When is 8base the better choice?

You want GraphQL APIs and subscriptions out of the box. You need a small app-builder style workflow with frontend hosting in the same product. You are building a single lightweight project and one team member is enough. You want custom functions plus CLI access in a backend platform. You care more about app composition and low-code style scaffolding than broad backend service breadth.

When is Appwrite the better choice?

You want more free-tier headroom for bandwidth, storage, executions, and active users. You are building an auth-heavy backend for web or mobile apps without needing a frontend app builder. You need a platform that also covers databases, buckets, functions, messaging, and realtime in one console. You expect a project to outgrow the free tier on usage rather than on team size. You want a backend-first tool with a clearer path from free limits to a larger paid plan.

8base vs Appwrite: Free Tier Comparison

Q: How much does 8base cost after the free tier?

Developer - $25 / mo.. 8base starts at a flat $25/month Developer plan, then moves to per-seat Professional and Enterprise pricing. Appwrite starts at a flat “From $25/month” Pro plan, then jumps to custom Enterprise pricing. The divergence is mostly in shape, not entry price: 8base’s paid path is more about moving from a small starter app to larger team and enterprise limits, while Appwrite’s Pro tier adds dedicated resources, support, and much larger usage caps. Based on the supplied data, neither product exposes usage-based overage math, so exact growth costs beyond the first paid tier are not available here.

Q: How much does Appwrite cost after the free tier?

Pro - From $25 /month. 8base starts at a flat $25/month Developer plan, then moves to per-seat Professional and Enterprise pricing. Appwrite starts at a flat “From $25/month” Pro plan, then jumps to custom Enterprise pricing. The divergence is mostly in shape, not entry price: 8base’s paid path is more about moving from a small starter app to larger team and enterprise limits, while Appwrite’s Pro tier adds dedicated resources, support, and much larger usage caps. Based on the supplied data, neither product exposes usage-based overage math, so exact growth costs beyond the first paid tier are not available here.

Quick answer

Appwrite - Appwrite wins for most builders who want a small free backend they can grow into, while 8base is better if you want GraphQL-first app building and more of the frontend/app-builder workflow in the same stack.

How the free tiers compare

These two free tiers aim at different builder styles. 8base is the more app-platform-shaped offer: GraphQL backend, custom functions, CLI access, frontend hosting, app builder tooling, and a small but usable bundle for one person or a tiny team. Its free tier is narrow but coherent if you want to model data and ship a simple full-stack app inside one product. Appwrite is more of a general backend platform with auth, databases, storage, functions, messaging, realtime, and hosting. Its free tier is also capped, but the limits are larger in the areas many builders hit first, especially bandwidth, executions, and storage. The big practical difference is that 8base’s free tier feels like a constrained starter workspace, while Appwrite gives you more headroom before you need to pay, especially for backend-heavy projects. If you are choosing purely on free-tier runway, Appwrite is usually the safer pick.

8base vs Appwrite free tier, side by side

	8baseFTV 45	AppwriteFTV 35
Team members / project org size8base explicitly includes one team member. Appwrite’s free-tier summary here does not state a team-member cap.	1 team member	Not specified in free tier items
ProjectsAppwrite’s free tier caps projects at 2.	1 backend application; 1 frontend application per project	2 projects
Database rows8base gives a very small row allowance in the free tier.	2,500 rows	Not specified
File / storageAppwrite has the larger free storage allowance.	0.5 GB files	2 GB storage
Serverless compute / executionsDifferent units, so this is only a directional comparison.	1 GB-hours	750K executions per month
BandwidthAppwrite gives more bandwidth on the free plan.	2 GB per month	5 GB API bandwidth per month
API usage8base states a GraphQL API call cap; Appwrite’s free summary here does not give a call count.	100,000 GraphQL API calls per month	Not specified
Realtime / eventsOnly 8base specifies a subscription-event cap.	100,000 GraphQL subscription events per month	Not specified
Client app users / MAUThese are not the same metric, but Appwrite’s free tier clearly allows far more user scale.	Up to 5 client app users	75K monthly active users
Card required for free tierThe ftv_no_cc_required field is false for both products.	Yes	Yes

After you outgrow the free tier

8base starts at a flat $25/month Developer plan, then moves to per-seat Professional and Enterprise pricing. Appwrite starts at a flat “From $25/month” Pro plan, then jumps to custom Enterprise pricing. The divergence is mostly in shape, not entry price: 8base’s paid path is more about moving from a small starter app to larger team and enterprise limits, while Appwrite’s Pro tier adds dedicated resources, support, and much larger usage caps. Based on the supplied data, neither product exposes usage-based overage math, so exact growth costs beyond the first paid tier are not available here.

8base next stepDeveloper - $25 / mo.Flat monthly

Appwrite next stepPro - From $25 /monthFlat monthly

When to pick each one

Pick 8base when…

You want GraphQL APIs and subscriptions out of the box.
You need a small app-builder style workflow with frontend hosting in the same product.
You are building a single lightweight project and one team member is enough.
You want custom functions plus CLI access in a backend platform.
You care more about app composition and low-code style scaffolding than broad backend service breadth.

Pick Appwrite when…

You want more free-tier headroom for bandwidth, storage, executions, and active users.
You are building an auth-heavy backend for web or mobile apps without needing a frontend app builder.
You need a platform that also covers databases, buckets, functions, messaging, and realtime in one console.
You expect a project to outgrow the free tier on usage rather than on team size.
You want a backend-first tool with a clearer path from free limits to a larger paid plan.

Bottom line

For the most common builder case, Appwrite is the better free-tier choice because it gives you more room before you hit the wall, especially on bandwidth, storage, executions, and active users. 8base is the better fit if your priority is GraphQL-centric app building and you want frontend hosting and backend tooling bundled into one workflow. If you are just trying to launch a small backend and keep costs at zero longer, Appwrite is the safer default.

Read the full listings: 8base and Appwrite. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.