
Amount due: $495.75
Example 2
Compute: ~2,600 CU-hours = 8 CU × 325 hours (about 13.5 billable days) — $676.00 (2,600 CU-hours × $0.26/CU-hour)
Root branch storage: 150 GB — $52.50 (150 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Child branch storage: 40 GB — $14.00 (40 GB × $0.35/GB-month)
Instant restore history: 75 GB — $15.00 (75 GB × $0.20/GB-month)
Amount due: $757.50
FAQs
What is a CU? : A CU (Compute Unit) is SerenDB's measure of compute size. 1 CU = 1 vCPU + 4 GB RAM. RAM scales with vCPU size at a 4:1 ratio. For example, a 2 CU compute has 2 vCPU and 8 GB RAM.
How is compute usage measured in SerenDB? : Compute usage is measured in CU-hours: CU-hours = compute size (in CU) × hours running Examples: • 0.25 CU for 4 hours = 1 CU-hour • 2 CU for 3 hours = 6 CU-hours Your plan's compute price per CU-hour depends on whether you are on Launch or Scale. On the Free plan, you have 100 CU-hours/month included.
How is storage usage billed in SerenDB? : Storage is billed based on actual usage, measured in GB-months: 1 GB-month = 1 GB stored for 1 month Storage usage is metered hourly and summed over the month. For child branches, only the storage delta (changes from the parent branch) is billed. On the Free plan, you get 0.5 GB per project.
How do branches affect storage? : Your root branch contains your main data. Child branches share data with the root until changes are made. Only the changed data (delta) is billed for child branches. Delta storage never decreases, so delete unused branches to control storage costs.
How is extra branch usage billed? : Paid plans include a set number of branches per project. Additional branches are billed at $1.50/branch-month, prorated hourly (about $0.002/hour). Example: If your plan includes 10 branches and you run 2 extra branches for 5 hours each, that's 10 branch-hours (~$0.02).
How are instant restores billed? : Instant restore storage is billed based on the amount of change history retained, not the number of restores performed. • Free: Up to 6 hours of history, capped at 1 GB of changes, no charge. • Launch: Up to 7 days of history, billed at $0.20/GB-month. • Scale: Up to 30 days of history, billed at $0.20/GB-month. Change history is stored as Postgres WAL records.
Can I disable scale-to-zero? : Free: No, it's always enabled (5 min idle timeout). Launch: Yes, you can disable it. Scale: Yes, fully configurable (1 minute to always-on). Learn more: Scale to zero
What is autoscaling and how does it work? : Autoscaling adjusts compute size based on load, between your set min/max limits. All plans support it, but maximum CU differs: Free up to 2 CU, Launch and Scale Scale up to 16 CU. Scale supports up to 56 CU for fixed-size computes. Learn more: Autoscaling
How are read replicas billed? : Each read replica is its own compute and contributes to CU-hours.
Do public network transfer limits reset each month? : Yes. Free plan includes 5 GB/month, Launch and Scale include 100 GB/month. Beyond that, it's $0.10/GB.
How is private network transfer billed? : Only available on Scale: $0.01/GB, bidirectional, between SerenDB and private network services.
What happens if I exceed my Free plan limits? : On the Free plan, compute will suspend when limits are reached (e.g., CU-hours or public network transfer). To continue, upgrade to a paid plan.
Do you charge for idle computes? : If scale-to-zero is enabled, no. Computes that are suspended do not accrue CU-hours.
What is the difference between root and child branch storage billing? : Root branches are billed for their full logical data size. Child branches are billed only for changes relative to their parent.
Can I get more than the listed project limit? : Yes, on Scale you can request increases for projects beyond the listed limit.
Why is the monthly minimum the same for Launch and Scale? : Both plans have a $5/month minimum, but Scale has a higher CU-hour rate. This keeps fixed costs low while letting usage-based charges reflect the higher availability, security, and features of Scale.
How is the monthly base fee prorated? : If you upgrade partway through a billing cycle, the $5 minimum is prorated based on the remaining days in the month.
How can I control my costs? : • Set a maximum autoscaling limit to cap compute size. • Enable scale-to-zero for idle databases. • Delete unused branches to reduce storage costs. • Shorten your restore window to reduce instant restore storage. For more detailed strategies, see our Cost optimization guide.
Do you offer credits for startups? : Yes, venture-backed startups may apply for the SerenDB Startup Program. Learn more: Startup Program
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