Is Hasura or Presto better?

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

Which is cheaper, Hasura or Presto?

Hasura starts at Free and Presto at Free.

Does Hasura or Presto run on more platforms?

Hasura runs on Web. Presto runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.

Can I use Hasura for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Hasura best used for?

Hasura is most often used for automatic graphql api generation from existing databases, real-time data subscriptions for modern applications, backend infrastructure for web and mobile applications, event-triggered webhooks for database changes. Of those, automatic graphql api generation from existing databases and real-time data subscriptions for modern applications are not what Presto is typically brought in for.

What can Hasura do that Presto cannot?

Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL. Presto covers Federated querying, In-memory execution, Open table format support, Presto C++ workers.

APIs · head to head

Hasura vs Presto

Hasura

APIs

GraphQL engine that instantly creates production-ready GraphQL API from databases

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Presto

Databases

The Meta-lineage distributed SQL query engine, distinct from the Trino fork

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Hasura active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly; Presto the original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches.
They diverge on capability: Hasura covers GraphQL API, Presto covers Federated querying.
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hasura and Presto actually diverge.

Attributes where Hasura and Presto differ
Attribute	Hasura	Presto
Pricing model	freemium	Open source, no licence fee
Platforms	Web	Linux, Docker, Kubernetes
Category	APIs	Databases
Founded	2017	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 Hasura

GraphQL API
Real-time subscriptions
Access control
PostgreSQL
MySQL
Webhooks
REST APIs
Cloud support

Only in Presto

Federated querying
In-memory execution
Open table format support
Presto C++ workers
ANSI SQL
Pluggable connectors

What people use each for

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

Hasura

Automatic GraphQL API generation from existing databasesnot Presto
Real-time data subscriptions for modern applicationsnot Presto
Backend infrastructure for web and mobile applicationsnot Presto
Event-triggered webhooks for database changesnot Presto

Presto

An existing PrestoDB estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to Trinonot Hasura
A team buying IBM watsonx.data, where Presto is the underlying query enginenot Hasura
Joining a Hive or Iceberg lake to an operational PostgreSQL database in one query without an ETL stepnot Hasura
Very large scale interactive SQL where the Meta-tested branch is a specific requirementnot Hasura

Where each one falls short

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

Hasura

Active model definition: model/command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly
Private DDN requires Base or Advanced plan

Presto

The original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches.
Documentation, tutorials and Stack Overflow answers for the two projects are frequently mixed up, and a solution written for Trino often does not apply, which costs real debugging time.
It is a query engine with no storage of its own, so query performance is dictated by your file layout, partitioning and statistics, and a badly organised lake makes Presto look slow.
Memory-bound execution means a single large join can fail the whole query rather than spilling gracefully, and tuning cluster memory settings is a persistent operational chore.
Commercial support has consolidated into IBM since the Ahana acquisition, so the independent vendor market that once existed around Presto is largely gone.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hasura

Free

DDN FreeFree
- Unlimited models
- 1 supergraph developer
- 15-minute observability retention
DDN Base$5/month
- Per active model billing
- Unlimited developers
- 30-day observability retention
DDN Advanced$30/month
- Per active model billing
- Federated collaboration
- Multi-repo CI/CD

Presto

Free

PrestoFree
- Apache 2.0 licence
- Presto Foundation governance under the Linux Foundation
- No node or query limits

Which should you pick?

Choose Hasura if

You need graphql api.
You want to start without paying.
You also want real-time subscriptions.

Hasura review

Choose Presto if

You need federated querying.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
You also want in-memory execution.

Presto review

Questions people ask

Is Hasura or Presto better?: Neither clearly leads. Hasura starts at Free and Presto at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hasura or Presto?: Hasura starts at Free and Presto at Free.
Does Hasura or Presto run on more platforms?: Hasura runs on Web. Presto runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Hasura for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hasura best used for?: Hasura is most often used for automatic graphql api generation from existing databases, real-time data subscriptions for modern applications, backend infrastructure for web and mobile applications, event-triggered webhooks for database changes. Of those, automatic graphql api generation from existing databases and real-time data subscriptions for modern applications are not what Presto is typically brought in for.
What can Hasura do that Presto cannot?: Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL. Presto covers Federated querying, In-memory execution, Open table format support, Presto C++ workers.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hasura: How much does Hasura cost?

Hasura DDN Free is free. DDN Base starts at $5/active model/month, and DDN Advanced starts at $30/active model/month.

Source

Presto: Is this Presto or Trino?

This is PrestoDB, the branch that stayed at Facebook and moved to the Linux Foundation. Trino is the 2020 fork by the original creators.

Hasura: What is an active model in Hasura pricing?

An active model is defined as any model or command accessed more than 1,000 times monthly.

Source

Presto: Which should I choose for a new project?

Trino, in most cases. It has the larger community, more connectors and more commercial options.

Hasura: Is there a free version of Hasura?

Yes, Hasura DDN Free is always free and includes unlimited models, 1 supergraph developer, and 15-minute observability retention.

Source

Presto: Who maintains Presto now?

Principally Meta, Uber and IBM, which acquired the Presto vendor Ahana in 2023.

Presto: Is it still actively released?

Yes, releases continue on a regular cadence under the Presto Foundation.

Hasura vs Presto

Hasura

Presto

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Hasura

Only in Presto

What people use each for

Hasura

Presto

Where each one falls short

Hasura

Presto

Pricing, plan by plan

Hasura

Presto

Which should you pick?

Choose Hasura if

Choose Presto if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Hasura

More on Presto

Keep looking

Other head to heads