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Developer Tools · head to head

Ona (formerly Gitpod) vs Readyset

Ona (formerly Gitpod) logo

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Developer Tools

Cloud development environments repositioned as a control plane for software engineering agents

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Ona (formerly Gitpod)Full review
Readyset logo

Readyset

Databases

Database caching and optimization that reduces infrastructure costs 30-70%

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit ReadysetFull review

The short version

  • Readyset is a database optimization and caching layer.
  • Readyset is free; Ona (formerly Gitpod) starts at $20/mo.
  • Only Ona (formerly Gitpod) lists ephemeral environments; only Readyset lists automatic Query Optimization.
  • Where Readyset falls short: pricing requires contacting sales team, making cost planning difficult.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Readyset actually diverge.

Attributes where Ona (formerly Gitpod) and Readyset differ
AttributeOna (formerly Gitpod)Readyset
Pricing modelPer month by compute unitMonthly or annual subscription based on cache size
PlatformsWeb, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWSWeb, Self-hosted
CategoryDeveloper ToolsDatabases

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

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 Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Ephemeral environments
  • Agent sessions
  • Bring your own cloud
  • Devcontainer standard
  • Compute unit budgeting
  • Enterprise identity

Only in Readyset

  • Automatic Query Optimization
  • SQL-Level Caching
  • Live Incremental Updates
  • Zero-Touch Integration
  • Query Interception
  • AI Query Protection

What people use each for

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

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setupnot Readyset
  • Running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptopnot Readyset
  • Keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled accountnot Readyset
  • Reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machinenot Readyset

Readyset

  • Reducing database costs for AI workloads with unpredictable query patternsnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Improving read performance for frequently accessed data without hardware upgradesnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Protecting databases from performance degradation caused by agentic queriesnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)
  • Scaling read-heavy applications without database scaling costsnot Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Where each one falls short

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

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

  • Acquisition risk has already materialised: the company closed a sale to OpenAI on 10 August 2026 and now sits inside the Codex team, so nothing public guarantees pricing, continuity or neutrality between model vendors beyond honouring existing commitments
  • Two disruptive changes of direction inside a year, from development environments to agent orchestration and then from independence to acquisition, mean the product a browser IDE buyer originally chose no longer exists in that form
  • The Gitpod Classic sunset on 15 October 2025 required manual conversion of configuration, hand-moved secrets, self-rescued workspace data and a brand new account, which is the clearest available precedent for how the vendor handles deprecation
  • Community self-hosting is finished: the AGPL-3.0 repository is deprecated by its own README, and self-hosted now means a vendor-operated install in your AWS or GCP account, with no Azure, no on-premises and no air-gapped path
  • Pricing is difficult to model because it runs on a compute unit currency where subscription credits expire at the end of the month, the mapping from units to actual compute is not published on the pricing page, and Enterprise is quotation only

Readyset

  • Pricing requires contacting sales team, making cost planning difficult
  • Specific pricing tiers not disclosed publicly
  • Requires cache size estimation for cost calculation
  • Limited to read query caching, does not address write performance

Pricing, plan by plan

Ona (formerly Gitpod)

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 3 parallel environments
    • Machines up to 4 vCPU, 16 GB memory and 80 GB disk
    • Ona Cloud multi-tenant only
  • Core$20/mo
    • From 20 US dollars a month, up to 100 team members
    • Includes 80 to 2,200 recurring compute units a month depending on tier
    • Additional units from 10 US dollars per 40 units
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Single-tenant deployment in your own AWS or GCP account
    • SAML and OIDC single sign-on
    • Dedicated account management and forward deployed engineers

Readyset

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Free tier for evaluation
    • 7-day trial available
  • Readyset CloudFree
    • Fully-managed AWS deployment
    • High availability
    • VPC peering support
  • Readyset PrivateFree
    • Self-hosted on your servers
    • Complete control
    • Custom deployment

Which should you pick?

Choose Ona (formerly Gitpod) if

  • You need ephemeral environments.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS.
  • You also want agent sessions.
Ona (formerly Gitpod) review

Choose Readyset if

  • You need automatic query optimization.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want sql-level caching.
Readyset review

Questions people ask

Is Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Readyset better?
Neither clearly leads. Ona (formerly Gitpod) starts at Free and Readyset at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Readyset?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) starts at Free and Readyset at Free.
Does Ona (formerly Gitpod) or Readyset run on more platforms?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) runs on Web, Linux, macOS, Windows, AWS. Readyset runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Ona (formerly Gitpod) for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Ona (formerly Gitpod) best used for?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) is most often used for giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setup, running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptop, keeping source code off contractor and offshore laptops by moving the whole environment into a controlled account, reproducing a hard-to-configure toolchain for a short-lived project without polluting anyone machine. Of those, giving a large engineering team identical, disposable environments so onboarding is a link rather than a two day setup and running several coding agents in parallel against real databases and services instead of on a laptop are not what Readyset is typically brought in for.
What can Ona (formerly Gitpod) do that Readyset cannot?
Ona (formerly Gitpod) covers Ephemeral environments, Agent sessions, Bring your own cloud, Devcontainer standard. Readyset covers Automatic Query Optimization, SQL-Level Caching, Live Incremental Updates, Zero-Touch Integration.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ona (formerly Gitpod): Is Gitpod still called Gitpod?

No. It rebranded to Ona in September 2025, and gitpod.io now redirects to ona.com. The company was acquired by OpenAI in a deal that closed on 10 August 2026.

Readyset: Do I need to change my application code?

No, Readyset integrates transparently through query interception with zero code changes or schema modifications required.

Source
Ona (formerly Gitpod): Can I still self-host it for free?

No. The AGPL-3.0 self-hosted project is deprecated by its own README. What is offered now is a vendor-operated single-tenant install in your AWS or GCP account on the Enterprise plan.

Readyset: Is there a free trial?

Yes, Readyset offers a free 7-day trial that lets you test different cache sizes before committing to a paid plan.

Source
Ona (formerly Gitpod): What happened to Gitpod Classic?

Pay-as-you-go Classic was switched off on 15 October 2025. Migration required converting gitpod.yml to devcontainer.json, moving secrets by hand, downloading workspace data before the cutoff and creating a new account.

Readyset: How does Readyset pricing work?

Readyset is available as a monthly or annual subscription charged based on the size of cache you need. Contact [email protected] for specific pricing.

Source
Ona (formerly Gitpod): What does it cost?

Core starts at 20 US dollars a month and includes a monthly allowance of Ona Compute Units, with more from 10 dollars per 40 units. Subscription credits expire monthly. Enterprise is quoted.

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