Freedom251 › Internal Developer Platforms

Substrate

Free plan APIWeb

What Substrate is

Substrate is a control plane for managing Kubernetes clusters, virtual machines, and databases across cloud providers. It supports AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS, and standalone Kubernetes clusters, with multi-cluster workload deployment and real-time views of cluster health, resource use, and deployment status. Its AI engine offers resource rightsizing, spot instance migration, and scale-to-zero optimization. The integrations list includes source-code and container registries, while logs can stream to Elasticsearch, Splunk, CloudWatch, Google Cloud Logging, and Azure Monitor. Security controls include organization-, project-, and resource-level permissions, custom roles, and permission inheritance and overrides. Secrets are encrypted at rest with AES-256 and can be rotated, revoked, scoped, and logged. The platform also lists TOTP multi-factor authentication, backup codes, organization MFA policies, configurable session expiry, API and access-event logging, and IP-based cluster firewall rules synced with cloud security groups. The free plan includes one BYOC cluster, five secrets, basic monitoring, and one team member. Paid plans start at $299 per month; Starter adds AI cost optimization.

Who it suits

Substrate suits teams managing Kubernetes and related infrastructure across supported cloud providers. Its organization, project, and resource permissions may fit teams that need granular access controls alongside deployment and cost-management tools.

What it does well

Supports AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS, and standalone Kubernetes.
Deploys workloads across multiple clusters.
AI engine offers rightsizing, spot migration, and scale-to-zero.
Secrets use AES-256 encryption at rest.
Free plan includes one BYOC cluster and basic monitoring.

What to know first

Free plan is limited to one cluster and one team member.
Starter costs $299 per month.
Growth costs $999 per month.
Enterprise pricing is custom and not listed.

Limits

The Free plan includes one BYOC cluster, five secrets, basic monitoring and one team member. Starter is $299 per month and includes three BYOC clusters, 50 secrets, two CI/CD integrations, five preview environments and five team members.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Free	Free · 1 BYOC cluster · 5 secrets · Community support · Basic monitoring · 1 team member	Free
Starter	$299 per month · 3 BYOC clusters · 50 secrets · 2 CI/CD integrations · 5 preview environments · 5 team members · Email support · AI cost optimization	$299 a month
Growth	$999 per month · 10 BYOC clusters · Unlimited secrets · 10 CI/CD integrations · 25 preview environments · 25 team members · Priority support · AI cost optimization with savings sharing · Custom alert rules	$999 a month
Enterprise	Custom · Unlimited clusters · Unlimited everything · Dedicated support engineer · Custom SLA (up to 99.99%) · SSO & SAML · Negotiated performance fee rates · Custom rate overrides · Audit logs & RBAC	On request

As substratecore.com lists them, read 4 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Visit https://www.substratecore.com/.
Start with the Free plan or select a paid plan.
Connect a supported cluster, such as AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS or standalone Kubernetes.
Connect a listed source-code or container registry integration as needed.
Configure team access and security controls.

Verdict

Substrate pairs multi-cluster operations and cost optimization with detailed access, secret, and account security controls. The free plan covers a small footprint; teams needing more clusters or members must move to a paid tier.

Questions

Does Substrate have a free plan?

Yes. The Free plan includes one BYOC cluster, five secrets, community support, basic monitoring and one team member. The pricing page also offers $100 in free credits with no credit card required.

How much do paid plans cost?

Starter costs $299 per month and Growth costs $999 per month. Enterprise pricing is custom.

Which Kubernetes environments does Substrate support?

It lists AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS and standalone Kubernetes clusters.

What is the performance fee?

The pricing page lists a share of verified savings of 20% on Starter, 18% on Growth and 15% on Enterprise. Negotiated Enterprise rates are also available.

Who makes Substrate?

The site identifies the company as Substrate Systems, Inc., and names Robert Hogan as Founder, CEO & CFO.

Facts from Substrate's own pages

Access controls: Security features include organization, project, and resource-level permissions, custom roles, and permission inheritance and overrides. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Account security: The security page describes TOTP multi-factor authentication, backup codes, enforceable organization MFA policies, and configurable session expiry. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Audit and network security: Substrate says it logs API calls, configuration changes, and access events, and supports IP-based cluster firewall rules synced with cloud security groups. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Cloud support: Substrate says it supports AWS EKS, Google GKE, Azure AKS, and standalone Kubernetes clusters. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Cost optimization: Its AI engine offers resource rightsizing, spot instance migration, and scale-to-zero optimization. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Deployment: The platform provides multi-cluster workload deployment and real-time dashboards for cluster health, resource use, and deployment status. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Free credits: The pricing page offers $100 in free credits with no credit card required. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Integrations: The integrations page lists GitHub, GitLab, self-hosted Git, Docker Hub, Amazon ECR, Google GCR, Azure ACR, and private OCI registries. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Log management: Substrate lists log streaming to Elasticsearch, Splunk, CloudWatch, Google Cloud Logging, and Azure Monitor. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Maker: The site identifies the company as Substrate Systems, Inc. and names Robert Hogan as Founder, CEO & CFO. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Performance fee: The pricing page lists a share of verified savings of 20% on Starter, 18% on Growth, and 15% on Enterprise, with negotiated Enterprise rates also available. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Pricing model: The pricing page says tiers include monthly subscription fees and resource allocations, with per-unit overage billing beyond included amounts. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Product: Substrate is a control plane for managing and optimizing Kubernetes clusters, virtual machines, and databases across cloud providers. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026
Secrets: The security page says secrets use AES-256 encryption at rest and support rotation, revocation, scoped access, and access logging. · substratecore.com, 4 Oct 2026