Free Data Warehouses and Analytics Databases
Which data warehouses a startup can store and query its analytics data in for free today, how much storage and querying the free tier covers, how long free credits last, whether a card is needed and what paid usage costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Data warehouses change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you rely on it.
Data warehouses a startup can use for free today include Google BigQuery (1 TiB of queries and 10 GiB storage a month), DuckDB (Free and open source, MIT license), MotherDuck (10 GB storage, 10 compute hours a month), ClickHouse (open source) (Forever-free open source distribution), and Tinybird (10 GB storage, 1k requests a day). Each of the 12 free plans below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, its storage and query caps, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Product metrics, revenue reports and AI features all query data that outgrows your app database. Data warehouses store and query it fast; some have a standing free tier, others give free credits to start, and open-source analytics engines run free on your own machines.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. Free tiers cap storage and data queried a month, sandbox tables can expire, and trial credits run out after 30 to 90 days. Each warehouse below shows what is free, its main limit, its storage and query caps, whether a card is needed and what paid usage costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which warehouses we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which warehouses are listed or where.
Data warehouses with a free tier or credits
Store and query analytics data in the cloud, free to start.
- 1
Google BigQuery
Teams that want a warehouse on Google Cloud, no card
BigQuery's free usage tier covers the first 1 TiB of queries a month, and the sandbox works without a credit card. Sandbox tables expire after 60 days, and on-demand queries beyond the free 1 TiB cost $6.25 per TiB.
- Storage and queries
- Sandbox: 10 GiB storage, lifetime limit (source: cloud.google.com)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: cloud.google.com)
- First paid plan
- On-demand: $6.25 per TiB queried (source: cloud.google.com)
Start free at GoogleTerms read on cloud.google.com on Google BigQuery: the free allowance and how to start - 2
MotherDuck
Small teams wanting hosted DuckDB with no card
MotherDuck's Lite plan is free with no card, with 10 GB of storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute a month for up to 3 users. The Business plan is $250 per org a month plus usage.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: motherduck.com)
Start free at MotherDuckTerms read on motherduck.com on MotherDuck: the free allowance and how to start MotherDuck Startup Program: what startups get - 3
Tinybird
Teams building APIs on analytics data, free to start
Tinybird's Free plan needs no credit card and includes 10 GB of included storage with 1k requests per day. The Developer plan is $49 a month.
- Main limit
- 1k requests a day (source: tinybird.co)
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: tinybird.co)
- First paid plan
- Developer: $49 a month (source: tinybird.co)
- 4
Snowflake
Teams trying Snowflake with a 30-day credit budget
New sign-ups start a 30-day trial with $400 in free credits. After the trial, usage is billed per credit, and the Standard edition is listed at $2.00 per credit in USD.
- First paid plan
- Standard: $2.00 per credit (USD) (source: snowflake.com)
Start free at SnowflakeTerms read on signup.snowflake.com on Snowflake: the free allowance and how to start Snowflake Startup Program / Startup Accelerator: what startups get - 5
ClickHouse Cloud
Teams testing fast analytics with a 30-day credit
A new ClickHouse Cloud organization starts with $300 in credits for 30 days, and the trial ends when the credits run out or the 30 days pass. Basic storage is listed at $25.30 per TB a month.
- 6
Firebolt
Teams testing a fast warehouse with $200 in credits
Firebolt gives new sign-ups $200 in credits for a 30-day trial, and no payment method is required. A 1-node S compute engine is listed at $0.92 an hour.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: go.firebolt.io)
- 7
Amazon Redshift Serverless
AWS teams trying Redshift Serverless for 90 days
First-time Redshift Serverless users get a $300 credit that expires after 90 days. Serverless can be used for as low as $1.50 per hour.
Start free at Amazon Web ServicesTerms read on aws.amazon.com on Amazon Redshift Serverless: the free allowance and how to start
Open-source analytics databases
Run a columnar analytics engine yourself, free.
- 1
DuckDB
Developers who want an embedded SQL engine for free
DuckDB and related projects are MIT-licensed, governed by the independent DuckDB Foundation. It is an analytical SQL database that can run in-process.
- 2
ClickHouse (open source)
Teams that will run their own ClickHouse servers
ClickHouse's pricing page says the open source distribution of ClickHouse is forever-free, and you can download it. The managed ClickHouse Cloud is a separate paid service.
Start free at ClickHouseTerms read on clickhouse.com on ClickHouse (open source): the free allowance and how to start - 3
Apache Doris
Teams wanting an Apache-licensed analytics database
Apache Doris is an open-source data foundation for analytics, and its home page states that it is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.
Start free at Apache DorisTerms read on doris.apache.org on Apache Doris: the free allowance and how to start - 4
StarRocks
Teams wanting an Apache-licensed analytics engine
StarRocks states that it is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, so the engine itself costs nothing to use. Its home page describes it as a data warehouse.
- 5
Apache Druid
Teams needing real-time analytics on a free license
Apache Druid and its documentation are licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, according to the project's licensing page. Druid is a real-time analytics database for streaming and batch data.
Start free at Apache DruidTerms read on druid.apache.org on Apache Druid: the free allowance and how to start
Data startup programs
Programs from data companies that give startups credits or discounts on paid plans.
Also useful for databases and data infrastructure
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers data warehouses and analytics databases a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each warehouse's terms. Every term comes from the warehouse's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on storage or queried data a month, free credits that expire, compute paused when idle can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these warehouses pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a warehouse appears, and no warehouse pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free data warehouse?
By the terms each provider states, Google BigQuery's free tier covers 1 TiB of queries and 10 GiB of storage a month, MotherDuck's free plan 10 GB of storage and 10 compute hours a month, and Tinybird's 10 GB of storage with 1k requests a day.
Is BigQuery free?
Partly. BigQuery's free tier covers 1 TiB of queries and 10 GiB of storage a month, and in the sandbox, tables expire after 60 days. On-demand queries then cost $6.25 per TiB.
Does Snowflake have a free trial?
Yes. Snowflake gives $400 in free credits for a 30-day trial; Standard credits then cost $2.00 each.
Is there a free open-source data warehouse?
Yes. DuckDB (MIT), ClickHouse, Apache Doris, StarRocks and Apache Druid are open source and free to run yourself.
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