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Developer Tools · head to head

Fig vs Xata

F

Fig

Developer Tools

IDE-style autocomplete for your existing terminal

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit FigFull review
Xata logo

Xata

Databases

Apache 2.0 platform for running many Postgres instances on Kubernetes, with copy-on-write branching and scale-to-zero.

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit XataFull review

The short version

  • Fig is free; Xata starts at $1/mo.
  • Where Fig falls short: the standalone desktop app is no longer available or supported.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fig and Xata actually diverge.

Attributes where Fig and Xata differ
AttributeFigXata
Pricing modelFreemiumUsage-based
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web).

Not yet recorded: founded for Xata.

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 Fig

Nothing recorded that Xata does not also cover.

Only in Xata

  • Copy-on-write branching
  • Scale-to-zero compute
  • Compute autoscaling and bin-packing
  • High availability with failover
  • Point-in-time recovery
  • Serverless driver
  • pgroll migrations
  • pgstream replication

What people use each for

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

Fig

No use cases recorded yet. See the Fig review.

Xata

  • Giving every pull request or coding agent its own branch of the production database, with real data volumes rather than a seeded fixturenot Fig
  • Running managed-Postgres economics in your own cloud account where data residency or compliance rules out a third-party control planenot Fig
  • Consolidating many small, mostly idle Postgres databases onto shared infrastructure where scale-to-zero and bin-packing recover the idle costnot Fig
  • Testing a destructive migration against a copy of production without waiting for a full restore or paying for a duplicate of the storagenot Fig

Where each one falls short

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

Fig

  • Shut down on 1 September 2024. Amazon acquired Fig in August 2023 and folded it into Amazon Q Developer, which now carries the terminal autocomplete
  • The standalone desktop app is no longer available or supported
  • The completion specs remain open source on GitHub, but the product that consumed them is gone

Xata

  • Self-hosting means operating Kubernetes and CloudNativePG, so the Apache 2.0 licence removes the vendor bill but replaces it with a platform team, and a database platform is not something a part-time operator maintains safely
  • Copy-on-write branches are cheap to create but diverge as they are written to, so a long-lived branch carrying a heavy backfill quietly accumulates real storage and the cost arrives later than the decision that caused it
  • Scale-to-zero means the first connection after an idle period pays a cold start, which is invisible in a busy production database and very visible in a demo, a staging environment or a cron job that runs once an hour
  • The Xata sold before 2025 was a different product, a proprietary API and SDK layered over Postgres, so tutorials, blog posts and SDK examples from that era describe something that no longer exists and existing users had to migrate
  • As a managed service it competes with RDS, Aurora and Cloud SQL, and it is a much smaller company, so procurement, certification coverage and the depth of the support bench behind a 3am corruption incident are all weaker than the incumbent even though the underlying Postgres is the same

Pricing, plan by plan

Fig

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Fig review.

Xata

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 14 days free
    • No credit card required
  • Usage-Based$1
    • 1,000 branches for $1
    • Scale-to-zero compute model
    • Branches hibernate when idle

Which should you pick?

Choose Fig if

  • You want to start without paying.
Fig review

Choose Xata if

  • You need copy-on-write branching.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want scale-to-zero compute.
Xata review

Questions people ask

Is Fig or Xata better?
Neither clearly leads. Fig starts at Free and Xata at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fig or Xata?
Fig starts at Free and Xata at Free.
Does Fig or Xata run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Fig for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What can Fig do that Xata cannot?
Xata covers Copy-on-write branching, Scale-to-zero compute, Compute autoscaling and bin-packing, High availability with failover.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Xata: Is it real Postgres or a compatible reimplementation?

Real Postgres. It runs upstream Postgres instances on Kubernetes via CloudNativePG, so extensions, the wire protocol and version upgrades behave as they do anywhere else.

Xata: Can I self-host the whole thing?

Yes. The platform is Apache 2.0 and designed for self-hosting a large number of Postgres instances on your own Kubernetes. Xata Cloud is the same platform run as a service.

Xata: Does branching copy my data?

No. Branches are copy-on-write at the storage layer, so creating one is near-instant regardless of database size and storage is only consumed as the branch diverges from its parent.

Xata: Is this the same Xata I used a couple of years ago?

No. The earlier product was a proprietary database API with its own SDK and search layer. The current product is a Postgres platform, and material written for the old one does not apply.

Xata: What happens to a branch when the parent changes?

A branch is a point-in-time fork. Later changes on the parent are not propagated, so long-lived branches drift and need to be recreated rather than refreshed if you want current data.

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