Is Aiven or Nebula better?

Neither clearly leads. Aiven starts at Free and Nebula at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Aiven or Nebula?

Aiven starts at Free and Nebula at Free.

Does Aiven or Nebula run on more platforms?

Aiven runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do. Nebula runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD.

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 Nebula is typically brought in for.

What can Aiven do that Nebula cannot?

Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Automated Backups, Seamless Upgrades, VPC Peering. Nebula covers Certificate carried identity, Group based host firewall, Lighthouse discovery, Noise protocol encryption.

Databases · head to head

Aiven vs Nebula

Aiven

Databases

Fully managed open source data infrastructure cloud

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Nebula

Networking

Certificate based overlay network from Slack, with identity and firewall rules carried in the certificate

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

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; Nebula the open source project has no user interface, no enrolment workflow and no revocation service, so certificate issuing, distribution and expiry become scripts you write and then have to keep working.
They diverge on capability: Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Nebula covers Certificate carried identity.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aiven and Nebula actually diverge.

Attributes where Aiven and Nebula differ
Attribute	Aiven	Nebula
Pricing model	usage-based	Open source, no licence fee
Platforms	Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do	Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD
Category	Databases	Networking
Founded	2016	Unknown

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 Nebula

Certificate carried identity
Group based host firewall
Lighthouse discovery
Noise protocol encryption
Unsafe routes
Managed option

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

Nebula

Flattening a network across several clouds and datacentres without VPC peering or route tablesnot Aiven
Very large fleets where a central policy service on the connection path is unacceptablenot Aiven
Environments that already run an internal certificate authority and want the network to use itnot Aiven
Replacing per host iptables rules with policy written against roles that follow the hostnot 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

Nebula

The open source project has no user interface, no enrolment workflow and no revocation service, so certificate issuing, distribution and expiry become scripts you write and then have to keep working.
Revoking a compromised host means distributing a blocklist entry to every other host and reloading them, which is a fleet wide operation rather than a click, and easy to get wrong under pressure.
Changing a host group membership means reissuing and redeploying its certificate, so policy changes are a deployment rather than a configuration edit.
There is no identity provider integration or single sign on in the open source version, so it maps well to servers and badly to a fleet of user laptops.
NAT traversal is best effort and hosts behind symmetric NAT need a relay configured deliberately, so connectivity failures show up as intermittent rather than immediate and are awkward to diagnose.

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiven

Free

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

Nebula

Free

NebulaFree
- Full functionality under the MIT licence
- No host limit
- You operate the certificate authority and lighthouses
Defined Networking$undefined/month
- Hosted control plane and enrolment
- Managed certificate lifecycle and revocation
- Policy and DNS interface

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 Nebula if

You need certificate carried identity.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD.
You also want group based host firewall.

Nebula review

Questions people ask

Is Aiven or Nebula better?: Neither clearly leads. Aiven starts at Free and Nebula at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aiven or Nebula?: Aiven starts at Free and Nebula at Free.
Does Aiven or Nebula run on more platforms?: Aiven runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do. Nebula runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD.
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 Nebula is typically brought in for.
What can Aiven do that Nebula cannot?: Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Automated Backups, Seamless Upgrades, VPC Peering. Nebula covers Certificate carried identity, Group based host firewall, Lighthouse discovery, Noise protocol encryption.

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

Nebula: Does it use WireGuard?

No. Nebula predates the common WireGuard mesh tools and uses the Noise protocol framework with its own certificate format.

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

Nebula: Can I run it without Defined Networking?

Yes, entirely. Defined Networking sells the control plane conveniences, not the network itself.

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

Nebula: How do I revoke a host?

Add its certificate fingerprint to the blocklist in the configuration of the other hosts and reload them. There is no online revocation check.

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

Nebula: Is it a good fit for laptops?

Less so than the identity provider based tools. There is no single sign on, so every laptop needs a certificate issued and renewed by whatever process you build.

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

Aiven vs Nebula

Aiven

Nebula

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Aiven

Only in Nebula

What people use each for

Aiven

Nebula

Where each one falls short

Aiven

Nebula

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiven

Nebula

Which should you pick?

Choose Aiven if

Choose Nebula if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Aiven

More on Nebula

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