---
title: "MotherDuck Pricing, Features & Alternatives (2026)"
description: "MotherDuck (Cloud Data Warehouses): Free tier. Plans, pros & cons, and MotherDuck alternatives compared for startups in 2026."
source: https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/motherduck
retrieved: 2026-11-10
---

![MotherDuck logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=motherduck.com&sz=128)

[Cloud Data Warehouses](https://appstackbuilder.com/categories/data-warehouse)Free tier

# MotherDuck: Pricing, Features & Alternatives

MotherDuck runs DuckDB in the cloud, so the same SQL works on your laptop and in the shared warehouse. Lite is free for up to 3 users, with 10 GB of storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute a month. Business costs $250 per organization a month plus usage, for up to 10 users, larger instance types, read replicas and a 99.9% SLA. Pulse compute is $0.60 per CU-hour, dedicated instances run from $2.40 an hour, and storage is $0.04 per GB-month. There is a 7-day Business trial with no card.

Who it’s for: Startups and small data teams whose data fits comfortably on DuckDB and who want a cheap shared warehouse.

Category

Cloud Data Warehouses

Pricing

Free tier available

Free tier

Yes

Best for

Cloud Data Warehouses: DuckDB, startups, free plan

## MotherDuck at a Glance

What it is

Serverless DuckDB warehouse

How you pay

Plan fee plus compute and storage usage

Free access

Free Lite plan, 10 GB storage

Clouds

AWS (six regions)

How compute scales

Per-query Pulse compute or dedicated instances

Checked November 2026 against [MotherDuck pricing](https://motherduck.com/pricing/).

[Visit MotherDuck official site](https://motherduck.com/)

## MotherDuck Pricing Plans (2026)

| Plan            | Price                      | Highlights                                                   |
| --------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Lite            | $0                         | Up to 3 users · 10 GB storage · 10 hrs Pulse compute / month |
| BusinessPopular | $250 / org / month + usage | Up to 10 users · Read-scaling replicas · 99.9% SLA           |
| Enterprise      | Custom                     | Unlimited users · PrivateLink · HIPAA BAA                    |

Pricing summary: Free · paid from $250/mo. Always confirm current pricing on the official site.

## Key MotherDuck Features

* ✓Lite: free for up to 3 users, 10 GB storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute a month, no card
* ✓Business: $250 per organization a month plus usage; up to 10 users, read replicas, 99.9% SLA
* ✓Pulse compute $0.60 per CU-hour; dedicated instances from $2.40 to $24.00 an hour, billed per second
* ✓Storage $0.04 per GB-month on Lite and Business
* ✓7-day Business trial with no card

### ✓ Pros

* +Free plan with real storage
* +Same DuckDB SQL locally and in the cloud
* +Per-query Pulse billing for small workloads
* +Published rates

### ✗ Cons

* −Built for small to mid-size data, not petabytes
* −AWS regions only
* −Younger ecosystem than the big warehouses

## Best MotherDuck Alternatives

[Compare all ](https://appstackbuilder.com/tool-alternatives/motherduck)

[![Google BigQuery logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=cloud.google.com&sz=128)Google BigQueryFree · paid from $6.25/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/bigquery)[![Snowflake logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=snowflake.com&sz=128)SnowflakeUsage-based](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/snowflake)[![Amazon Redshift logo](https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=aws.amazon.com&sz=128)Amazon RedshiftFrom $0.375/mo](https://appstackbuilder.com/tools/amazon-redshift)

## MotherDuck Compared

[MotherDuck vs Google BigQuery](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/bigquery-vs-motherduck)[MotherDuck vs Snowflake](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/motherduck-vs-snowflake)[MotherDuck vs Amazon Redshift](https://appstackbuilder.com/compare/amazon-redshift-vs-motherduck)

## MotherDuck FAQ

What is MotherDuck used for?⌄

MotherDuck is a cloud data warehouses tool. Serverless warehouse built on DuckDB. Free Lite plan with 10 GB storage; Business from $250 a month plus usage.

Is MotherDuck free?⌄

Yes. MotherDuck has a free tier you can start with, and paid plans for more usage and features.

How much does MotherDuck cost?⌄

MotherDuck offers a free tier, with paid plans starting at $250/month. Some plans are usage-based (pay-as-you-go).

What are the best MotherDuck alternatives?⌄

Popular MotherDuck alternatives include Google BigQuery, Snowflake, Amazon Redshift. Compare pricing and features on our MotherDuck alternatives page.

## Not sure if MotherDuck fits your stack?

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