Best / Databases
Best open-source Databases
The best self-hosted database split in the c17.io catalog is PostgreSQL plus CloudNativePG for HA Postgres (the published Neon stack), Vitess or TiDB for MySQL-compatible clustering (PlanetScale), Valkey or Garnet for a Redis-compatible cache (Upstash / Redis Cloud), and Supabase or PocketBase when the job is a BaaS around the database. Hosted Postgres prices stay on /compare/managed-postgres. Redis itself is not OSI — Valkey is the BSD-3-Clause path.
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Ranked picks
1
PostgreSQLPostgreSQL License engine — the database Neon hosts. Official GitHub is a mirror.
When to pick it: A Postgres you run instead of serverless Postgres.
22,468 stars in the catalog
2
CloudNativePGApache-2.0 Kubernetes operator for HA PostgreSQL — the published Neon cluster path.
When to pick it: HA Postgres on a cluster you already run.
9,469 stars in the catalog
3
ValkeyBSD-3-Clause Redis-compatible datastore — the c17 Upstash/Redis Cloud path.
When to pick it: A cache after Redis relicensed.
27,465 stars in the catalog
4
VitessApache-2.0 MySQL clustering — the PlanetScale lineage you can run.
When to pick it: Sharded MySQL, not Postgres.
21,387 stars in the catalog
5
GarnetMIT Redis-compatible cache-store from Microsoft Research.
When to pick it: The other OSI cache if Valkey is not the shape.
12,055 stars in the catalog
6
TiDBApache-2.0 MySQL-compatible distributed SQL named next to Vitess.
When to pick it: Distributed SQL that speaks MySQL.
40,654 stars in the catalog
7
SupabaseApache-2.0 Postgres/BaaS. Self-host is several services — /compare/supabase-vs-pocketbase.
When to pick it: Postgres plus auth and APIs, not just a database.
111,734 stars in the catalog
How they compare
| Tool | License | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL License | Medium | A Postgres you run instead of serverless Postgres. |
| CloudNativePG | Apache License 2.0 | Medium | HA Postgres on a cluster you already run. |
| Valkey | BSD-3-Clause | Easy | A cache after Redis relicensed. |
| Vitess | Apache License 2.0 | Medium | Sharded MySQL, not Postgres. |
| Garnet | MIT License | Easy | The other OSI cache if Valkey is not the shape. |
| TiDB | Apache License 2.0 | Medium | Distributed SQL that speaks MySQL. |
| Supabase | Apache License 2.0 | Medium | Postgres plus auth and APIs, not just a database. |
Related pages
- CloudNativePG / PostgreSQL stack
- Vitess / TiDB stack
- Valkey / Garnet stack
- Go + PocketBase + HTMX stack
- Replace Neon
- Replace PlanetScale
- Replace Upstash
- Replace Redis Cloud
- Replace Firebase
- Replace Supabase
- Replace Vercel
- Replace Netlify
- Valkey vs Garnet
- All best open-source pages
- All compare pages
- All replace pages
- All stacks
- Tools catalog
FAQ
- Neon or PlanetScale?
- Neon is Postgres — /replace/neon. PlanetScale is MySQL — /replace/planetscale. Pick the engine you already use.
- Why not Redis?
- Redis community code is RSALv2/SSPL. Valkey is BSD-3-Clause. Dragonfly is BSL 1.1 and is not ranked.
- Are these free?
- Licenses as listed (PostgreSQL License, Apache-2.0, BSD-3-Clause, MIT). You pay disk and hosting. Template users never pay c17.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/cloudnativepg-postgres for Postgres, /stacks/vitess-mysql for MySQL clustering, or /stacks/valkey-cache for a cache. Hosted SKUs stay on /compare/managed-postgres.
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