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APIs · head to head

PocketBase vs Skyflow

PocketBase logo

PocketBase

APIs

Open-source backend with REST API, real-time subscriptions and Admin UI

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skyflow logo

Skyflow

APIs

Data privacy vault that holds sensitive records outside your own systems

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only PocketBase has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PocketBase requires technical expertise to deploy and maintain; Skyflow reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • They diverge on capability: PocketBase covers REST API, Skyflow covers Tokenised storage.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PocketBase and Skyflow actually diverge.

Attributes where PocketBase and Skyflow differ
AttributePocketBaseSkyflow
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSDAPI, Web, Self-hosted
Founded2021Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (APIs).

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 PocketBase

  • REST API
  • Real-time subscriptions
  • Admin UI
  • SQLite
  • Webhooks
  • File storage
  • Go support
  • Docker support

Only in Skyflow

  • Tokenised storage
  • Polymorphic encryption
  • Field level access policies
  • Data residency
  • Secure functions
  • PCI scope reduction
  • Detokenisation gateway
  • Audit trail

What people use each for

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

PocketBase

  • Embedded realtime database with REST APInot Skyflow
  • Backend-as-a-service for single-file deploymentsnot Skyflow
  • Rapid application development with email/OAuth2 authenticationnot Skyflow
  • File storage and media attachment managementnot Skyflow
  • Lightweight alternative to Firebase or traditional backend infrastructurenot Skyflow
  • Go and JavaScript customisable application frameworknot Skyflow

Skyflow

  • A fintech that wants card and bank account data out of its own infrastructure so its application servers leave PCI DSS assessment scopenot PocketBase
  • A company entering India or the EU with data localisation obligations that would otherwise require standing up regional databases and operationsnot PocketBase
  • A health technology business that needs protected health information isolated from the analytics stack while still supporting aggregate reportingnot PocketBase
  • An engineering team that wants support agents to see masked identifiers and payment services to see real ones, enforced centrally rather than in every servicenot PocketBase

Where each one falls short

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

PocketBase

  • Requires technical expertise to deploy and maintain
  • No built-in hosting provided
  • Community support only

Skyflow

  • Reported contracts near 195,000 US dollars a year with a platform fee before usage put this out of reach of early stage companies, which are precisely the ones whose architecture is still cheap to change.
  • Every read of a protected field becomes a network call to a third party, so latency and an external availability dependency enter paths that were previously local database reads, and outage planning has to account for a vendor you do not control.
  • Analytics and joins on vaulted data are constrained; work that was a simple SQL join now happens through secure functions or on tokens, and data teams routinely discover this after the engineering team has committed.
  • Unwinding the vault later is a rewrite rather than a migration because tokens are threaded through every service, so the switching cost climbs steadily and the negotiating position at renewal weakens with each release.
  • Scope reduction is an architectural claim your own assessor must accept, so the audit saving is real only if the implementation genuinely keeps sensitive values off your systems, and partial implementations that leave a cache or a log line in place deliver the cost without the benefit.

Pricing, plan by plan

PocketBase

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PocketBase review.

Skyflow

On request
  • Skyflow Data Privacy Vault$undefined/year
    • Platform fee plus usage by data subject count
    • Priced additionally per data residency region
    • PCI Level 1, SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001 and HIPAA coverage

Which should you pick?

Choose PocketBase if

  • You need rest api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD.
  • You also want real-time subscriptions.
PocketBase review

Choose Skyflow if

  • You need tokenised storage.
  • You work on API, Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want polymorphic encryption.
Skyflow review

Questions people ask

Is PocketBase or Skyflow better?
Neither clearly leads. PocketBase starts at Free and Skyflow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PocketBase or Skyflow?
PocketBase has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for PocketBase and On request for Skyflow.
Does PocketBase or Skyflow run on more platforms?
PocketBase runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD. Skyflow runs on API, Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use PocketBase for free?
Yes. PocketBase has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skyflow starts at On request.
What is PocketBase best used for?
PocketBase is most often used for embedded realtime database with rest api, backend-as-a-service for single-file deployments, rapid application development with email/oauth2 authentication, file storage and media attachment management. Of those, embedded realtime database with rest api and backend-as-a-service for single-file deployments are not what Skyflow is typically brought in for.
What can PocketBase do that Skyflow cannot?
PocketBase covers REST API, Real-time subscriptions, Admin UI, SQLite. Skyflow covers Tokenised storage, Polymorphic encryption, Field level access policies, Data residency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PocketBase: How much does PocketBase cost?

PocketBase is completely free and open-source. It is a self-hosted backend solution with database, authentication, and file storage capabilities at no cost.

Source
Skyflow: Does Skyflow really take my systems out of PCI scope?

It can, if card data never touches your infrastructure and the detokenisation happens at the boundary. Your QSA has to agree the design, so validate the architecture with your assessor before signing.

PocketBase: Is PocketBase open-source?

Yes, PocketBase is open-source software. You can download, modify, and deploy it yourself at no cost with no licensing restrictions.

Source
Skyflow: What does it cost?

Nothing is published. Reported annual contracts sit around 195,000 US dollars, built from a platform fee plus usage by data subject count and additional charges per data residency region.

Skyflow: How does it help with data localisation?

Records can be pinned to a specified region, so an Indian or EU residency requirement is met by the vault rather than by you running regional databases and operations teams.

Skyflow: Can I still run analytics on vaulted data?

Partly. Aggregates and comparisons are supported through polymorphic encryption and secure functions, but arbitrary joins against other datasets are harder than they were, and this is the most common late surprise.

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