Serverless MariaDB, Free Hosted MariaDB Database

SQL Console

MariaDB

Tables

users
events
orders
sessions

SELECT id, name, created_at

FROM events

WHERE created_at > NOW() - INTERVAL '7 days'

ORDER BY id DESC LIMIT 5;

id	name	created_at
1247	signup	2026-03-12 14:21
1246	purchase	2026-03-12 14:08
1245	login	2026-03-12 13:55
1244	signup	2026-03-12 13:44
1243	purchase	2026-03-12 13:30

5 rows · 12ms

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.

Layerbase Cloud

MariaDB in seconds. Free tier, no card.

Create free

Layerbase Desktop

Run MariaDB locally with the same dashboard and query console.

Download

SpinDB

Source-available CLI to run MariaDB on your own infra.

View the CLI docs

Free MariaDB hosting

What the free MariaDB tier actually includes

MariaDB is on the Free plan at $0/mo, no card and no trial clock. MySQL is not: it moved to the $5/mo Solo tier in July 2026, which makes MariaDB the way to run a MySQL wire-compatible database here for free.

Free is $0/mo with no card

The Free plan covers 2 databases, 5 GB of storage, and up to 20 concurrent connections. MariaDB is a free-tier engine. MySQL is not, so if the goal is a free MySQL-compatible database, this is the one to create.

Your MySQL drivers connect unchanged

MariaDB speaks the MySQL wire protocol over TLS through a ProxySQL pooler. mysql2, Prisma, Drizzle, and the mysql and mariadb CLIs all work. Each database gets its own allocated TLS port instead of a shared 3306, so copy the exact port from Quick Connect.

Idle databases sleep, and MariaDB wants a manual start

A free MariaDB hibernates after 1 hour with no connections; paid plans wait 6 hours. MariaDB is the engine where we tell you not to lean on the first connection to wake it: its cold start runs around 20 seconds, longer than most client connect timeouts. Start it from the database page instead, or put it on Always-on with a paid plan so it never sleeps.

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.

Create a free MariaDB database

No card on Free. Solo is $5/mo and Pro is $15/mo when you outgrow it.

Worth reading before you pick

Branch MariaDB in seconds

Fork a running MariaDB 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 9 engines, not just Postgres.

See how branching works

What you get

Production features, free tier included

Every MariaDB database ships with the same primitives: TLS, web console, hibernation, and a real dashboard. No tiered features 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 always-on pool to prevent hibernation.

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 (Upstash REST, PlanetScale, 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 tier includes a manual backup slot.

Why Layerbase

Predictable pricing, no cloud setup

MariaDB on Layerbase Cloud is priced the same way as every other engine: a flat monthly plan with nothing metered behind it.

A fixed monthly price

Plans are flat: Free at $0, then $5/mo Solo and $15/mo Pro. No per-hour compute meter, no per-database line items, and no bill that changes shape when your traffic does.

No bandwidth charges

Reads and writes are not metered. There are no ingress or egress fees, so moving data in and out of your database never adds to the bill.

No cloud account to wire up

You do not need an AWS, GCP, or Azure account. Sign up, create a database, and connect. Layerbase runs the infrastructure, so there is no cloud provider to configure or pay separately.

Side by side

Hosted MariaDB, compared

Provider	Free tier	Billing
PlanetScale	Does not offer MariaDB	MySQL and Postgres only
Layerbase	Full MariaDB on the Free tier; sleeps when idle, wakes on connect	$0, $5, or $15/mo flat. No meters.

PlanetScale

Free tier: Does not offer MariaDB
Billing: MySQL and Postgres only

Layerbase

Free tier: Full MariaDB on the Free tier; sleeps when idle, wakes on connect
Billing: $0, $5, or $15/mo flat. No meters.

Competitor facts as of July 2026, from public pricing pages.

Quick start

Connect with any MariaDB client

MariaDB-native features, MySQL-compatible apps, and teams moving workloads off hosted MariaDB services.

Run MariaDB-specific features (Aria, ColumnStore, sequence support) without managing the binary
Drop in as a MySQL-compatible backend for existing apps
Per-environment databases for staging and dev that mirror production exactly
Local development with SpinDB, deploy the same schema to cloud
Self-host on your own hardware when you need control over the major version

Full MariaDB connection guide

bash

MariaDB

mariadb --ssl --host your-host.cloud.layerbase.dev --port <port> --user layerbase --password app

More on MariaDB

All articles

FAQ

Common MariaDB questions

How is MariaDB different from MySQL on Layerbase?

They are separate engines with separate endpoints. MariaDB exposes MariaDB-specific features that diverge from MySQL; both speak the MySQL wire protocol so most clients connect to either without code changes.

Which version do you run?

Layerbase Cloud tracks recent stable MariaDB releases. The supported versions list is visible in the create flow.

Can I use mysql or mariadb CLI?

Either works. Most drivers and tools that target MySQL also work against MariaDB unchanged; for MariaDB-specific features, prefer the MariaDB-native driver where one exists.

How does hibernation work?

Free databases hibernate after 1 hour of inactivity and wake on connect; paid plans hibernate after 6 hours, or stay always-on when pinned to your pool.

Can I run MariaDB locally too?

Yes. SpinDB and Layerbase Desktop both support MariaDB locally with the same versions you see in cloud.

Is there a free MariaDB tier?

Yes. MariaDB is on the Free plan at $0/mo with no card: 2 databases, 5 GB of storage, and up to 20 concurrent connections. MySQL is not on the free tier, so MariaDB is the way to run a MySQL wire-compatible database here for free. Most MySQL drivers connect to it unchanged.

Is free MariaDB cloud hosting a trial?

No. The Free plan has no expiry date and asks for no card. What it does have is scale-to-zero: a free database hibernates after 1 hour idle, and one left hibernated for 14 days (7 if you never connected to it) is archived until you restore it, which takes about 10 to 30 seconds. Data and backups are kept throughout. Paid plans hibernate after 6 hours and are never auto-archived.

What happens when my free MariaDB database goes idle?

It hibernates and keeps its hostname, port, and data. Unlike Postgres, do not rely on the next connection to wake it: MariaDB cold starts take around 20 seconds, longer than most client connect timeouts, so start it from the database page first. On a paid plan you can turn on Always-on and it never sleeps.

Serverless MariaDB