Xata

Postgres platform with copy-on-write branching and scale-to-zero, open source and self-hostable.

Open sourceSelf-hostableBackend and database platforms

Verified facts: 3 of 3
Alternatives ranked: 4
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Xata

Xata is a Postgres platform built around fast, copy-on-write branching: you can create isolated copies of a production database in seconds for previews, testing or AI agents, without duplicating storage costs, and idle branches scale to zero. It started as a serverless database with a spreadsheet-style interface, then rebuilt itself around standard Postgres, so any Postgres driver, ORM or extension works. Xata offers anonymisation for creating safe copies of production data, and can run in its own cloud or inside your cloud account. The core platform is open source under Apache 2.0 and can be self-managed for free on your own infrastructure. Xata Cloud is billed by the hour for compute plus storage per GB, and a bring-your-own-cloud option suits companies with data residency rules. It is a database platform rather than a full backend, so auth and file storage are not included. It is a younger and smaller service than Neon.

Best for: Teams that want branchable Postgres they can self-host or run in their own cloud.

What works

Fast copy-on-write branches with scale-to-zero
Open source and free to self-manage
Bring-your-own-cloud option for data residency

Why people leave

Database only, with no auth or storage
Smaller community than Neon or Supabase
Product has pivoted before, which may worry long-term users

Top Xata alternatives

See all 4

1
Neon
The best-known branching Postgres service, with a free plan.
66.5
2
Supabase
Postgres plus auth, storage and APIs if you need a whole backend.
62.6
3
Prisma Postgres
Managed Postgres with a free tier, aimed at TypeScript developers.
59.6
4
Aiven
Conventional managed Postgres across several clouds.
57.2

Why people left Xata

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Xata: common questions

Is Xata free?

Yes. Xata is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.

Is Xata open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at xataio/xata. You can also run it on your own server.

What platforms does Xata run on?

Xata is available for Web and Self-hosted.

What are the best alternatives to Xata?

The highest-ranked Xata alternatives right now are Neon, Supabase and Prisma Postgres. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 Xata alternatives