The Nhost Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Nhost in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Nhost
The Insider’s Guide
Managed Postgres backend with GraphQL, auth, storage and functions
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among web hosts, read from Nhost’s own pages.
Made by Nhost · checked Nov 13, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Nhost’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Nhost’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 13, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
1.8
GPA, above 29 of the 122 other web hosts we grade
Nhost is a hosted backend platform built around a Postgres database. Each project gets an instant GraphQL API, user authentication, file storage with a CDN and serverless functions, and you can also run your own containers. It has a free starter plan, usage-based Pro and Team plans, and a custom Enterprise tier.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Nhost, taken from its own pages and our grades.
You design the data model and wire up the client yourself.
- 1
Best for a managed Postgres backend with GraphQL, auth and storage
Nhost is a managed Postgres backend with Hasura GraphQL, auth, storage and functions.
- 2
Paid plans start at $25 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $25 per month and up (Pro), with $15 of compute credits included.
- 3
There is a free plan
Starter: 1 active project that pauses after a week of inactivity, with a 1 GB database, 1 GB storage and 5 GB egress.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Postgres database
Every project has a dedicated Postgres instance, with 7 days of daily backups on paid plans and point-in-time recovery as an add-on.
- 6
Hasura GraphQL API
A GraphQL engine gives instant real-time APIs over the data, with event triggers, subscriptions and role-based authorization.
- 7
Authentication
Email and password, magic links, social OAuth providers, WebAuthn and 2FA, with unlimited users on every plan.
- 8
A 1.8 GPA, above 29 of 122
That is against the other web hosts we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Your call
Nhost sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.
Nhost at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $25 per month and up (Pro), with $15 of compute credits included
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Nhost
- Category
- Web Hosting
- Our grade
- 1.8 GPA, weak
The report card
Best for a managed Postgres backend with GraphQL, auth and storage
Nhost is a managed Postgres backend with Hasura GraphQL, auth, storage and functions. The free project pauses after a week of inactivity, and Pro at $25 a month adds usage charges, separate compute and extras that cost more.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | D | Pro is $25 a month plus usage, above the $20.83 dearer-quarter line for web hosting, with compute at $15 per vCPU and custom domains $10 per project. The free tier pauses, so real use sits on Pro. |
| Free plan and trial | C | A free Starter with 1 project, 1 GB database, 1 GB storage and 5 GB egress. It pauses after a week of inactivity and has one workspace member. |
| Features | C | Postgres, Hasura GraphQL, auth, storage, functions and containers with a CLI. Point-in-time recovery starts at $100 and custom domains cost extra. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record. You design the data model and wire up the client yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | Web only, with a short list: Hasura, Postgres, Grafana and GraphQL. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Nhost is for
- Fits if you want Postgres with GraphQL and auth without running servers
- Makes sense if a free project that pauses is fine for prototypes
Who it is not for
- Tight if you leave a project idle, as the free Starter pauses after a week
- Pricey if you grow, since usage is billed on top of $25 a month and Team is $599
- Watch out: compute is $15 a shared or $50 a dedicated vCPU a month
- Watch out: custom domains are $10 per project a month and point-in-time recovery starts at $100
Good to know
Good for
- Front-end teams that want a Postgres and GraphQL backend without running servers
- Prototypes that fit inside one free, pausable project
- Startups that need auth, storage and functions from one vendor
Worth knowing
- The free Starter project is paused after a week of inactivity, and it is limited to one project and one workspace member.
- Usage beyond included amounts is charged: $0.20 per GB of database, $0.05 per GB of storage and $0.10 per GB of egress.
- Compute is billed separately at $15 per shared or $50 per dedicated vCPU core a month.
- Custom domains cost $10 per project per month, and point-in-time recovery starts at $100.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$25
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Nhost has a free plan. Paid plans start at $25 per month and up (Pro), with $15 of compute credits included.
The free tier pauses, so real use sits on Pro.
Starter
$0
1 project and 1 workspace member, unlimited users, functions, realtime APIs and community support.
Pro
$25
per month and up, plus usage
10 GB database, 50 GB storage, 50 GB egress, daily backups, email support and $15 of compute credits; unlimited projects.
Team
$599
per month and up, plus usage
Everything in Pro plus SOC 2 Type II, email support SLA, a dedicated Discord channel and external database connections.
Enterprise
Custom
SLAs, a dedicated technical account manager and optional dedicated clusters. Sold through sales.
The free plan
Starter: 1 active project that pauses after a week of inactivity, with a 1 GB database, 1 GB storage and 5 GB egress.
Read from nhost.io on Nov 13, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Managed Postgres backend with GraphQL, auth, storage and functions. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, databases.
