Serverless DuckDB
Cloud velocity for analytics, desktop ergonomics for developers, self-hosting with the Layerbase CLI for the ops enthusiast.
Tables
- sales
- customers
- products
- events
| region | total |
|---|---|
| us-east | 482,194.50 |
| us-west | 311,820.00 |
| eu-west | 208,944.75 |
| ap-south | 147,612.20 |
| sa-east | 92,408.40 |
Free tier
$0/mo, no credit card
Then flat
$5 or $15/mo, no meters
Encrypted
TLS on every plan
Layerbase Cloud
Managed, in seconds
Desktop and CLI
Run it locally or self-host
Branching
Branch DuckDB for every preview deploy
Fork a running DuckDB into a full, isolated copy with its own connection string. Copy-on-write makes it near-instant, not a dump and restore: point a preview deploy at it, test a migration, then throw it away when the pull request merges. Layerbase branches 16 engines, not just Postgres.
See how branching workslbase cloud branch app-db pr-482
lbase cloud branch ls app-db
lbase cloud branch delete app-db pr-482Quick start
Connect with any DuckDB client
Ad-hoc analytics over CSVs and Parquet, columnar OLAP workloads, BI dashboards, and teams who want DuckDB without managing a server.
- Spin up a hosted warehouse for a side project without provisioning infra
- Drop a CSV, JSON, or Parquet file into the web console and query it as a table in seconds
- Prototype an analytics layer that scales to zero between sessions
- Connect Prisma, Drizzle, DBeaver, or any Postgres tool and browse the full schema
- Drop in as a read-replica analytics endpoint behind a Postgres-shaped client
psql "postgresql://layerbase:password@your-host.cloud.layerbase.dev:5432/duck1?sslmode=require"
Where to run it
Cloud, desktop, or self-host
One database, three places it can live. Pick the speed you want and move between them when you outgrow it.
Free DuckDB hosting
What you actually get on the free DuckDB tier
DuckDB is usually a file on your laptop. Hosted here it is a real endpoint your team and your BI tool can both reach, on the Free plan, with no card and no trial clock.
Free is $0/mo with no card
The Free plan covers 2 databases, 5 GB of storage, and up to 20 concurrent connections. DuckDB is one of the engines you can create on it. There is no trial clock on the plan and no expiry date.
You connect with Postgres clients, not a file path
Layerbase runs DuckDB behind a PostgreSQL-compatible endpoint on port 5432, so psql, your BI tool, and any Postgres driver connect to it directly. Copy the Postgres-style URL from Quick Connect; add sslmode=require and sslnegotiation=direct if your client asks for them.
It sleeps after 15 minutes idle and wakes on connect
A free DuckDB database hibernates after 15 minutes with no connections; paid plans wait 6 hours. The hostname, port, and data volume all stay in place, so the next connection wakes it in roughly 1 to 5 seconds and your query then runs normally.
Forget about it and it archives, it does not vanish
A free database left hibernated for 14 days is archived (7 days if you never connected to it): its address is released and it takes an explicit Restore, roughly 10 to 30 seconds, to bring it back. Data and backups are kept. After 90 continuous days archived the live resources are reclaimed and the most recent backup is kept and still restorable in one click. Paid plans are never auto-archived.
No card on Free. Solo is $5/mo and Pro is $15/mo when you outgrow it.
FAQ
Common DuckDB questions
What is DuckDB?
DuckDB is an in-process columnar database built for analytics: fast aggregations and scans over CSV, JSON, and Parquet data, with a SQL dialect close to Postgres. It is the usual pick for ad-hoc analysis, BI dashboards, and OLAP work that does not justify a cluster. Layerbase exposes hosted DuckDB through a PostgreSQL-compatible endpoint with a web SQL console, so psql, Prisma, Drizzle, DBeaver, and other Postgres clients can query it.
Is DuckDB really free on Layerbase?
Yes. Layerbase Free includes DuckDB with no credit card. Your database hibernates after 15 minutes of inactivity and wakes on the next connection. Upgrade only if you need always-on, larger storage, or paid-tier engines.
How do I connect to hosted DuckDB?
Layerbase Cloud exposes DuckDB through a PostgreSQL-compatible endpoint. Use psql, any PostgreSQL driver, Prisma, Drizzle, or a BI tool: the connection string in the dashboard works with all of them. Schema introspection works too, so a client can browse your tables and columns. SSL is required (?sslmode=require).
How do I get data into hosted DuckDB?
Three ways. Drag a CSV, JSON, or Parquet file onto the web query console and it becomes a table. Import an existing .duckdb database file to restore it whole. Or query remote files in place with read_parquet and read_csv_auto over a URL. Standard INSERTs and any PostgreSQL client work too.
Can I use DuckDB locally instead?
