Prisma Postgres vs ScaleGrid
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Prisma Postgres and ScaleGrid built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Prisma Postgres if…
Prisma ORM users who want the database and the client from one vendor, with a pooled connection limit stated per plan rather than left to be discovered.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose ScaleGrid if…
Teams that already have a favored database engine and cloud provider but want someone else operating it — the BYOC model bills infrastructure at cost and adds management on top, worth it if the operational burden is the actual problem.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Prisma Postgres: Four separate meters — requests, memory, vCPU and bandwidth — sit on top of the plan fee, so the monthly number is a floor rather than a bill.
- ScaleGrid: The workload fits a single-engine specialist with its own scale-to-zero or branching model — ScaleGrid's value is operating an engine you already chose, not offering a distinctive one.
5 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Prisma Postgres 0
ScaleGrid 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Prisma Postgres | ScaleGrid |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Pricing model | A plan fee plus usage: requests, memory GB-hours, active vCPU-hours and outbound bandwidth are each metered — $1 per million requests beyond the allowance, $0.006 per GB-hour, $0.064 per vCPU-hour, $0.025 per GB out. | Two models: Dedicated Hosting, an all-inclusive plan covering machine, disk and network cost; or Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC), management-only pricing where the cloud provider is billed separately. |
| Startup credit program | Prisma for Startups: database bill covered up to $10,000 for one year, plus 1:1 guidance. Venture-funded track requires pre-seed/seed/Series-A funding raised in the last 12 months and founded in the last 5 years; bootstrapped track requires ≥5k MRR for 6 months and 2 full-time team members. | Startup Saver: up to 50% discount on ScaleGrid hosting for 12 months. |
| Data | ||
| Engine | PostgreSQL. | MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, RabbitMQ and SQL Server. |
| Backup retention | Daily backups with 7-day retention on Starter and Pro, 30 days on Business. The free plan has none. | Up to five backups per deployment on ScaleGrid's dedicated hosting plans. |
Where they differ.
Free tier
- Prisma Postgres
- Yes
- ScaleGrid
- No
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — Prisma ↗
“Free $0 / month Free forever. No credit card required. Prisma Compute 1M requests / month 360 GB-hours memory / month 4 active vCPU-hours / month [...] 500 MB storage 50 databases”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- ScaleGrid Pricing ↗
“Experience ScaleGrid for 7 days, no credit card required. [A time-limited trial, not an ongoing free plan.]”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Prisma Postgres
- A plan fee plus usage: requests, memory GB-hours, active vCPU-hours and outbound bandwidth are each metered — $1 per million requests beyond the allowance, $0.006 per GB-hour, $0.064 per vCPU-hour, $0.025 per GB out.
- ScaleGrid
- Two models: Dedicated Hosting, an all-inclusive plan covering machine, disk and network cost; or Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC), management-only pricing where the cloud provider is billed separately.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — Prisma ↗
“5M requests / month, then $1 per million $0.006 per GB-hour memory $0.064 per active vCPU-hours $0.025 per GB outbound bandwidth”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- ScaleGrid Pricing ↗
“Dedicated Hosting: All-inclusive plans covering machine, disk, and network costs. Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC): Management-only pricing; you pay cloud provider separately.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Startup credit program
- Prisma Postgres
- Prisma for Startups: database bill covered up to $10,000 for one year, plus 1:1 guidance. Venture-funded track requires pre-seed/seed/Series-A funding raised in the last 12 months and founded in the last 5 years; bootstrapped track requires ≥5k MRR for 6 months and 2 full-time team members.
- ScaleGrid
- Startup Saver: up to 50% discount on ScaleGrid hosting for 12 months.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Prisma for Startups ↗
“Get exclusive 1:1 guidance from Prisma’s database experts, and have your database bill covered for a year, up to $10,000. [...] Raised venture funding in the last 12 months. Founded in the last 5 years.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official site
- ScaleGrid Pricing ↗
“Startup Saver provides up to 50% discount over 12 months.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Engine
- Prisma Postgres
- PostgreSQL.
- ScaleGrid
- MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, RabbitMQ and SQL Server.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — Prisma ↗
“Prisma Postgres [...] Managed connection pool Connection limit (pooled)”
Read 2026-09-06 · official site
- ScaleGrid Pricing ↗
“MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, RabbitMQ, SQL Server.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Backup retention
- Prisma Postgres
- Daily backups with 7-day retention on Starter and Pro, 30 days on Business. The free plan has none.
- ScaleGrid
- Up to five backups per deployment on ScaleGrid's dedicated hosting plans.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — Prisma ↗
“Backups Free — Starter Daily, 7-day retention Pro Daily, 7-day retention Business Daily, 30-day retention”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- ScaleGrid Pricing ↗
“ScaleGrid offers up to five backups per deployment on ScaleGrid's dedicated hosting plans.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Free tier: Prisma Postgres or ScaleGrid?
Prisma Postgres: Yes
ScaleGrid: No
Should I choose Prisma Postgres or ScaleGrid?
Pick Prisma Postgres if Prisma ORM users who want the database and the client from one vendor, with a pooled connection limit stated per plan rather than left to be discovered.
Pick ScaleGrid if Teams that already have a favored database engine and cloud provider but want someone else operating it — the BYOC model bills infrastructure at cost and adds management on top, worth it if the operational burden is the actual problem.