PocketBase vs SurrealDB
A detailed comparison to help you choose between PocketBase and SurrealDB.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
PocketBase
0 reviews
3.6/5
SurrealDB
0 reviews
PocketBase is rated higher (4.0 vs 3.6). PocketBase is an open source backend consisting of a single executable file with embedded SQLite database, realtime subscriptions, auth, file storage, and an admin dashboard. SurrealDB is a multi-model database that handles relational, document, graph, and full-text queries in a single database. Schema-optional, built-in auth, and real-time subscriptions.
PocketBase Open-source backend with built-in database and real-time APIs | SurrealDB Multi-model database with built-in real-time sync and WebSocket support | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.6 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free and open source (MIT); self-hosted, infrastructure costs only | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Solo developers and small teams who want a self-hosted backend with auth, database, files and realtime — without running multiple services or paying a platform fee | Teams building real-time, multi-model applications that would otherwise combine a document database, a search engine and a graph store |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | 0 vCPU |
| RAM | — | 1 GB |
| Storage | — | 1 GB |
| Bandwidth | — | — |
| SLA uptime | — | — |
| Data-center count | — | 3 |
| €/GB RAM/mo | — | €0.00 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | AWS Ireland (aws-euw1), AWS US East N. Virginia (aws-use1), AWS US West Oregon (aws-usw2) |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tieropen sourceself hostable | free tieropen sourceself hostableapi access |
| Visit PocketBase → | Visit SurrealDB → | |
PocketBase
Pros
- + Complete backend (SQLite, REST API, auth, files, SSE realtime, admin UI) in one MIT-licensed binary
- + Zero software cost and no vendor lock-in: MIT licence explicitly permits commercial reuse and self-hosting
- + Fast local storage and simple deployment — Docker, any VPS, or embedded as a Go framework in your own binary
- + Extensible without Go via JS hooks and migrations; S3-compatible file storage and built-in backup tooling
- + Excellent documentation and a 61.5k-star community; auth covers password, OAuth2, OTP and MFA out of the box
Cons
- - Pre-1.0 with no backward-compatibility guarantee — v0.23 broke the core Go API and hooks
- - Single-node SQLite: no clustering, replication or managed failover; HA and backups are your job
- - Predominantly one maintainer, community support only — no SLA or support contract
- - No official managed hosting (third parties fill that gap), no job queue or cron built in
SurrealDB
Pros
- + One engine for relational, document, graph, time-series and geospatial data, plus full-text and vector search
- + Transparent published rate table with a real free instance (0.25 vCPU, 1 GB memory, 1 GB storage)
- + Hourly billing keeps development and prototype instances cheap
- + Granular permissions at table, document and field level defined in the schema
- + Self-hostable under BSL 1.1 with open-source (Apache 2.0 / MIT) SDKs as an exit path
Cons
- - Young database: 1.0 in 2023 and the storage engine is still being replaced
- - Only three AWS regions (Ireland, N. Virginia, Oregon) — nothing in APAC
- - Smaller ecosystem, tooling and hiring pool than PostgreSQL or MongoDB
- - Scale plan requires a three-node minimum; several advertised features are still marked coming soon
- - Custom SLAs only at Enterprise tier; backup retention policy for free instances is ambiguous in the docs
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