Metabase on Render
Render publishes its own guide for deploying Metabase.
Open-source business intelligence server running on the JVM, keeping its own application database separate from the databases it queries.
What Metabase needs.
Every host claims to run Metabase, so the claim on its own decides nothing. These are the things Metabase actually requires from the platform underneath it, and what Render publishes about each. Render documents 4 of the 4.
Managed databases
Supported
Metabase stores its own questions, dashboards and users in an application database, separate from whatever it queries. The bundled H2 default is not for production, so a managed Postgres is the first thing an install needs.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Render Postgres ↗
“Deploy fully managed, enterprise-grade databases that scale to any workload.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Memory (entry plan)
512 MB RAM (with 0.5 CPU) on the `0.5c-512mb` instance type, the cheapest paid web service compute plan (legacy name: Starter)
Metabase runs on the JVM and holds query results in heap. Memory rather than CPU is what rules out the smallest instances, and an under-sized one dies mid-query rather than running slowly.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Compute Plans – Render Docs ↗
“0.5 | 512 MB | `0.5c-512mb` | Starter”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Persistent processes
Supported
A long-running server that also fires scheduled dashboard subscriptions on its own clock. Nothing about it fits a per-request model.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Background Workers – Render Docs ↗
“Background workers are services that run continuously (like a web service or a private service), but they don't receive any incoming network traffic.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Docker deployment
Supported
The official distribution is a JAR or a Docker image, and every provider guide starts from one of the two.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Docker on Render – Render Docs ↗
“Render fully supports Docker-based deploys.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
What Render documents.
Render publishes its own guide for deploying Metabase.
You can deploy Metabase on Render in under 5 minutes. It is backed by Render's fully managed PostgreSQL and can be used to gain insights from any supported database including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Google Analytics, and MongoDB. [...] Create a new PostgreSQL database on Render and copy the internal DB URL to use below.
Sources (1) →Sources ↓
- Deploy Metabase — Render Docs ↗
“You can deploy Metabase on Render in under 5 minutes. It is backed by Render's fully managed PostgreSQL and can be used to gain insights from any supported database including PostgreSQL, MySQL, Google Analytics, and MongoDB. [...] Create a new PostgreSQL database on Render and copy the internal DB URL to use below.”
Read 2026-09-06 · official docs
What it costs to run there.
- Pricing model
- The Hobby plan does not have a monthly fee, so you only pay for usage.
- When you exceed a cap
- Pipeline minutes: overage is auto-purchased, but with no payment method or once the monthly spend limit is hit, Render stops all pipeline tasks including service builds for the rest of the month (platform-wide, all plans)
- Regions
- Oregon, USA; Ohio, USA; Virginia, USA; Frankfurt, Germany; Singapore
Sources (3) →Sources ↓
- Platform Features by Plan – Render Docs ↗
“The Hobby plan does not have a monthly fee, so you only pay for usage.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
- Build Pipeline – Render Docs ↗
“If you run out of pipeline minutes during a given month, you automatically purchase a supplementary amount of minutes for your current tier, unless you've reached your monthly spend limit, or you haven't added a payment method. In the above cases, Render stops running pipeline tasks (including service builds!) for the remainder of the current month.”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
- Regions ↗
“Oregon, USA / Ohio, USA / Virginia, USA / Frankfurt, Germany / Singapore”
Read 2026-09-05 · official docs
Whether it suits you.
Workloads that need real background workers and persistent processes alongside web services, deployed from a repository or a Dockerfile. Managed Postgres and static sites run on the same platform.
Consider something else if…
Free web services spin down after 15 minutes without traffic, which makes the free tier unsuitable for anything that must answer immediately.
Visit Render documentation