Appwrite — Open-source backend platform (BSD-3-Clause) with auth, databases, storage, and functions, free to self-host or from $25/month on Appwrite Cloud.
By Noahlast updated pricing verified
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Appwrite in 20 seconds
Best for: developer teams wanting a self-hostable, Firebase-style backend without vendor lock-in
Pricing: Free to self-host; Appwrite Cloud free tier available, Pro plan from $25/month, Enterprise custom-quoted.
- Appwrite is open source under the BSD-3-Clause license and has 57.1K GitHub stars.
- Self-hosting is free; Appwrite Cloud's Pro tier starts at $25/month with 150GB storage and 3.5M monthly executions.
- The free Appwrite Cloud tier includes 2GB storage and 75K monthly active users but pauses projects after 1 week of inactivity.
- Appwrite bundles authentication, databases, storage, serverless functions, messaging, and realtime APIs in one platform.
- SDKs cover React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, iOS, Android, Flutter, React Native, and multiple server-side languages.
Limitations: Free Cloud tier pauses inactive projects after a week and offers only community support.; Self-hosting shifts update, scaling, and backup responsibility onto the team.; Initial setup can be more complex than expected for a quick MVP.
Top alternatives: Supabase, Firebase, PocketBase, Nhost, AWS Amplify — full list
What is Appwrite?
Appwrite is an open-source backend platform bundling the services most apps need — authentication, a database, file storage, serverless functions, messaging, and realtime subscriptions — behind a unified API, positioned as a self-hostable alternative to Firebase or Supabase. Developers can run it themselves via Docker on any Linux server at no cost, or use Appwrite Cloud for managed hosting. The project is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and has accumulated 57.1K stars on GitHub. SDKs cover most major frontend frameworks (React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, Astro, Angular, Nuxt) and mobile platforms (iOS, Android, Flutter, React Native), plus server-side SDKs for Node.js, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, Rust, and Kotlin. Appwrite Cloud's free tier includes 5GB bandwidth, 2GB storage, 750K monthly function executions, and 75K monthly active users, but projects pause after a week of inactivity and support is community-only; the Pro tier at $25/month removes most of those caps and adds email support with daily backups.
Appwrite is an open-source backend-as-a-service platform providing authentication, databases, file storage, serverless functions, messaging, and realtime APIs for web, mobile, and Flutter developers who want a Firebase-style backend they can self-host. The code is BSD-3-Clause licensed and self-hosting is free; Appwrite Cloud, the managed hosting option, has a free tier (2GB storage, 750K monthly executions, community support) and a Pro tier starting at $25/month with 150GB storage and 3.5M monthly executions, plus a custom-quote Enterprise tier with SLAs and compliance certifications. Appwrite has 57.1K GitHub stars and supports SDKs across React, Next.js, Vue, Svelte, iOS, Android, Flutter, and more.
Standout feature: Fully self-hostable under a permissive BSD-3-Clause license, so teams can run the entire backend on their own infrastructure at no licensing cost instead of being locked into Appwrite's hosted cloud.
Biggest weakness: The free Appwrite Cloud tier pauses projects after a week of inactivity and offers only community support, and self-hosting shifts the operational burden (updates, scaling, backups) onto the team instead of a managed vendor, which is a real cost some reviewers note as a steeper setup than a pure SaaS backend.
Pros
- Fully open source (BSD-3-Clause) and self-hostable for free, avoiding vendor lock-in on a core backend.
- Single platform covers auth, database, storage, functions, and messaging instead of stitching together separate services.
- Broad SDK coverage across major frontend frameworks and mobile platforms including Flutter.
- Free Appwrite Cloud tier is usable for real projects, not just a sandbox, with 75K monthly active users included.
Cons
- Free Cloud tier projects pause after a week of inactivity and get community-only support.
- Self-hosting requires managing updates, scaling, and backups yourself, shifting operational work onto the team.
- Reviewers note initial setup can be more complex than newcomers expect for a 'quick MVP' backend.
- Enterprise features (SSO, compliance certifications, SLAs) require a custom-quote plan rather than being available at a fixed price.
Appwrite pricing
Free tier · paid from $25/mo · verified from the vendor's pricing page
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 5GB bandwidth, 2GB storage, 750K monthly executions, 75K monthly active users, community support only; limited to 2 projects, which pause after 1 week of inactivity. |
| Pro | $25/mo | 2TB bandwidth, 150GB storage, 3.5M monthly executions, 200K monthly active users, email support with daily backups (7-day retention), unlimited databases/buckets/functions. |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom quote; uptime SLAs, 24/7 support, dedicated success manager, SOC-2/HIPAA/BAA compliance, SSO. |
What reviewers say
No third-party review scores on file yet.