When is 8base the better choice?

You want GraphQL backend features, auth, custom functions, and hosting in one place. You are building a small internal app or prototype with a simple data model and low row counts. You need one frontend app per project plus backend tooling without assembling separate services. You value a predictable flat monthly step up to the first paid tier. You want app-builder workflows like data viewer, authorization profiles, and CI/CD environments in the same product.

When is Koyeb the better choice?

You are deploying APIs or services and care more about runtime and scaling than app-builder features. You need room for many services, since the free tier supports up to 100 services. You want generous bandwidth and multi-region deployment options from the free tier. You plan to use Postgres as part of the platform and want included database runtime and storage. You want a free tier with infrastructure features like autoscaling, private networking, and Terraform or Pulumi access.

8base vs Koyeb: Free Tier Comparison

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

Developer - $25 / mo.. 8base’s first paid step is a flat $25/month Developer plan, then it moves to per-seat pricing at Professional and Enterprise. That makes 8base predictable at the low end, but collaboration gets expensive as you scale teams. Koyeb starts at $29/month Pro plus compute, then $299/month Scale plus compute, with Enterprise as custom pricing. Koyeb’s model is more usage-based overall because compute is billed separately and plans are framed as included credit plus usage. For small solo or tiny-team apps, 8base is usually cheaper; for infrastructure-heavy workloads, Koyeb can be cheaper or more expensive depending on compute usage, but the provided data does not include enough rates to calculate exact totals.

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

Pro - $29/mo +compute. 8base’s first paid step is a flat $25/month Developer plan, then it moves to per-seat pricing at Professional and Enterprise. That makes 8base predictable at the low end, but collaboration gets expensive as you scale teams. Koyeb starts at $29/month Pro plus compute, then $299/month Scale plus compute, with Enterprise as custom pricing. Koyeb’s model is more usage-based overall because compute is billed separately and plans are framed as included credit plus usage. For small solo or tiny-team apps, 8base is usually cheaper; for infrastructure-heavy workloads, Koyeb can be cheaper or more expensive depending on compute usage, but the provided data does not include enough rates to calculate exact totals.

Quick answer

8base - 8base wins for builders who want a real backend-plus-frontend free tier with a predictable path to a small paid plan, while Koyeb wins if your main need is generous infrastructure headroom for deployments and database-backed services.

How the free tiers compare

These products start from different assumptions. 8base is a backend-as-a-service with GraphQL, auth, custom functions, and app hosting wrapped into one free tier, so it is aimed at builders assembling a product stack rather than just running workloads. Its free tier is tight but coherent: one team member, one backend app, one frontend app per project, 2,500 rows, 0.5 GB of files, and 100,000 GraphQL calls. Koyeb is a cloud runtime first, with more generous platform limits in the free tier: up to 100 services, 10 users, 1 TB bandwidth, 7 custom domains, and free Postgres credits. That makes Koyeb better for deployment-heavy apps, APIs, and services that need scaling and ops features. 8base is more opinionated and app-builder oriented. Koyeb is more infrastructure-oriented and usage-shaped.

8base vs Koyeb free tier, side by side

	8baseFTV 45	KoyebFTV 40
Team members / users8base is much tighter on collaboration in the free tier.	1 team member	Up to 10 users
Applications / servicesKoyeb is built for many deployed services, while 8base is app-centric.	1 backend application, 1 frontend application per project	Up to 100 services
Database rowsKoyeb does not give a comparable row quota in the provided data.	2,500 rows	Free Postgres included, row limit not specified
File / storageThese are different storage types, so the comparison is only directional.	0.5 GB of files	1 GB Postgres storage
Serverless / computeKoyeb is usage-shaped; 8base is quota-shaped.	1 GB-hours	$10 included compute credit plus free Postgres 5 hours/month at $0/hr
BandwidthKoyeb’s free bandwidth is far more generous.	2 GB per month	1 TB per month
GraphQL / API calls8base exposes GraphQL directly in the free tier.	100,000 GraphQL API calls per month	Not specified
Custom domainsKoyeb’s free tier names a concrete domain count.	Custom API domain with SSL and custom URL with SSL	10 custom domains included
Observability retentionKoyeb includes short-retention observability in the free tier.	Not specified	7 days of realtime metrics and logs

After you outgrow the free tier

8base’s first paid step is a flat $25/month Developer plan, then it moves to per-seat pricing at Professional and Enterprise. That makes 8base predictable at the low end, but collaboration gets expensive as you scale teams. Koyeb starts at $29/month Pro plus compute, then $299/month Scale plus compute, with Enterprise as custom pricing. Koyeb’s model is more usage-based overall because compute is billed separately and plans are framed as included credit plus usage. For small solo or tiny-team apps, 8base is usually cheaper; for infrastructure-heavy workloads, Koyeb can be cheaper or more expensive depending on compute usage, but the provided data does not include enough rates to calculate exact totals.

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

Koyeb next stepPro - $29/mo +computeFlat monthly

Cost at real usage

Usage	8base	Koyeb
Solo builder staying within free tier limitsKoyeb’s free tier includes $10 compute credit, so actual paid usage depends on compute consumption.	Free (within tier)	Free (within tier)
Small app with 1 backend, 1 frontend, and low traffic8base’s first paid tier is simpler to budget for.	$25/mo	$29/mo +compute
Team needing multiple deployed servicesKoyeb’s Pro tier includes up to 100 services.	At least $25/mo, but free tier does not expand service count	$29/mo +compute

Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.

When to pick each one

Pick 8base when…

You want GraphQL backend features, auth, custom functions, and hosting in one place.
You are building a small internal app or prototype with a simple data model and low row counts.
You need one frontend app per project plus backend tooling without assembling separate services.
You value a predictable flat monthly step up to the first paid tier.
You want app-builder workflows like data viewer, authorization profiles, and CI/CD environments in the same product.

Pick Koyeb when…

You are deploying APIs or services and care more about runtime and scaling than app-builder features.
You need room for many services, since the free tier supports up to 100 services.
You want generous bandwidth and multi-region deployment options from the free tier.
You plan to use Postgres as part of the platform and want included database runtime and storage.
You want a free tier with infrastructure features like autoscaling, private networking, and Terraform or Pulumi access.

Bottom line

For most builders comparing free tiers, 8base is the better pick if you want to build an app around a managed backend, GraphQL, and frontend hosting without stitching together separate tools. Koyeb is the better pick if you are primarily deploying services and care about operational headroom like bandwidth, custom domains, logs, scaling, and Postgres. If your project is a product prototype, 8base is the more direct fit. If your project is an API or service platform, Koyeb is usually the better free starting point.

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