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Cloud · head to head

Portworx vs You.com

Portworx logo

Portworx

Cloud

Kubernetes-native storage and data services, priced by the node hour

From
$0.33/node hour
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
You.com logo

You.com

AI

Web search and data extraction APIs built for AI agents and LLMs

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only You.com has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Portworx bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.; You.com pricing tiers beyond the pay-as-you-go table are not published and require contacting sales for volume discounts.
  • They diverge on capability: Portworx covers Container-native volumes, You.com covers Web Search API.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Portworx and You.com actually diverge.

Attributes where Portworx and You.com differ
AttributePortworxYou.com
Starting price$0.33/node hourFree
Pricing modelPer node hourusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinuxweb, api
CategoryCloudAI

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 Portworx

  • Container-native volumes
  • Failure domain placement
  • Volume encryption
  • Database automation
  • Disaster recovery
  • Autopilot capacity management
  • Hardware independence

Only in You.com

  • Web Search API
  • Contents API
  • Answer API
  • Research API
  • Zero data retention
  • SOC 2 certification

What people use each for

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

Portworx

  • Running a production PostgreSQL or Cassandra cluster on Kubernetes and needing the data to survive node lossnot You.com
  • A platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal Kubernetes platformnot You.com
  • Failing over stateful applications between clusters in different regions as a disaster recovery positionnot You.com
  • An OpenShift estate where the built-in storage option does not meet the availability requirement for stateful setsnot You.com

You.com

  • Grounding LLM chatbots with live web datanot Portworx
  • Building AI research agentsnot Portworx
  • Adding cited web answers to productsnot Portworx
  • Financial research automationnot Portworx

Where each one falls short

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

Portworx

  • Bare metal nodes are charged at 1.11 USD per node hour against 0.33 for virtual nodes, so a bare metal cluster costs more than three times a virtualised one for identical capability.
  • A 1,000 node hour monthly minimum applies, which means small or intermittent clusters pay for capacity they do not consume.
  • Replicating volumes across nodes consumes real capacity and network bandwidth, so the underlying infrastructure cost rises alongside the licence in a way the node hour rate does not show.
  • Pure Storage ownership means roadmap priorities are set by an array vendor, and buyers should confirm that hardware independence remains contractual rather than assumed.
  • Operating it well requires Kubernetes storage expertise, and teams that adopted Kubernetes to simplify operations often find they have added a distributed storage system to run.

You.com

  • Pricing tiers beyond the pay-as-you-go table are not published and require contacting sales for volume discounts.
  • Finance Research API is priced significantly higher than the other endpoints, at $110 per 1,000 calls.
  • No self-serve dashboard details are published for managing enterprise zero-retention settings.

Pricing, plan by plan

Portworx

$0.33/node hour
  • Portworx Enterprise on virtual machine nodes$0.33/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Replicated persistent volumes
    • Encryption and disaster recovery
  • Portworx Enterprise on bare metal nodes$1.11/node hour
    • Minimum 1,000 node hours per month
    • Same capabilities on bare metal clusters
    • Higher rate reflects node density

You.com

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100 Web Search API queries/day
    • $100 free credit
  • Pay-as-you-go$undefined/mo
    • Web Search API $5 per 1,000 calls
    • Contents API $1 per 1,000 pages
    • Answer API $5 per 1,000 calls

Which should you pick?

Choose Portworx if

  • You need container-native volumes.
  • You work on Linux.
  • You also want failure domain placement.
Portworx review

Choose You.com if

  • You need web search api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want contents api.
You.com review

Questions people ask

Is Portworx or You.com better?
Neither clearly leads. Portworx starts at $0.33/node hour and You.com at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Portworx or You.com?
You.com has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.33/node hour for Portworx and Free for You.com.
Does Portworx or You.com run on more platforms?
Portworx runs on Linux. You.com runs on web, api.
Can I use You.com for free?
Yes. You.com has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Portworx starts at $0.33/node hour.
What is Portworx best used for?
Portworx is most often used for running a production postgresql or cassandra cluster on kubernetes and needing the data to survive node loss, a platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal kubernetes platform, failing over stateful applications between clusters in different regions as a disaster recovery position, an openshift estate where the built-in storage option does not meet the availability requirement for stateful sets. Of those, running a production postgresql or cassandra cluster on kubernetes and needing the data to survive node loss and a platform team offering self-service databases to developers on an internal kubernetes platform are not what You.com is typically brought in for.
What can Portworx do that You.com cannot?
Portworx covers Container-native volumes, Failure domain placement, Volume encryption, Database automation. You.com covers Web Search API, Contents API, Answer API, Research API.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Portworx: Is Portworx tied to Pure Storage hardware?

No. It runs on any Kubernetes distribution over any underlying storage, though Pure has owned it since 2020 and sets the roadmap.

You.com: Does You.com offer a free tier?

Yes, the Free plan includes 100 Web Search API queries per day plus $100 in free credit to try the other APIs before paying.

Source
Portworx: What does a real cluster cost?

At 0.33 USD per virtual node hour, twenty nodes running continuously is roughly 4,800 USD a month. Bare metal at 1.11 USD per node hour is around 16,000 USD for the same node count.

You.com: How is usage billed on paid plans?

Pay-as-you-go pricing charges per 1,000 calls: $5 for Web Search, $1 for Contents, $5 for Answer, $12 for Research, and $110 for Finance Research.

Source
Portworx: Is backup included?

No. Portworx Backup is a separately priced product covering Kubernetes application backup.

You.com: Are there volume discounts?

Yes, You.com offers lower per-call rates as usage scales, plus optional annual commitment plans for deeper discounts and predictable costs.

Source
You.com: Is there a minimum spend to use the APIs?

No, the pay-as-you-go model has no minimums, so developers are billed only for the calls they actually make beyond the free credit.

Source
You.com: What enterprise security options are available?

You.com offers SOC 2 certified infrastructure, zero data retention options, and Data Processing Agreements with custom QPS limits for enterprise customers.

Source
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