Xata

What is Xata?

Xata is a PostgreSQL platform built around Copy-on-Write branching, scale-to-zero compute and separation of storage from compute. It is made by Xata and is available as a managed cloud service, a bring-your-own-cloud deployment and an open source distribution. The problem it solves is the cost and friction of giving every developer, test suite or AI agent its own database: branches share storage with their source and suspend when idle, so isolated Postgres environments no longer require a full copy each.

Key features

• Copy-on-Write branching. A branch starts from an existing database and stores only the changes, so teams can create production clones and feature branches without duplicating the full data set.
• Scale-to-zero. Idle branches suspend their compute and wake in about one second on Xata Cloud, which keeps preview and agent environments inexpensive.
• Open source distribution. The core platform can be self-managed for free, including branching, data anonymisation and schema migrations.
• Zero-downtime migrations. Xata's pgroll tool applies schema changes in expand and contract steps, allowing old and new application versions to run during a rollout.
• Data anonymisation. The pgstream tool masks personally identifiable information so production-like data can be used in development and testing.
• Managed and bring-your-own-cloud options. Xata Cloud runs the service for you, while BYOC deploys it inside your AWS, Azure or GCP account with Xata managing the platform.

Who is Xata is for?

Platform and backend teams running PostgreSQL at scale, especially those that maintain many preview, staging or test environments. It suits SaaS companies that want a production clone per pull request, AI teams that give each agent an isolated database, and regulated organizations that need data masking or a bring-your-own-cloud deployment.

Use cases

• Creating a fresh production clone for every pull request or preview deployment.
• Giving each AI agent or background job its own short-lived Postgres branch.
• Testing schema migrations with pgroll before applying them to production.
• Masking customer data before loading it into a development environment.

Pricing

The open source distribution is free to self-host and includes branching, scale-to-zero, anonymisation and schema migrations. Xata Cloud is pay as you go, starting at $0.012 per hour plus $0.28 per GB per month for storage, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. Instance prices range from $9 per month for a micro instance with 1 GB of RAM to $1,121 per month for an 8xlarge instance with 128 GB of RAM. There are no per-branch fees and no per-user fees. BYOC is quoted per deployment, and the storage engine Xatastor is included. See the official Xata pricing page.

Getting started

1. Create an account at console.xata.io with GitHub, Google or email.
2. Create a project and a main branch, choosing the Postgres version, region and instance size.
3. Install the CLI and sign in, then initialise the project in your app directory.

curl -fsSL https://xata.io/install.sh | bash
xata auth login
xata init

Alternatives

• Neon is a serverless Postgres platform with branching and scale-to-zero.
• Supabase is an open source backend platform built on Postgres.
• PlanetScale is a managed MySQL platform with branching workflows.
• Turso is a managed database platform built on SQLite.

FAQ

Is Xata free?

The open source distribution is free to self-host. Xata Cloud starts with a 14-day free trial, then bills pay as you go, with instances starting at $9 per month.

What is Xata used for?

Xata is used to run PostgreSQL with cheap, isolated branches. Teams use it for preview environments, production clones, AI agent databases and safe schema migrations.

Does Xata charge per branch?

No. Xata Cloud bills compute and storage, not individual branches or users. Branches share storage with their source through Copy-on-Write and suspend when idle.

Xata vs Neon?

Both are Postgres platforms with branching and scale-to-zero. Xata adds an open source distribution, bring-your-own-cloud deployment and the pgroll and pgstream tools. Neon focuses on a managed serverless Postgres service. The better fit depends on how much control you need over deployment and data masking.

Yes. Xata runs PostgreSQL, so standard drivers, SQL clients and tools such as psql connect to a branch using its connection string.