Yes. The Layerbase CLI (npm i -g layerbase, run as lbase) runs any database engine locally, including DuckDB, as native processes with no Docker required. Layerbase Desktop wraps the same engine runtime in a GUI. The same database files are portable across local, desktop, and cloud.
What happens to my DuckDB database if I stop using it?
Free databases hibernate after 15 minutes of inactivity, or 30 for MySQL and MariaDB (paid: 6 hours), and wake automatically on connect, typically in 1 to 2 seconds for DuckDB. After 14 days idle on the Free tier, the database is archived (its network listener and DNS record are removed); you can restore it from the dashboard. Paid plans never auto-archive.
Is DuckDB available on the desktop app?
Yes. Layerbase Desktop runs DuckDB locally with the same dashboard, query console, and connection management as the cloud version. Free for personal use.
Branch DuckDB in seconds
Fork a running DuckDB into a full, isolated copy with its own connection string. Copy-on-write makes it near-instant, not a dump and restore. Point a preview deploy at it, test a migration, then throw it away. Layerbase branches 16 engines, not just Postgres.
See how branching worksWhat you get
Everything a DuckDB database should ship with
The same primitives on every DuckDB database: TLS, web console, hibernation, and a real dashboard. The rows that need a paid plan say so on the row; nothing here is hidden behind a sales call.
Web IDE
Query console in the dashboard, no extra client to install.
TLS by default
All connections encrypted. No setup required.
Always-on connections
Pin a database to your plan's always-on pool so it never hibernates. Free has no pool, so a free database always sleeps when idle; Solo includes 768 MB of pool and Pro 1.5 GB.
Scale to zero
Hibernates when idle. Wakes on the next connection.
Connection pooling
Pooled endpoint for serverless and edge workloads.
Direct connections
Bypass the pooler for migrations and replication.
Native HTTPS endpoint
Engines whose own wire protocol speaks HTTPS. Every database, including this one, is also queryable over the platform's HTTPS query API and web console.
Serverless driver
Drop-in HTTP driver for edge runtimes (Neon serverless, PlanetScale, Upstash REST, or the engine-native client).
IP whitelisting
Restrict access to specific IPs or CIDR ranges.
Automatic backups
Scheduled dumps and volume snapshots with one-click restore on paid plans. Free includes 1 manual backup slot you take and restore yourself.
What it costs
What DuckDB costs on Layerbase
Plans are flat. There is no per-hour compute meter, no per-database line item, and no ingress or egress fee, so the bill does not change shape when your traffic does. You do not need an AWS, GCP, or Azure account either: Layerbase runs the infrastructure.
Scale to zero when idle. No credit card.
The database you pin never sleeps.
Every engine, plus a bigger always-on pool.
Side by side
Hosted DuckDB, compared
| Provider | Free tier | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| MotherDuck | Lite plan at $0: 10 GB of storage and 10 Pulse compute hours per month | Business plan $250 per org/mo plus usage; compute billed per second |
| Layerbase | DuckDB on the Free tier | $0, $5, or $15/mo flat. No compute meters. |
MotherDuck
- Free tier
- Lite plan at $0: 10 GB of storage and 10 Pulse compute hours per month
- Billing
- Business plan $250 per org/mo plus usage; compute billed per second
Layerbase
- Free tier
- DuckDB on the Free tier
- Billing
- $0, $5, or $15/mo flat. No compute meters.
Competitor facts verified September 7, 2026 against each vendor's own pricing and documentation pages: MotherDuck.
More on DuckDB
All articles- August 26, 2026
AWS is buying DuckLabs. The check that matters is board composition, not paper.
AWS is acquiring the company behind DuckDB and says the project stays free and open source. The articles of association the DuckDB Foundation publishes never mention MIT, and two of its three board seats belong to people who become AWS employees at close.
Read - August 19, 2026
The Restore Said Success. The Data Was Gone.
Our nightly restore drill caught a restore that reported success and handed back an empty database. Here is the race that caused it, how we found it, and why we drill restores instead of trusting green backup jobs.
Read - August 14, 2026
When Your DuckDB File Needs a Second Reader
An analytics project is three things: sources, a pipeline, and a result. Only the result needs an address. Here is what moves, what stays on your laptop, and what changes the moment a .duckdb file goes over a wire.
Read - July 24, 2026
DuckDB 1.5 Is Now on Layerbase
Create a DuckDB database on Layerbase today and you get 1.5.5, the release the DuckDB team shipped two days earlier. Here is what the 1.5 line adds and what managed DuckDB on Layerbase actually gets you.
Read - June 14, 2026
Branching with any database
Neon branches Postgres. PlanetScale branches MySQL. Layerbase branches all of them, because branching happens at the filesystem, not inside the engine. Here is how it works.
Read
Upstream project
DuckDB is developed by the DuckDB Foundation. Layerbase packages and hosts official releases; the engine itself is built upstream.