Pocketbase
PocketBase is an open source backend that ships as a single executable file, combining an embedded SQLite database, authentication, file storage, realtime subscriptions and an admin dashboard. It's written in Go, released under the MIT license, and is self-hosted only, with no official managed cloud offering. Developers run the binary on their own server or extend it with Go or JavaScript.
Facts checked on against the sources listed at the end of this page.
- Pricing
- Open sourceFree plan: Yes, PocketBase is free and self-hosted; there is no paid managed version
- Open source
- YesMIT
- GitHub stars
- 61,305
- npm downloads a week
- 286kup 8% on the week before
- Latest release
- v0.40.43 weeks ago
- Releases in 90 days
- 5about 2 a month
A good fit for
- Small to medium apps that want a full backend without managing separate database, auth and storage services
- Self-hosters and indie developers who want low infrastructure cost on a single small server
- Prototypes and side projects that need auth, a database and file storage quickly
- Teams comfortable running and backing up their own infrastructure
Not a good fit for
- Teams that want a managed cloud service with no server to operate, since PocketBase has no official hosted plan
- Applications that need to scale writes across multiple servers, since SQLite is a single-file, single-writer database
- Large teams needing built-in multi-region replication or horizontal scaling out of the box
Pocketbase pricing
PocketBase itself is free and open source under the MIT license. There's no official paid or managed plan; costs come only from whatever server or hosting you run it on.
Prices in USD, checked on 27 September 2026. Current prices on pocketbase.io.
Main features
- Single-file backend
- One executable includes the database, API server, auth and admin dashboard, no separate services to install.
- Embedded SQLite
- Uses SQLite as the database, stored as a local file alongside the application.
- Authentication
- Email/password and OAuth2 logins with providers like Google and GitHub.
- File storage
- Attach files to records, stored locally or in S3-compatible storage.
- Realtime subscriptions
- Subscribe to record changes over a realtime API for live-updating clients.
- Admin dashboard
- Built-in web UI for managing collections, records, users and settings without writing code.
- Extendable in Go or JavaScript
- Import PocketBase as a Go framework, or add custom logic with JavaScript hooks, without forking the codebase.
About Pocketbase
PocketBase packages a backend into one small, dependency-free executable: it embeds SQLite as its database, along with authentication, file storage, a REST and realtime API, and a built-in admin dashboard for managing records and settings.
It's written in Go and can be extended in two ways: as a Go framework imported into a custom application, or via JavaScript hooks for teams that don't want to write Go. Client SDKs are available for JavaScript and Dart, covering web, mobile and desktop apps.
PocketBase has no official hosted cloud version, so teams deploy the binary themselves, typically on a small VM or container, which keeps hosting costs low but puts backups, scaling and uptime on the operator rather than a managed provider.
- Made by
- PocketBase (open source project)
- Free plan
- Yes, PocketBase is free and self-hosted; there is no paid managed version
- Available on
- Self-hosted (single binary), Go, JavaScript SDK, REST API
Usage and activity
Weekly npm downloads of pocketbase, last 12 months.
Recent releases
Pocketbase alternatives
Pocketbase compared
PocketbasevsSupabase
PocketBase is a free, open source backend that ships as a single executable file with an embedded SQLite database, meant to be self-hosted with no official managed cloud.
PocketbasevsAppwrite
Appwrite is an open source backend bundling a database, auth, storage, functions, realtime and messaging into one self-hostable system, also available as Appwrite Cloud.
PocketbasevsFirebase
Firebase is Google's fully managed backend-as-a-service platform, combining a NoSQL database (Firestore or Realtime Database) with authentication, hosting, serverless functions and analytics, billed on a free-then-usage-based model.
PocketbasevsNeon
Neon is a fully managed, serverless Postgres database platform that scales compute to zero when idle and offers instant copy-on-write branching for development or testing.
Questions about Pocketbase
Is PocketBase free?
Yes, PocketBase is fully open source under the MIT license, and there's no paid version. You only pay for whatever server you host it on.
Does PocketBase have a hosted cloud version?
No, there's no official managed PocketBase cloud. It's designed to be self-hosted as a single binary on your own server.
What database does PocketBase use?
It embeds SQLite, storing data as a local file alongside the application binary.
Can I extend PocketBase with custom code?
Yes, either by importing it as a Go framework into your own application, or by writing JavaScript hooks without touching Go code.
Sources and links
Work on Pocketbase? Claim this listing. Something wrong or out of date? Suggest a correction. Stats come from the public GitHub and npm APIs and update every day.