Is Aiven or Firebolt better?

Neither clearly leads. Aiven starts at Free and Firebolt at $1.84/hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Aiven or Firebolt?

Aiven has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Aiven and $1.84/hour for Firebolt.

Does Aiven or Firebolt run on more platforms?

Aiven runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do. Firebolt runs on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.

Can I use Aiven for free?

Yes. Aiven has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Firebolt starts at $1.84/hour.

What is Aiven best used for?

Aiven is most often used for running managed open source databases without operating them, multi-cloud deployment across aws, google cloud, azure, digitalocean, ovh and upcloud, highly available data services with automatic failover, prototyping on a small free instance before scaling up. Of those, running managed open source databases without operating them and multi-cloud deployment across aws, google cloud, azure, digitalocean, ovh and upcloud are not what Firebolt is typically brought in for.

What can Aiven do that Firebolt cannot?

Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Automated Backups, Seamless Upgrades, VPC Peering. Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries, Sparse Indexes, Data Pruning, Decoupled Storage/Compute. Both handle Web support, Aws support.

Databases · head to head

Aiven vs Firebolt

Aiven

Databases

Fully managed open source data infrastructure cloud

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Firebolt

Databases

Sub-second analytics at cloud data warehouse scale

From: $1.84/hour
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Aiven has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Aiven the free plan gives 1 VM with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM and 1 GB storage, and cannot pick a specific cloud or region; Firebolt compute billed per second on Arm-based processors; small instances still incur measurable costs during idle periods despite auto-stop
They diverge on capability: Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aiven and Firebolt actually diverge.

Attributes where Aiven and Firebolt differ
Attribute	Aiven	Firebolt
Starting price	Free	$1.84/hour
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do	Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes
Founded	2016	2019

Identical on both: pricing model (usage-based), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Aiven

Multi-cloud Support
Automated Backups
Seamless Upgrades
VPC Peering
End-to-end Encryption
Compliance
Observability
PostgreSQL

Only in Firebolt

Sub-second Queries
Sparse Indexes
Data Pruning
Decoupled Storage/Compute
SQL Support
Semi-structured Data
Workload Isolation
Airflow

Both cover

Web support
Aws support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Aiven

Running managed open source databases without operating themnot Firebolt
Multi-cloud deployment across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, OVH and UpCloudnot Firebolt
Highly available data services with automatic failovernot Firebolt
Prototyping on a small free instance before scaling upnot Firebolt

Firebolt

Data analytics teams running gigabyte-to-petabyte datasets with sub-second query requirementsnot Aiven
Real-time business intelligence platforms requiring ACID transactions and snapshot isolationnot Aiven
Applications needing vector search on analytical data for similarity queriesnot Aiven

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Aiven

The free plan gives 1 VM with 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM and 1 GB storage, and cannot pick a specific cloud or region
Free and Developer tiers have no integrations and no connection pooling
Connection pooling, database forks and dynamic disk sizing need the Business or Premium plan
A 99.99 percent uptime SLA starts at the Startup plan from $75 a month
High availability with automatic failover starts at Business from $180 a month

Firebolt

Compute billed per second on Arm-based processors; small instances still incur measurable costs during idle periods despite auto-stop
Storage pass-through charged at $0.0264/GB monthly on compressed data; uncompressed storage could exceed this
Azure deployment currently in Preview status; production recommendations unclear
Vector indexes limited to float arrays; other data types require alternative indexing strategies
Free tier credits ($200) limited; no perpetual free tier for production use

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiven

Free

Free TrialFree
- $300 credits
- 30 day trial
- All services
Startup$19/month
- Single node
- Basic support
- Daily backups

Firebolt

$1.84/hour

No published plan breakdown. See the Firebolt review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Aiven if

You need multi-cloud support.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do.
You also want automated backups.

Aiven review

Choose Firebolt if

You need sub-second queries.
You work on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.
You also want sparse indexes.

Firebolt review

Questions people ask

Is Aiven or Firebolt better?: Neither clearly leads. Aiven starts at Free and Firebolt at $1.84/hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aiven or Firebolt?: Aiven has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Aiven and $1.84/hour for Firebolt.
Does Aiven or Firebolt run on more platforms?: Aiven runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do. Firebolt runs on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Aiven for free?: Yes. Aiven has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Firebolt starts at $1.84/hour.
What is Aiven best used for?: Aiven is most often used for running managed open source databases without operating them, multi-cloud deployment across aws, google cloud, azure, digitalocean, ovh and upcloud, highly available data services with automatic failover, prototyping on a small free instance before scaling up. Of those, running managed open source databases without operating them and multi-cloud deployment across aws, google cloud, azure, digitalocean, ovh and upcloud are not what Firebolt is typically brought in for.
What can Aiven do that Firebolt cannot?: Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Automated Backups, Seamless Upgrades, VPC Peering. Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries, Sparse Indexes, Data Pruning, Decoupled Storage/Compute. Both handle Web support, Aws support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Aiven: What does Aiven's free tier include and does it have any time limit?

The free tier includes PostgreSQL with 1 VM, 1 CPU, 1 GB RAM, and 1 GB storage with access to limited cloud and region selections. There are no time limitations on the free tier, though Aiven reserves the right to shut down accounts that violate policies or remain unused for extended periods.

Source

Firebolt: How does Firebolt's compute billing model work?

Firebolt uses per-second billing with scale-to-zero capability. The smallest S tier costs $1.84 per hour with 8 vCPU and 64GB memory, while the largest 4XL tier costs $58.88 per hour with 256 vCPU. Users only pay when compute is running.

Source

Aiven: How is Aiven billed and what are the monthly costs for each tier?

Aiven bills services by the hour and invoices monthly, charging only for what you actually run. PostgreSQL pricing starts at 5 dollars per month for Developer, 12 dollars per month for Hobbyist, 75 dollars per month for Startup, 180 dollars per month for Business, and 270 dollars per month for Premium. All paid tiers offer hourly billing options as well.

Source

Firebolt: What is the cost for data storage on Firebolt?

Storage costs $0.0264 per GB per month on object storage, billed as pass-through cost at cloud provider rates.

Source

Aiven: What backup retention periods are included at different Aiven tiers?

Backup retention increases with tier level: Startup tier provides 2 days of backup retention, Business tier offers 14 days, and Premium tier includes 30 days. Point-in-time restore is available on all paid tiers.

Source

Firebolt: What free credits or trial does Firebolt offer new users?

New users receive $200 free credits to get started with the platform.

Source

Aiven: Is high availability included in Aiven pricing or charged separately?

High availability, backups, and routine maintenance are all included in the tier costs with no separate charges. The Business tier includes 2 VMs with automatic failover, and Premium includes 3 VMs with a second standby node.

Source

Firebolt: Does Firebolt publish pricing for commitment-based discounts?

The pricing FAQ lists a question about commitment-based discounts but does not provide published answers on the pricing page. This requires direct inquiry with sales.

Source

Aiven: Does Aiven offer a trial period to test premium features?

Aiven offers a 30-day free trial to access premium features beyond what the free plan provides.

Source

Firebolt: What deployment options does Firebolt offer besides managed service?

Firebolt offers self-hosted open source deployment (unlimited) and Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) options in addition to managed service.

Source

Aiven vs Firebolt

Aiven

Firebolt

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Aiven

Only in Firebolt

Both cover

What people use each for

Aiven

Firebolt

Where each one falls short

Aiven

Firebolt

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiven

Firebolt

Which should you pick?

Choose Aiven if

Choose Firebolt if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Aiven

More on Firebolt

Keep looking

Other head to heads