Is Aiven or Rowy better?

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

Which is cheaper, Aiven or Rowy?

Aiven starts at Free and Rowy at Free.

Does Aiven or Rowy run on more platforms?

Aiven runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do. Rowy runs on Web.

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 Rowy is typically brought in for.

What can Aiven do that Rowy cannot?

Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Automated Backups, Seamless Upgrades, VPC Peering. Rowy covers Firestore backed grid, Browser authored cloud functions, Typed columns, Runs in your Google Cloud project.

Databases · head to head

Aiven vs Rowy

Aiven

Databases

Fully managed open source data infrastructure cloud

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Rowy

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet interface for Google Cloud Firestore with cloud functions written in the browser

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; Rowy every Firestore limit is inherited, including the one megabyte per document ceiling and roughly one sustained write per second per document, which surprises users who expect spreadsheet behaviour.
They diverge on capability: Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Rowy covers Firestore backed grid.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Aiven and Rowy actually diverge.

Attributes where Aiven and Rowy differ
Attribute	Aiven	Rowy
Pricing model	usage-based	Open source, no licence fee
Platforms	Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do	Web
Category	Databases	Spreadsheets
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 Rowy

Firestore backed grid
Browser authored cloud functions
Typed columns
Runs in your Google Cloud project
Role based access
Form view
Open source

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

Rowy

A Firebase application that needs an internal admin interface without building onenot Aiven
Operations staff correcting production records in Firestore without developer involvementnot Aiven
Attaching a small transformation or notification function to a field change without a full deployment pipelinenot Aiven
A content team populating documents that a mobile application reads directly from Firestorenot 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

Rowy

Every Firestore limit is inherited, including the one megabyte per document ceiling and roughly one sustained write per second per document, which surprises users who expect spreadsheet behaviour.
Firestore has no joins, so linking tables in the grid is a convenience layer rather than a relational feature and reports across collections still need a separate query.
It is useful only to teams already on Firebase, so choosing it effectively locks the operational tooling to one cloud vendor.
Query costs are billed by document read, and an unfiltered grid on a large collection can generate a bill that a spreadsheet user has no intuition for.
Development activity has slowed relative to the broader category, so evaluate current maintenance before making it load bearing for internal operations.

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiven

Free

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

Rowy

Free

Open source self hostedFree
- No licence fee
- Deploys into your own Google Cloud project
- You pay Google Cloud for Firestore reads, writes and storage

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 Rowy if

You need firestore backed grid.
You want to start without paying.
You also want browser authored cloud functions.

Rowy review

Questions people ask

Is Aiven or Rowy better?: Neither clearly leads. Aiven starts at Free and Rowy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Aiven or Rowy?: Aiven starts at Free and Rowy at Free.
Does Aiven or Rowy run on more platforms?: Aiven runs on Web, Aws, Azure, Gcp, Do. Rowy runs on Web.
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 Rowy is typically brought in for.
What can Aiven do that Rowy cannot?: Aiven covers Multi-cloud Support, Automated Backups, Seamless Upgrades, VPC Peering. Rowy covers Firestore backed grid, Browser authored cloud functions, Typed columns, Runs in your Google Cloud project.

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

Rowy: Where is my data stored?

In your own Firestore instance inside your own Google Cloud project. Rowy does not hold a copy.

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

Rowy: What does it cost to run?

No licence fee. You pay Google Cloud for Firestore reads, writes, storage and function invocations, and an open grid on a big collection reads a lot.

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

Rowy: Can it do joins across collections?

Not really. Firestore does not support joins, and no interface layer can add them.

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

Rowy: Is there a row limit?

Not from Rowy. The limits that bite are Firestore document size and per document write throughput.

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

Rowy: Is it suitable if I am not on Firebase?

No. It is specifically a Firestore interface.

Aiven vs Rowy

Aiven

Rowy

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Aiven

Only in Rowy

What people use each for

Aiven

Rowy

Where each one falls short

Aiven

Rowy

Pricing, plan by plan

Aiven

Rowy

Which should you pick?

Choose Aiven if

Choose Rowy if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Aiven

More on Rowy

Keep looking

Other head to heads