{"rid":"databases-kv/aiven-free","card":{"rid":"databases-kv/aiven-free","eid":"aiven","topic":"databases-kv","slug":"aiven-free","provider":"Aiven","url":"https://aiven.io/pricing/postgresql","domain":"aiven.io","category":"managed Postgres and friends with a free plan that powers off on inactivity","tier":null,"verdict":"qualifies-with-caveat","vorder":1,"grp":"usable","confidence":"documented","binding":"retention-clamped","identity_kind":"email","identity_basis":"stated","needs_card":0,"needs_phone":0,"needs_id":0,"needs_institution":0,"country":null,"crypto":null,"interfaces":"rest,cli","egress_metered":0,"per_object_bytes":null,"retention_days":180,"verified_at":"2026-10-22T03:05:00.000Z","verified_basis":"live","checked_on":"2026-10-23","stale_on":"2026-11-22","n_evidence":6,"usd_month":null,"usd_per_tb_month":null,"summary":"Free plan with 1 GB RAM and 1 GB total storage per service, on Postgres, MySQL, Valkey, Kafka and OpenSearch; free indefinitely with no time limit, but the s...","duplicate_of":null,"n_unknown":0},"record":{"topic":"databases-kv","slug":"aiven-free","provider":"Aiven","url":"https://aiven.io/pricing/postgresql","category":"managed Postgres and friends with a free plan that powers off on inactivity","free_tier":{"stated":"Free plan with 1 GB RAM and 1 GB total storage per service, on Postgres, MySQL, Valkey, Kafka and OpenSearch; free indefinitely with no time limit, but the service powers off after a period of inactivity","unit":"GB","source_url":"https://aiven.io/pricing/postgresql","read_on":"2026-10-22","metered_on":"stored-bytes"},"per_object_cap":{"stated":"1 GB total storage per service","bytes":null,"source_url":"https://aiven.io/pricing/postgresql"},"retention":{"stated":"the service powers off after a period of inactivity, on three triggers: no initial usage in the first few hours, or no continuative activity later; a powered-off service is deleted after 180 days. The Free plan is the exception to 'data retention is only limited by storage'","days":180,"source_url":"https://aiven.io/docs/platform/concepts/service-power-cycle"},"egress":{"terms":"no egress allowance, quota or per-GB rate is published on the free-plan pages or the PostgreSQL pricing table; recorded as a gap after checking both","metered":false,"free_allowance":null,"price_per_tb":null,"source_url":"https://aiven.io/pricing/postgresql"},"interface":["rest","cli"],"interface_detail":"the Postgres wire protocol; an API and the avn CLI","tooling":"psql and any Postgres client; the avn CLI","chaining":"no longer a candidate for a weekly or monthly job: the free service powers off on inactivity and is deleted 180 days after it powers off, so a keep-alive is required and the paid Developer tier is what removes the clock","limits":[{"kind":"per-object-cap","value":"1 GB total storage per service; 1 GB RAM","source":"https://aiven.io/pricing/postgresql"},{"kind":"retention-clamped","value":"the free service powers off after a period of inactivity; a service powered off for more than 180 days is automatically deleted","source":"https://aiven.io/docs/platform/concepts/service-power-cycle"},{"kind":"request-rate","value":"max_connections is set to 20 on a free PostgreSQL service, and there is no connection pooling","source":"https://aiven.io/docs/products/postgresql/concepts/pg-free-tier"}],"binding":"retention-clamped","identity_cost":{"kind":"email","detail":"email signup; no card on the Free plan","country":null},"reliability_note":"free services power off on inactivity and a service powered off for more than 180 days is automatically deleted; a powered-off service for a version past end of life is deleted within 7 days","confidence":"documented","confidence_note":"three first-party Aiven pages were read today: the pricing page for 1 GB RAM and 1 GB storage, the free-PostgreSQL page for the inactivity power-off, and the service power-cycle page for the 180-day deletion.","evidence":[{"url":"https://aiven.io/pricing/postgresql","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"Free column: RAM per VM 1 GB, Total storage 1 GB; Developer USD 5 with 8 GB; Hobbyist from USD 12; 'Data retention is only limited by storage, with the exception of Free plan'"},{"url":"https://aiven.io/free-postgresql-database","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"'Service powers off after a period of inactivity (you'll be notified by email and in-platform beforehand)'; 'It's free indefinitely with no time limit, but the service is automatically powered off after a period of inactivity'"},{"url":"https://aiven.io/docs/products/postgresql/concepts/pg-free-tier","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"two power-off triggers: 'Power off free services with no initial usage within the first few hours after the service is running' and 'Power off free services with no continuative activity on the service'"},{"url":"https://aiven.io/docs/platform/concepts/service-power-cycle","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"'Services powered off for more than 180 days are automatically deleted'; the 180-day grace does not apply to an end-of-life version, which is deleted within 7 days"},{"url":"https://aiven.io/docs/platform/concepts/free-plan","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"'Developer tier services are not automatically powered off when inactive'; the paid step is what removes the clock"},{"url":"https://aiven.io/docs/products/postgresql/concepts/pg-free-tier","date":"2026-10-22","proved":"'No connection pooling' and '`max_connections` limit set to `20`' on the free tier"}],"verdict":"qualifies-with-caveat","verified_at":"2026-10-22T03:05:00.000Z","price_per_tb_month":null,"notes":"1 GB is the smallest free Postgres storage in this class, and the free plan powers off on inactivity, so it does not answer the question the class was formed to ask. 5 GB is what the plan used to give and several comparison pages still print it. The paid Developer tier at USD 5 a month is the version of this that stays up: 'Developer tier services are not automatically powered off when inactive'.","binding_note":"1 GB of storage is small, but the inactivity power-off is what defeats the use a reader would pick this for: an unattended job that runs less often than the inactivity window. The 180-day deletion sets the outer limit."},"claims":[{"path":"$.free_tier.stated","kind":"free-quota","num":1,"unit":"GB","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.limits[0].value","kind":"limit:per-object-cap","num":1,"unit":"GB","per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"ok"},{"path":"$.limits[1].value","kind":"limit:retention-clamped","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"},{"path":"$.limits[2].value","kind":"limit:request-rate","num":null,"unit":null,"per":null,"currency":null,"usd":null,"fx_date":null,"parse":"unparsed"}],"unknown":[],"history":[{"hid":"history/2026-10-22T041500Z/aiven-free-inactivity-power-off.md","when":"2026-10-22T04:15:00Z","status":"corrected","title":"Aiven's free plan was recorded as the one that never pauses, and it powers off on inactivity"}],"drift":[]}