Appwrite Review
Open-source backend platform with auth, databases, storage, and functions, self-hosted or on Appwrite Cloud
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Looking for a Appwrite alternative? See our ranked comparison.→What is Appwrite?
Appwrite bundles the backend pieces you'd otherwise wire together yourself: auth (including MFA and OAuth), a document database, file storage, serverless functions, realtime subscriptions, and messaging. You can self-host it for free since the core is open source, or run it on Appwrite Cloud and pay for usage above the free allowance.
It started as a Firebase alternative and has since added a hosting product called Sites, pitched as an open-source Vercel alternative. The free Cloud plan caps you at 2 projects with shared resources, and Pro moves you to dedicated per-project resources for $25 a month plus metered overages on whichever resource you exceed first, bandwidth, storage, function executions, database reads and writes, active users, or realtime connections.
Appwrite screenshots
Who it's for
- ✓ Developers who want auth, database, storage, and functions from one vendor instead of stitching together separate services
- ✓ Teams that want the option to self-host for free and move to a paid cloud plan later without changing SDKs
- ✓ Projects already comfortable with a document-style database rather than SQL
Who should look elsewhere
- ✗ Teams that need a relational/SQL database as the primary data model
- ✗ Projects with unpredictable usage spikes that want a single flat price instead of per-resource overage billing
Pros
- + Free and open source to self-host, so you're never locked into the hosted price
- + Pricing page lists real numbers for Free and Pro, not just "contact sales"
- + One dedicated resource bundle per project on Pro instead of shared infrastructure
- + Covers auth, database, storage, functions, messaging, and realtime under one SDK set
Cons
- – Pro's $25 base only includes a bundle of usage; every resource type (bandwidth, storage, executions, reads/writes, users, realtime) has its own separate overage rate, so a busy app can rack up several add-on charges at once
- – Free plan caps you at 2 projects and auto-pauses a project after a week of inactivity
- – Enterprise pricing (SSO, SLAs, compliance certifications) is quote-only, so teams that need those controls can't compare cost upfront
Appwrite pricing
At about $25/month to start, it is one of the cheaper options in Backend as a Service.
| Plan | Price | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 2 projects with shared resources · 5GB bandwidth/month, 2GB storage · 750K function executions/month · 500K database reads, 250K writes/month · 75K monthly active users · 1 database, 1 bucket, 2 functions per project · Auto-pauses after a week of inactivity |
| Pro | $25/mo | Per project, dedicated resources · 2TB bandwidth, 150GB storage included · 3.5M function executions, 1,000 GB-hours compute · 1.75M database reads, 750K writes/month · 200K monthly active users · Unlimited databases, buckets, and functions · Daily backups (7-day retention), email support |
| Enterprise | Custom | Uptime SLAs, dedicated success manager, 24/7 support option · SSO, custom org roles, activity logs · SOC 2, HIPAA, and BAA compliance · Bring-your-own-cloud option · Volume discounts, private Slack channel |
Appwrite Cloud publishes real prices, so this isn't quote-only below Enterprise. Pro is $25/month per project and covers a bundle of usage; going over any single limit (bandwidth, storage, executions, database reads/writes, users, realtime connections, image transforms) bills as a separate overage line, for example $15 per extra 100GB bandwidth, $2 per extra 1M executions, $3 per extra 1,000 monthly active users. Enterprise is quote-only. Appwrite itself is open source and free to self-host; the numbers above are for the managed Cloud product.
Pricing verified July 22, 2026 · source
How Appwrite's pricing compares
Appwrite next to its closest alternatives on entry price, billing, and whether pricing is public.
| Tool | Starting price | Billing | Free option | Pricing disclosed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appwrite | $25/mo | usage-based | Yes | Partly public |
| Supabase | $25/mo | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| Firebase | Free tier + custom | usage-based | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Nhost | $25/mo | tiered | Yes | Partly public |
| Convex | $25/seat/mo | usage-based | Yes | Partly public |
| PocketBase | Free tier + custom | free | Yes | Not disclosed |
Is Appwrite still actively developed?
Last significant update: July 2026. Appwrite shipped a Projects API that lets you configure a project (auth methods, OAuth providers, SMTP, and other settings) through the Server SDKs and CLI instead of the console. Separately, the self-hosted server hit version 1.9.6, which auto-repairs missing Functions/Sites metadata when upgrading from 1.9.5 and waits for a writable MongoDB replica-set primary before marking the service healthy.
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Appwrite FAQ
Is Appwrite free?+
Appwrite the software is open source and free to self-host. On Appwrite Cloud, the Free plan covers 2 projects with 5GB bandwidth, 2GB storage, 750K function executions, and 75K monthly active users, all shared resources rather than dedicated ones.
How much does Appwrite Pro cost?+
Pro is $25 per month per project and gives you dedicated resources plus a larger usage bundle (2TB bandwidth, 150GB storage, 3.5M executions, 200K monthly active users). Usage past those limits bills separately, for example $15 per extra 100GB of bandwidth or $3 per extra 1,000 monthly active users.
Can I self-host Appwrite instead of using the cloud?+
Yes. Appwrite's core server is open source, so you can run it on your own infrastructure at no license cost. Appwrite Cloud is the managed version with the pricing above.