Research · head to head
Terra vs Zeabur
Terra
Research
Open biomedical research platform for genomic analysis, priced only by the cloud you consume
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Terra the absence of a licence fee hides the real cost driver: an idle notebook virtual machine left running overnight, or a workspace bucket full of intermediate workflow outputs, quietly consumes grant money with no vendor invoice to prompt a review.; Zeabur free plan limited to single server with 48-hour log retention
- They diverge on capability: Terra covers No platform licence fee, Zeabur covers AI Agent.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Terra and Zeabur actually diverge.
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 Terra
- No platform licence fee
- Cloud pass-through billing
- WDL workflow execution
- Notebook environments
- Controlled-access data
- Workspace sharing
- Compliance posture
- Multi-cloud
Only in Zeabur
- AI Agent
- Managed Servers
- Domain and DNS Management
- Email Service
- AI Hub
- Deploy Templates
- Git Integration
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Terra
- A genomics lab running whole-genome alignment and variant calling pipelines without provisioning or maintaining a local clusternot Zeabur
- A consortium sharing controlled-access human data across institutions where the data cannot be copied to each sitenot Zeabur
- A health system analysing patient genomic data under a HIPAA business associate agreementnot Zeabur
- A federal or federally funded project needing FedRAMP Moderate authorisation for its analysis environmentnot Zeabur
Zeabur
- Deploying full-stack web applications without DevOps expertisenot Terra
- Building AI agent infrastructure with integrated API accessnot Terra
- Managing multi-region deployments with automated scalingnot Terra
- Running containerized services with built-in domain and emailnot Terra
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Terra
- The absence of a licence fee hides the real cost driver: an idle notebook virtual machine left running overnight, or a workspace bucket full of intermediate workflow outputs, quietly consumes grant money with no vendor invoice to prompt a review.
- Cost governance is entirely the customer responsibility, and grant-funded groups without a cloud engineer routinely overspend before anyone reads the Google or Azure bill in enough detail to find the cause.
- It assumes genuine bioinformatics competence: writing or adapting WDL workflows, managing data tables and debugging failed tasks are all on you, so a wet lab without computational staff cannot use it productively.
- Feature parity between the Google Cloud and Azure deployments is not identical, so a decision on cloud provider constrains which capabilities and datasets you can reach and is expensive to reverse later.
- It is a research platform rather than a regulated clinical system: it is not a validated GxP environment and does not carry the qualification package a diagnostic or submission workflow would require, so clinical use needs additional infrastructure and validation you provide yourself.
Zeabur
- Free plan limited to single server with 48-hour log retention
- Small team size may limit support and feature velocity
- Building spec upgrades limited on lower tiers
- Enterprise support not clearly documented
Pricing, plan by plan
Terra
Free- Terra platformFree
- No charge for the platform, administration, security controls or frontline support
- Workspaces, workflow execution and notebook environments included
- Available on Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure
- Cloud consumption$undefined/month
- Google Cloud or Azure charges passed through at cost with no markup
- Running notebook virtual machines around 0.22 USD per hour, roughly 0.027 USD per hour when paused
- Storage billed continuously on workspace buckets and intermediate workflow outputs
Zeabur
Free- FreeFree
- 1 manageable server
- 2C4G build specs
- 48-hour log retention
- Dev$5/month
- 3 manageable servers
- 7-day log retention
- 250 MB file uploads
- Pro$19/month
- 10 manageable servers
- 4C8G build specs
- 30-day log retention
- Team$79/month
- 3 included seats
- Unlimited manageable servers
- 90-day log retention
Which should you pick?
Choose Terra if
- You need no platform licence fee.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure.
- You also want cloud pass-through billing.
Choose Zeabur if
- You need ai agent.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, CLI.
- You also want managed servers.
Questions people ask
- Is Terra or Zeabur better?
- Neither clearly leads. Terra starts at Free and Zeabur at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Terra or Zeabur?
- Terra starts at Free and Zeabur at Free.
- Does Terra or Zeabur run on more platforms?
- Terra runs on Web, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure. Zeabur runs on Web, CLI.
- Can I use Terra for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Terra best used for?
- Terra is most often used for a genomics lab running whole-genome alignment and variant calling pipelines without provisioning or maintaining a local cluster, a consortium sharing controlled-access human data across institutions where the data cannot be copied to each site, a health system analysing patient genomic data under a hipaa business associate agreement, a federal or federally funded project needing fedramp moderate authorisation for its analysis environment. Of those, a genomics lab running whole-genome alignment and variant calling pipelines without provisioning or maintaining a local cluster and a consortium sharing controlled-access human data across institutions where the data cannot be copied to each site are not what Zeabur is typically brought in for.
- What can Terra do that Zeabur cannot?
- Terra covers No platform licence fee, Cloud pass-through billing, WDL workflow execution, Notebook environments. Zeabur covers AI Agent, Managed Servers, Domain and DNS Management, Email Service.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Terra: Is Terra really free?
The platform is. There is no licence fee. Everything you pay is Google Cloud or Azure compute, storage and egress, passed through at cost.
Zeabur: What is included in the free plan?
The free plan includes 1 manageable server, 2C4G build specifications, 48-hour log retention, 50 MB file upload limit, and community support.
SourceTerra: What actually drives the bill?
Running virtual machines and stored data. Pausing notebooks drops a virtual machine from about 0.22 to about 0.027 dollars an hour, and deleting intermediate workflow outputs is the other main saving.
Zeabur: How do additional seats work on the Team plan?
The Team plan includes 3 seats with additional seats available at $24 per seat per month.
SourceTerra: Can I use it with protected health information?
Yes. Terra signs HIPAA business associate agreements and GDPR data processing agreements, and the Azure deployment holds FedRAMP Moderate authorisation.
Zeabur: Is there a free trial period?
The Dev and Pro plans include 14 days free before billing begins.
SourceTerra: Is it validated for clinical or GxP use?
No. It is a research platform. Regulated clinical or submission workflows need validation and controls you build yourself.
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