Postgres, Hasura GraphQL, auth, storage, functions and containers with a CLI.
- Postgres database
- Every project has a dedicated Postgres instance, with 7 days of daily backups on paid plans and point-in-time recovery as an add-on.
- Hasura GraphQL API
- A GraphQL engine gives instant real-time APIs over the data, with event triggers, subscriptions and role-based authorization.
- Authentication
- Email and password, magic links, social OAuth providers, WebAuthn and 2FA, with unlimited users on every plan.
- Storage and functions
- File storage with a global CDN and image transformation, plus serverless JavaScript and TypeScript functions with per-plan execution limits.
- Nhost Run containers
- A managed container runtime for your own services in any language, billed per vCPU and memory allocated.
- CLI and git deploys
- A CLI runs the whole stack locally, and pushing to git deploys the backend; infrastructure can be managed as code.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Hasura
- Postgres
- Grafana
- GraphQL
Nhost is made by Nhost.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
29/122
Other web hosts it is graded above
Nhost's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 29 of the 122 other web hosts we grade, and level with 19.
It stands best on free plan and trial (C, above 74 of 122) and worst on value for money (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $25 a month, against a middle price of $9.69 for the category: 86 of the 107 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 48 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 123 web hosts we grade, cut by the letter each got. Nhost’s own letter is outlined.
- DValue for moneyAbove 0 of 122
- CFree plan and trialAbove 74 of 122
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 122
- CEase of useAbove 40 of 122
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 1 of 122
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 111 web hosts. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Nhost is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Your call
Nhost sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.
What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. It costs $300 a year.
What you could make
- It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too.
What you could not
- Databases with views, filters and links between them.
- It plugs into other products, Hasura, Postgres and Grafana among them, and has an API.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: roles and permissions.
What this rests on. Nhost’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Appwrite Sites, Back4app, Firebase Hosting, Heroku and Render
The 5 tools Nhost is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
Appwrite Sites
Free plan · from $25/mo
Git-based hosting for static and server-rendered sites on Appwrite.
- Appwrite Sites also covers web analytics.
- 2.4GPA
Back4app
Free plan · from $15/mo
Managed backend platform built on Parse, billed per app.
- Nhost also covers databases.
- Back4app also covers AI agents.
- 2.4GPA
Firebase Hosting
Free plan · from $0.026
Google's CDN hosting for static and single-page web apps.
- Nhost also covers databases.
- Firebase Hosting also covers page speed.
- 1.8GPA
Heroku
From $5/mo
Platform for deploying apps in containers called dynos.
- Nhost has a free plan. Heroku does not.
- 2.4GPA
Render
Free plan · from $25/mo
Cloud hosting for web services, databases and workers.
- Render also covers workflow automation.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Nhost free?
Nhost has a free plan. Starter: 1 active project that pauses after a week of inactivity, with a 1 GB database, 1 GB storage and 5 GB egress.
How much does Nhost cost?
Nhost lists 4 plans. Starter: $0.
What platforms does Nhost work on?
Nhost is available on Web.
Does Nhost have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Nhost is listed for Web.
Does Nhost have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Nhost is listed for Web.
Is Nhost open source?
Nhost is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does Nhost have an API?
Yes. Nhost offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Nhost integrate with?
Nhost's listing names Hasura, Postgres, Grafana and GraphQL. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.
Who makes Nhost?
Nhost is made by a company of the same name.
What are the alternatives to Nhost?
The closest alternatives to Nhost in our directory are Appwrite Sites, Back4app, Firebase Hosting, Heroku and Render.
How does Nhost compare with other web hosts?
Nhost's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 29 of the 122 other web hosts we grade, and level with 19.
Is Nhost good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Nhost D for value for money. Its paid plans start at $25 a month, against a middle price of $9.69 for the category: 86 of the 107 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Nhost?
Nhost sits between: not beyond making, and not a weekend's work either.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Nhost’s own pages on Nov 13, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Nhost's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Nhost. Prices change, so check nhost.io before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Nhost, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/nhost
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Nhost: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 13, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/nhost
Know someone choosing between web hosts?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/nhost/guide
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See our other guides
The best-graded web hosts after Nhost, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Web Hosting Insider's GuideEvery one of the 123 web hosts we grade, compared
- Cloudflare Pages Insider's GuideGit-based hosting for static sites and full-stack apps2.8 GPA
- GitHub Pages Insider's GuideStatic site hosting built into GitHub repositories2.8 GPA
- Netlify Insider's GuideGit-based hosting for sites and web apps, priced by monthly credits2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Nhost’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Nhost is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Nhost. Prices and plans change: check nhost.io before you buy.