Freedom251 › Relational Databases
Aiven for PostgreSQL
What Aiven for PostgreSQL is
Aiven for PostgreSQL is a managed cloud database service based on open-source PostgreSQL. It automates setup, maintenance, patching, and scaling, and provides automatic failover and point-in-time recovery. It can run across major cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. Aiven lists more than 50 PostgreSQL extensions, among them PostGIS, pgvector, TimescaleDB, and pg_cron, and describes uses in vector search and AI applications. The service can integrate with Aiven for Grafana and send metrics to external endpoints such as Datadog. Aiven advertises a 99.99% uptime SLA, but the free tier is excluded. That tier is a single-node setup with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 1 GB storage; it has no integrations or connection pooling and a max_connections limit of 20. Free users are directed to documentation rather than support services. Paid services include Basic support, with Developer at $5 a month, Startup starting at $75 a month, and Business starting at $180 a month.
Who it suits
The free tier is positioned for learning and prototypes, while Developer is aimed at test and personal projects. Startup and Business are positioned for higher-performance test environments and production workloads.
What it does well
- Automates maintenance, patching, and scaling
- Includes automatic failover and point-in-time recovery
- Lists more than 50 PostgreSQL extensions
- Supports deployment across AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure
What to know first
- Free tier is excluded from the uptime SLA
- Free tier has 1 GB storage
- Free-only customers do not receive support services
Limits
The Free plan is a single node with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 1 GB storage. It has no integrations or connection pooling, a max_connections limit of 20, and no support services; it is excluded from the 99.99% uptime SLA.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/month · 1 VM · 1 CPU · 1 GB RAM · 1 GB storage · no integrations or connection pooling | Free |
| Hobbyist | starting from $12/month · $0.02/hour · 1 VM · 1 CPU · 1 GB RAM · 8 GB storage · DigitalOcean, Google Cloud or OVH | $12 a month |
| Business | starting from $180/month · $0.25/hour · 2 VMs · 2-32 CPUs · 4-192 GB RAM · 80 GB-11 TB storage · high availability | $180 a month |
| Premium | starting from $270/month · $0.37/hour · 3 VMs · 2-32 CPUs · 4-192 GB RAM · 80 GB-11 TB storage · second standby node | $270 a month |
| Developer | $5/month · 1 VM · 1 CPU · 1 GB RAM · 8 GB storage · no integrations or connection pooling | $5 a month |
| Startup | starting from $75/month · $0.10/hour · 1 VM · 2-32 CPUs · 4-192 GB RAM · 80 GB-11 TB storage · 99.99% SLA | $75 a month |
As aiven.io lists them, read 15 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Visit the Aiven for PostgreSQL website.
- Choose the Free plan for learning and prototypes, or select a paid plan for your workload.
- Deploy the service on a supported cloud provider, including AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure.
- Connect your application through the web or API platform.
Verdict
Aiven for PostgreSQL handles routine database operations and includes recovery features, with extensions and cloud-provider options. The free tier has tight capacity and support limits, so production use points toward paid plans.
Questions
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan costs $0/month and provides a single node with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 1 GB disk.
What do the paid plans cost?
Developer is $5/month. Startup starts at $75/month, and Business starts at $180/month.
Which platforms are supported?
The listed platforms are web and API. Deployment is available across cloud providers including AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure.
Does Aiven for PostgreSQL include support?
Paid services include Basic support. Customers using only free services are directed to documentation and do not receive support services.
Does the service support PostgreSQL extensions?
Yes. Aiven lists more than 50 extensions, including PostGIS, pgvector, TimescaleDB, and pg_cron.
What security and compliance information does Aiven provide?
Aiven states that service virtual machines are dedicated to a single customer and that data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Its compliance information lists SOC 2, GDPR, PCI DSS, HIPAA, and CCPA.
Facts from Aiven for PostgreSQL's own pages
- Administration
- Aiven automates setup, maintenance, patching, scaling and version upgrades. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- AI and vector search
- Aiven lists pgvector and pgvectorscale among supported extensions and describes PostgreSQL use for vector search and AI applications. · aiven.io, 30 Sept 2026
- Automated operations
- Aiven automates setup, maintenance, patching, and scaling, and provides automatic failover and point-in-time recovery. · aiven.io, 30 Sept 2026
- Availability
- Aiven advertises a 99.99% uptime SLA with automatic failover and point-in-time recovery. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Cloud availability
- The product is deployable across major cloud providers, including AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. · aiven.io, 30 Sept 2026
- Company founding and headquarters
- Aiven says it was founded in 2016 in Helsinki, Finland, where its headquarters remain. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Company history
- Aiven Oy was founded in 2016 in Helsinki, Finland. · aiven.io, 30 Sept 2026
- Company size
- Aiven's website states it has more than 400 employees, while LinkedIn lists a 201-500 employee range. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Compliance
- Aiven lists ISO 27001-series, ISAE 3000 SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA and PCI DSS coverage. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Connection limit
- Default max_connections is 20 on Free, 15 on Developer, 25 on Hobbyist, 100 on Startup/Business/Premium-4 and up to 1,000 on Premium-64 and larger. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Database license
- PostgreSQL itself is open source under the PostgreSQL License, while Aiven provides the managed hosting service. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Developer tooling
- The platform supports its Console, Terraform provider, CLI and Kubernetes Operator through the REST API. · rest.aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- The PostgreSQL documentation covers connections, querying, service and database management, scaling, maintenance, high availability, backups, monitoring, integrations and extensions. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Extensions
- The product advertises more than 50 PostgreSQL extensions, including PostGIS, pgvector and TimescaleDB-related options. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2016 · aiven.io, 23 Sept 2026
- Free-tier limits
- The free tier is single-node with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 1 GB storage; it has no integrations or connection pooling and a max_connections limit of 20. · aiven.io, 30 Sept 2026
- Free-tier restrictions
- The indefinite free tier has one node, 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM and 1 GB disk, with no VPC, static IP, integrations, connection pooling, support or SLA coverage. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Funding
- Aiven announced a $210 million Series D in 2022 at a reported $3 billion pre-money valuation. · aiven.io, 15 Oct 2026
- Headquarters
- Helsinki, Finland · aiven.io, 23 Sept 2026
- Integrations
- PostgreSQL can integrate with Aiven for Grafana for visualization and can send metrics to external endpoints such as Datadog. · aiven.io, 30 Sept 2026
- Intended users
- Aiven positions the free tier for learning and prototypes, Developer for test and personal projects, Startup for high-performance test environments, and Business for production workloads. · aiven.io, 30 Sept 2026
- Limit: automation and configuration
- Reviews mention incomplete Terraform feature parity, weak Pulumi support, limited static-IP/configuration customization and automatic upgrades that caused errors for some users. · g2.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: observability
- Reviewers report limited monitoring, performance-analysis and optimization tooling, including missing slow-query views in some reviews. · softwareadvice.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Limit: price
- Reviewers repeatedly describe Aiven as expensive compared with hyperscaler-managed PostgreSQL or self-hosting, especially as usage grows. · getapp.co.uk, 15 Oct 2026
Where Aiven for PostgreSQL stands on Freedom251
- Relational Databases#1 of 38
- Databases And Backend#1 of 33