Is Hasura or Prisma better?

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

Which is cheaper, Hasura or Prisma?

Hasura starts at Free and Prisma at Free.

Does Hasura or Prisma run on more platforms?

Hasura runs on Web. Prisma runs on Node.js, TypeScript.

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 Prisma is typically brought in for.

What can Hasura do that Prisma cannot?

Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL. Prisma covers ORM, Query builder, Auto-migrations, Node.js. Both handle REST APIs.

APIs · head to head

Hasura vs Prisma

Hasura

APIs

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

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Prisma

APIs

Modern ORM and API client for Node.js and TypeScript

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; Prisma prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage
They diverge on capability: Hasura covers GraphQL API, Prisma covers ORM.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hasura and Prisma actually diverge.

Attributes where Hasura and Prisma differ
Attribute	Hasura	Prisma
Pricing model	freemium	usage-based
Platforms	Web	Node.js, TypeScript
Founded	2017	2016

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

GraphQL API
Real-time subscriptions
Access control
PostgreSQL
MySQL
Webhooks
Cloud support
Self-hosted support

Only in Prisma

ORM
Query builder
Auto-migrations
Node.js
TypeScript
GraphQL
Node.js support
TypeScript support

Both cover

REST APIs

What people use each for

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

Hasura

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

Prisma

Using a type safe ORM and query layer against a Postgres databasenot Hasura
Adding a managed connection pool and edge cache in front of an existing databasenot 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

Prisma

Prisma Postgres is billed per operation, with the free tier at 100,000 operations and 500 MB of storage
Starter at $10 a month includes 1M operations then charges $0.0080 per 1,000
Storage overage runs from $2.00 per GB on Starter down to $1.00 per GB on Business, so the unit cost depends on the plan
Accelerate charges separately per operation and per GiB of query egress beyond the first 1 KiB
Cache tag invalidations are not included below the Pro plan and are billed per thousand above it

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

Prisma

Free

FreeFree
- 1M requests/month
- 360 GB-hours memory
- 4 vCPU-hours
Starter$10/month
- 5M requests/month
- 1M database operations ($8 per million overage)
- 10 GB storage ($2/GB overage)
Pro$49/month
- 20M requests/month
- 10M operations ($2 per million overage)
- 50 GB storage ($1.50/GB overage)
Business$129/month
- 100M requests/month
- 50M operations ($1 per million overage)
- 100 GB storage

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 Prisma if

You need orm.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Node.js, TypeScript.
You also want query builder.

Prisma review

Questions people ask

Is Hasura or Prisma better?: Neither clearly leads. Hasura starts at Free and Prisma at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hasura or Prisma?: Hasura starts at Free and Prisma at Free.
Does Hasura or Prisma run on more platforms?: Hasura runs on Web. Prisma runs on Node.js, TypeScript.
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 Prisma is typically brought in for.
What can Hasura do that Prisma cannot?: Hasura covers GraphQL API, Real-time subscriptions, Access control, PostgreSQL. Prisma covers ORM, Query builder, Auto-migrations, Node.js. Both handle REST APIs.

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

Prisma: How much does Prisma cost?

Prisma is free to start with 1M requests/month. The Starter plan costs $10/month with 5M requests, the Pro plan $49/month with 20M requests, and the Business plan $129/month with 100M requests. All plans have usage-based overages.

Source

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

Prisma: What is Prisma's overage pricing?

Prisma charges $1 per million requests over the included amount (Starter), $2 per million database operations overage (Pro and Starter), and $1.50-$2 per GB for storage overages depending on the plan. All plans include a hard spend limit on by default.

Source

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

Prisma: Does Prisma include data transfer costs?

No, Prisma includes unlimited data transfer with no egress fees on all plans. Prisma ORM remains free across all tiers.

Source

Hasura vs Prisma

Hasura

Prisma

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Hasura

Only in Prisma

Both cover

What people use each for

Hasura

Prisma

Where each one falls short

Hasura

Prisma

Pricing, plan by plan

Hasura

Prisma

Which should you pick?

Choose Hasura if

Choose Prisma if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Hasura

More on Prisma

Keep looking

Other head to heads