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Cloud · head to head

Koyeb vs MotherDuck

Koyeb logo

Koyeb

Cloud

High-performance serverless infrastructure for APIs, inference, and databases

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MotherDuck logo

MotherDuck

Databases

Serverless analytics data warehouse built on DuckDB

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MotherDuck has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Koyeb pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs; MotherDuck the free Lite plan caps compute at 10 hours per month, which limits it to light or hobbyist workloads.
  • They diverge on capability: Koyeb covers Serverless containers, MotherDuck covers Serverless DuckDB instances.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Koyeb and MotherDuck actually diverge.

Attributes where Koyeb and MotherDuck differ
AttributeKoyebMotherDuck
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, CLI, APIweb, api
CategoryCloudDatabases
FoundedUnknown2022

Identical on both: 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 Koyeb

  • Serverless containers
  • GPU support
  • Global distribution
  • Multi-protocol support
  • Serverless Postgres
  • Zero-downtime deployments

Only in MotherDuck

  • Serverless DuckDB instances
  • Cloud storage querying
  • MCP server
  • Dives
  • Flights
  • Read-scaling replicas

What people use each for

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

Koyeb

  • Deploying AI inference models globally with GPU accelerationnot MotherDuck
  • Building SaaS platforms with automatic scalingnot MotherDuck
  • Running distributed AI agents and background workersnot MotherDuck

MotherDuck

  • Ad-hoc analytics on gigabyte-to-terabyte datasetsnot Koyeb
  • Querying data lake files in S3/GCS/Azure without ingestionnot Koyeb
  • AI agent data analysis via MCPnot Koyeb
  • Scheduled data pipeline transformationsnot Koyeb

Where each one falls short

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

Koyeb

  • Pricing starts at $29/month with additional compute costs
  • GPU compute is expensive at $0.75-$2.50 per hour
  • Limited customization for infrastructure configuration

MotherDuck

  • The free Lite plan caps compute at 10 hours per month, which limits it to light or hobbyist workloads.
  • Business plan usage charges on top of the $250/month base can make costs less predictable than flat-rate competitors.
  • There are no academic or non-profit discounts, unlike some competing data platforms.
  • Annual billing requires going through a sales conversation rather than a self-serve toggle.

Pricing, plan by plan

Koyeb

$29/month
  • Pro$29/month
    • $10 included compute
    • 10 users
    • 100 services
  • Scale$299/month
    • $100 included compute
    • 50 users
    • 1,000 services
  • Enterprise$1000/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom resources
    • SSO/RBAC

MotherDuck

Free
  • LiteFree
    • Up to 3 internal active users
    • 2 service accounts
    • 10GB free storage
  • Business$250/month
    • Up to 10 internal active users
    • Unlimited service accounts
    • 5 instance types with read-scaling replicas
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited internal users and service accounts
    • Fixed-cost capacity pricing
    • AWS PrivateLink, IP allowlisting

Which should you pick?

Choose Koyeb if

  • You need serverless containers.
  • You work on Web, CLI, API.
  • You also want gpu support.
Koyeb review

Choose MotherDuck if

  • You need serverless duckdb instances.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want cloud storage querying.
MotherDuck review

Questions people ask

Is Koyeb or MotherDuck better?
Neither clearly leads. Koyeb starts at $29/month and MotherDuck at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Koyeb or MotherDuck?
MotherDuck has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Koyeb and Free for MotherDuck.
Does Koyeb or MotherDuck run on more platforms?
Koyeb runs on Web, CLI, API. MotherDuck runs on web, api.
Can I use MotherDuck for free?
Yes. MotherDuck has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Koyeb starts at $29/month.
What is Koyeb best used for?
Koyeb is most often used for deploying ai inference models globally with gpu acceleration, building saas platforms with automatic scaling, running distributed ai agents and background workers. Of those, deploying ai inference models globally with gpu acceleration and building saas platforms with automatic scaling are not what MotherDuck is typically brought in for.
What can Koyeb do that MotherDuck cannot?
Koyeb covers Serverless containers, GPU support, Global distribution, Multi-protocol support. MotherDuck covers Serverless DuckDB instances, Cloud storage querying, MCP server, Dives.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Koyeb: What are Koyeb's subscription plans?

Pro plan is $29/month with $10 included compute, Scale plan is $299/month with $100 included compute and 99.9% SLA, and Enterprise starts at $1,000/month with unlimited users and 99.99% SLA.

Source
MotherDuck: What does MotherDuck cost?

The Lite plan is free (up to 3 users, 10GB storage, 10 hours of Pulse compute/month). Business is $250/organization/month plus usage, with Enterprise available at custom fixed-cost pricing.

Source
Koyeb: How much does GPU compute cost?

GPU pricing is per-second: RTX-A6000 costs $0.75/hour, A100 costs $1.60/hour, H100 costs $2.50/hour, and 8x H100 costs $20.00/hour.

Source
MotherDuck: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?

Yes, the Lite plan is free for up to 3 internal active users and 2 service accounts, with 10GB of storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute per month.

Source
Koyeb: What database options are available?

Koyeb offers serverless Postgres starting at free (0.25 vCPU, 1GB RAM) up to 3XL at $1.28/hour with 8 vCPU and 32GB RAM. Storage costs $0.50/month per GB.

Source
MotherDuck: How is usage metered?

Compute instances (Pulse, Standard, Jumbo, Mega, Giga) are billed per second at hourly rates from $0.60 to $24.00/hour, storage is $0.04/GB-month, and AI Functions cost $1.00 per AI Unit.

Source
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