Is PGCat worth the price?
PGCat's pricing is extremely generous, as it offers a fully functional, open-source solution completely free of charge.
There are no paid tiers, making it an exceptional value proposition. This is best for organizations and developers who prioritize cost-effectiveness and open-source flexibility.
Pricing Plans
Open Source
Free
- Full source code access
- MIT License license
- Community support
- Self-hosted
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Requires internal infrastructure for hosting
No official vendor support included
Time investment for setup and maintenance
Which Plan Do You Need?
Cost-conscious developers and startups
Organizations needing full control
Users comfortable with self-hosting
How PGCat Compares to Competitors
Compared to commercial PostgreSQL proxy solutions like PgBouncer (also open-source) or enterprise-grade options, PGCat stands out by offering advanced features like sharding and failover without any licensing cost. While PgBouncer is free, it lacks PGCat's sharding capabilities. Enterprise alternatives often start at hundreds or thousands of dollars monthly, making PGCat a significantly more affordable choice.
PGCat Pricing FAQ
How much does PGCat cost?
PGCat is free to use. No subscription or one-time fee is required for the core product.
Does PGCat have a free plan?
Yes. PGCat offers a free plan called "Open Source". It includes: Full source code access, MIT License license, Community support.
Is there a cheaper alternative to PGCat?
Yes. Popular alternatives to PGCat include Supavisor, Crunchy Data, Neon MCP Server, Supabase. Free alternatives include Supavisor, Neon MCP Server, Supabase. Compare them side-by-side on Toolradar.
Cheaper alternatives to PGCat
3 of 4 direct competitors below offer a free plan. Per-seat pricing varies up to 60% across this set.
