Methodology & data sources

Transparency is the core of our E-E-A-T. This page documents exactly where each price comes from, when it was captured, and the formulas behind every derived figure.

The dated-snapshot method

Managed-database vendors publish their prices on their own pricing pages, but most render the numbers with JavaScript and change them frequently. We therefore use a dated snapshot: a human gathers the current published figures from each vendor's pricing page, structures them into a committed dataset, and stamps every page with the capture date (snapshot captured June 2026, i.e. as of June 2026). The site never fetches prices at build time — it reads only the committed snapshot — so what you see is exactly what was verified on the capture date.

We do not fabricate figures. Where a value could not be verified on the vendor's page, it is omitted (rendered as a dash) or marked "see vendor". Several offerings price by usage, by quote, or behind a JavaScript calculator; those are labelled rather than guessed. Prices change frequently — verify on the linked vendor pricing page before relying on them.

What we cover (and what we exclude)

We cover managed databases for six non-Postgres engines: MySQL, Redis/Valkey, MongoDB, Apache Kafka, ClickHouse and Cassandra. We deliberately exclude managed PostgreSQL as a primary engine, because a sibling site covers it; Postgres is referenced only as a comparison anchor (and on RDS, Cloud SQL and Azure it is priced almost identically to MySQL).

Per-offering sources

Each offering's figures are taken from its own published pricing page:

Data sources (summary)

How we derive figures

• Monthly from hourly = published hourly rate × 730 hours (an industry-standard "hours per month" constant). Where a vendor publishes its own monthly figure (e.g. MongoDB Atlas), it may round slightly differently from hourly × 730; we note this on the page.
• Representative monthly = a single, like-for-like entry tier per offering, used for sorting and the estimator. It is compute-only unless stated; storage, backups and transfer are listed separately.
• Estimator total = tier monthly price × number of instances/nodes. It runs entirely in your browser; we don't store inputs. Usage-based offerings show "usage-based" instead of a flat total.
• "Cheaper for small / for scale" verdicts compare entry tiers and the largest tier we list. They are heuristics, not quotes — a serverless offering can win for spiky traffic and lose for steady load.
• "Free tier" classification = offerings whose page lists a genuine always-free plan or monthly allowance (not just a time- or credit-limited trial).

What's excluded

Our headline comparisons and the estimator focus on the representative compute tier. They do not include storage beyond each tier's default, backups, data transfer/egress, support plans, replicas/HA multipliers, per-second billing nuances, committed-use/reserved discounts, or every regional price difference — all of which can materially change your real bill. For instance-based engines, storage and transfer can dominate.

Limitations & accuracy

Figures are estimates for general information and may lag the underlying source or contain errors. This is an informational comparison, not a quote or financial advice. Always verify against the primary source before relying on it. See our disclaimer.

Last updated: 2026-06-20