Softwr

Databases · head to head

Aiven vs Formance

Aiven logo

Aiven

Databases

Fully managed open source data infrastructure cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Formance logo

Formance

APIs

Open source double-entry ledger and payment orchestration for money-moving software

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; Formance formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
  • They diverge on capability: Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Formance covers Double-entry ledger.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aiven and Formance actually diverge.

Attributes where Aiven and Formance differ
AttributeAivenFormance
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWeb, Aws, Azure, Gcp, DoLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API
CategoryDatabasesAPIs
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Formance

  • Double-entry ledger
  • Numscript transaction DSL
  • Multi-currency
  • Payments connectivity
  • Reconciliation
  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Cloud offering
  • API and SDKs

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 Formance
  • Multi-cloud deployment across AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, OVH and UpCloudnot Formance
  • Highly available data services with automatic failovernot Formance
  • Prototyping on a small free instance before scaling upnot Formance

Formance

  • A marketplace splitting a single customer payment between seller, platform fee and tax that needs the split to be atomic and auditablenot Aiven
  • A fintech whose homegrown balances table produced numbers finance could not reconcile and now needs proper double-entry before an auditnot Aiven
  • A payments team that wants one normalised model across several PSPs so reconciliation is not written separately for eachnot Aiven
  • A company that wants its ledger under a licence it can keep running even if the vendor disappearsnot 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

Formance

  • Formance holds no money and provides no regulatory cover, so it must be paired with a payments provider or bank, and buyers occasionally mistake a ledger for a treasury system and discover the gap late.
  • Numscript is a domain-specific language your team must learn, and while it makes complex splits expressible it also means transaction logic sits outside the languages your engineers already debug well.
  • Self-hosting a ledger that must never lose or duplicate a transaction is a serious operational commitment covering backups, upgrades and Postgres tuning, which is real cost the zero licence fee hides.
  • Enterprise pricing is not published, so the difference between the free path and the supported path cannot be evaluated without a sales conversation.
  • The company is much smaller than the incumbent alternatives, and while the MIT licence protects the code it does not protect the roadmap, so features on the hosted side may arrive slowly or change direction.

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiven

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

Formance

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • MIT licensed core ledger
    • Numscript transaction DSL
    • Multi-currency tracking
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Managed or private deployment
    • Payments connectivity and reconciliation
    • Support with response commitments

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 Formance if

  • You need double-entry ledger.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
  • You also want numscript transaction dsl.
Formance review

Questions people ask

Is Aiven or Formance better?
Neither clearly leads. Aiven starts at Free and Formance at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aiven or Formance?
Aiven starts at Free and Formance at Free.
Does Aiven or Formance run on more platforms?
Aiven runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do. Formance runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Web, API.
Can I use Aiven for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Formance is typically brought in for.
What can Aiven do that Formance cannot?
Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Automated Backups, Seamless Upgrades, VPC Peering. Formance covers Double-entry ledger, Numscript transaction DSL, Multi-currency, Payments connectivity.

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
Formance: Is Formance really open source?

Yes. The core ledger is MIT licensed with full source access and no deployment restrictions.

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
Formance: Does Formance move money?

No. It records and orchestrates movements; the actual payments happen at a PSP or bank you connect.

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
Formance: What does the enterprise version cost?

Not published. It is an annual subscription quoted per customer.

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
Formance: Do I have to use Numscript?

Yes for anything beyond the simplest transfers. It is how multi-party transactions are expressed atomically.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Aiven

More on Formance

Keep looking

Other head to heads