Quick answer
NocoDB Cloud - NocoDB Cloud wins for most builders who want a free tier they can use immediately without committing to spend, while Koyeb is the better free pick if you need actual app hosting and server-side compute.
How the free tiers compare
These products solve different problems, so the free tiers are not interchangeable. Koyeb is a cloud runtime: its free tier gives you compute credit, Postgres, bandwidth, regions, deployment tooling, scaling, and logs, which makes it useful for deploying APIs, web services, and inference workloads. The catch is that it is not unlimited and its value is tied to a usage-based platform with paid compute on top of a capped credit. NocoDB Cloud is a hosted database app: the free tier is narrower in scope but more immediately usable for collaborative database work, with no credit card required, 3 editor seats, 1,000 records, 1 GB storage, and modest API and webhook limits. If your builder need is app hosting, Koyeb fits better. If your need is a no-code database with a clean free entry point, NocoDB Cloud is easier to start with and safer to try.
Koyeb vs NocoDB Cloud free tier, side by side
| KoyebFTV 40 | NocoDB CloudFTV 41 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan accessKoyeb's free tier is runtime-oriented; NocoDB's is collaboration-oriented. | Compute credit + hosted Postgres + platform features | 3 editor seats + 10 commenter seats |
| Users / seatsNocoDB distinguishes editor seats and commenter seats. | Up to 10 users | Up to 3 users, plus 10 commenter seats |
| Primary data quotaDifferent units, so these are not directly comparable. | 1 GB Postgres storage | 1,000 records |
| API / automation quotaKoyeb's input does not list free API-call or webhook quotas. | Not specified in the free-tier input | 1,000 API calls/month; 100 webhook runs/month |
| Custom domainsOnly include the row where the quota is present. | 10 custom domains included | Not specified in the free-tier input |
| BandwidthKoyeb includes bandwidth in the free tier. | 1 TB/month included | Not specified in the free-tier input |
| SupportKoyeb's free support is community-based. | Community platform access | Not specified in the free-tier input |
| Credit card requiredKoyeb explicitly says it does not have a no-card claim in the input; NocoDB Cloud explicitly says no credit card required. | False | True |
After you outgrow the free tier
Koyeb uses usage-based pricing layered over flat plan entry points: Pro starts at $29/mo plus compute, Scale at $299/mo plus compute, and Enterprise is custom. That means costs rise with both the plan and actual usage. NocoDB Cloud is mostly per-seat pricing: Plus is $15/user/mo billed monthly or $12/user/mo annually, Business is $30/user/mo or $24/user/mo annually, and Enterprise starts at $1000/mo. For small teams, NocoDB is usually cheaper if you need just a few editor seats; Koyeb can stay inexpensive for light hosting, but the $29/mo floor and compute usage make it more variable.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | Koyeb | NocoDB Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| 1 editor / 1 small projectKoyeb's first paid tier has a monthly base plus compute usage; NocoDB bills per seat. | ~$29/mo + compute | $15/mo |
| 3 team membersAssumes 3 paid editor seats on NocoDB Plus at $15 each. | ~$29/mo + compute | $45/mo |
| 5 team membersNocoDB scales linearly with seats; Koyeb still has compute added on top. | ~$29/mo + compute | $75/mo |
| 10 team membersAt this point NocoDB's per-seat model is much more expensive than Koyeb's base plan, before Koyeb compute charges. | ~$29/mo + compute | $150/mo |
Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.
When to pick each one
Pick Koyeb when…
- Deploying a small API, worker, or web service that needs server-side runtime, not just a database UI
- You want built-in deployment tooling like CLI, API, Terraform, and Pulumi access
- You need managed Postgres plus hosting in the same platform
- You care more about compute, regions, and scaling features than about a spreadsheet-style data app
Pick NocoDB Cloud when…
- You want a free database app with a spreadsheet-like interface for a small team
- You need a no-credit-card free tier for testing with collaborators
- Your first use case is CRUD data entry, views, and lightweight APIs rather than app hosting
- You expect to stay within 1,000 records and 1,000 API calls per month while prototyping
Bottom line
For the most common builder choice, NocoDB Cloud is the better free-tier start if you want a collaborative database tool with no card required and a clean path into paid seats later. Koyeb is the better free tier only when the thing you need is infrastructure: hosting code, running services, and pairing them with a managed Postgres. If your project starts as an app platform rather than a data workspace, Koyeb fits better. If it starts as a shared database or internal tool, NocoDB Cloud is the easier win.
Read the full listings: Koyeb and NocoDB Cloud. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.