Serverless ClickHouse
Columnar analytics at production scale, on a connection string. Web SQL console, native and HTTP endpoints, the same tools you already use.
Tables
- users
- events
- orders
- sessions
| id | name | created_at |
|---|---|---|
| 1247 | signup | 2026-03-12 14:21 |
| 1246 | purchase | 2026-03-12 14:08 |
| 1245 | login | 2026-03-12 13:55 |
| 1244 | signup | 2026-03-12 13:44 |
| 1243 | purchase | 2026-03-12 13:30 |
Pro engine
$15/mo flat, no meters
Encrypted
TLS on every plan
Layerbase Cloud
Managed, in seconds
Desktop and CLI
Run it locally or self-host
Branching
Branch ClickHouse for every preview deploy
Fork a running ClickHouse into a full, isolated copy with its own connection string. Copy-on-write makes it near-instant, not a dump and restore: point a preview deploy at it, test a migration, then throw it away when the pull request merges. Layerbase branches 16 engines, not just Postgres.
See how branching workslbase cloud branch app-db pr-482
lbase cloud branch ls app-db
lbase cloud branch delete app-db pr-482Quick start
Connect with any ClickHouse client
Real-time analytics, time-series, observability backends, ad-hoc OLAP queries over large datasets, and apps that outgrew Postgres for reporting.
- Stand up a ClickHouse for a single project without provisioning a cluster
- Replicate slow Postgres reporting queries to a columnar engine
- Build an observability backend (logs, metrics) on the same platform as your operational databases
- Prototype real-time analytics dashboards
- Self-host on your own hardware with the Layerbase CLI for tighter compliance control
curl -u layerbase:password "https://your-host.cloud.layerbase.dev/?query=SELECT%201"
Where to run it
Cloud, desktop, or self-host
One database, three places it can live. Pick the speed you want and move between them when you outgrow it.
Managed ClickHouse hosting
What managed ClickHouse costs here, and how it runs
ClickHouse is a Pro engine on Layerbase Cloud: the floor is the $15/mo Pro plan, flat, with no per-query and no per-byte-scanned meter. It runs always-on rather than sleeping, because a columnar engine that hibernates is not much use behind a dashboard.
ClickHouse needs the Pro plan, $15/mo
Pro is $15/mo flat: 10 databases, 25 GB of storage, up to 500 concurrent connections, and a 1.5 GB always-on pool. Creating a ClickHouse draws 1 GB of that pool, which is what buys it the always-on guarantee. If you need more room, pool blocks stack at $10/mo each for another 1 GB of RAM, 1 vCPU, and 25 GB of storage.
Always-on, so there is no cold start to wait on
ClickHouse never hibernates here and is never auto-archived, so there is no wake path to design around and no first-query penalty. The one wait is the initial provision, about 1 to 2 minutes the first time because the binary is large. After that the endpoint is simply up.
Native and HTTP endpoints, standard drivers
The dashboard exposes both the native protocol for clickhouse-client and JDBC, and the HTTP endpoint for tools and runtimes that prefer it, plus a web SQL console. The native protocol is not HTTP, so ClickHouse is addressed on its own allocated port rather than a shared hostname: copy the exact port from Quick Connect. clickhouse-driver, ch-go, JDBC, and the Python client all connect unchanged.
Branch a warehouse for a migration you are unsure about
ClickHouse is branchable here: take a copy-on-write copy of a running database in seconds, run the destructive schema change or the backfill against the copy, and delete it when you are satisfied. Pro allows 10 branches per database, and a branch does not consume a slot from your plan database count.
Nothing expires, and backups are automatic
Auto-archiving is a free-tier sweep, so a Pro database is never archived however long it sits. Pro takes a daily backup with 30 days of rolling retention, plus 10 manual slots you trigger yourself, and restore is one click from the dashboard onto the same database or into a new one.
ClickHouse needs the Pro plan, $15/mo flat, with a 7-day free trial. Pool blocks add capacity at $10/mo.
FAQ
Common ClickHouse questions
What is ClickHouse?
ClickHouse is an open-source columnar database for real-time analytics over large datasets: log and metric stores, observability backends, and the reporting queries that outgrew Postgres. It reads far fewer bytes per query than a row store because it only touches the columns you asked for. Layerbase runs it as a managed database with both the native protocol and an HTTP endpoint, plus a web SQL console, and it runs always-on from your Pro pool rather than sleeping when idle.
Does Layerbase expose the ClickHouse native TCP or HTTP endpoint?
Both. The dashboard exposes the native protocol for the official clients (clickhouse-client, JDBC) and the HTTP endpoint for tools and runtimes that prefer it.
Will my existing ClickHouse driver work?
Yes. Standard drivers (clickhouse-driver, ch-go, JDBC, Python clickhouse-client) connect over the published endpoint without changes.
How long does a ClickHouse database take to provision?
ClickHouse takes about 1 to 2 minutes to provision on the first create because of its larger binary. After that it runs always-on from your Pro pool, so there is no idle sleep or wake to wait on.
Is there a free ClickHouse tier on Layerbase?
No. ClickHouse is a Pro engine on Cloud, so the floor is the $15/mo Pro plan, and creating one draws 1 GB from your always-on pool. The Free plan covers PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQLite, DuckDB, libSQL, Redis, Valkey, and TypeDB for prototyping, and ClickHouse is free to run locally with the Layerbase CLI or Layerbase Desktop.
Can I run ClickHouse locally?
Yes. The Layerbase CLI manages local ClickHouse versions with the same one-command install; Layerbase Desktop adds the dashboard on top.
How much does managed ClickHouse hosting cost?
ClickHouse is a Pro engine on Layerbase Cloud, so the floor is the $15/mo Pro plan; it is not on the Free plan. Pricing is flat with no usage meters, and the cost preview in the create flow shows the monthly cost before you provision anything. The Free plan covers PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Redis, and the other Standard engines for prototyping.
Branch ClickHouse in seconds
Fork a running ClickHouse into a full, isolated copy with its own connection string. Copy-on-write makes it near-instant, not a dump and restore. Point a preview deploy at it, test a migration, then throw it away. Layerbase branches 16 engines, not just Postgres.
See how branching worksTry ClickHouse free for 7 days
ClickHouse runs always-on from your Pro pool, so it lives on the Pro plan. Start a 7-day Pro trial to spin one up: a card is required, you are charged $0, and you can cancel before it converts to $15/mo. One trial per account.
Start the Pro trialWhat you get
Everything a ClickHouse database should ship with
The same primitives on every ClickHouse database: TLS, web console, hibernation, and a real dashboard. The rows that need a paid plan say so on the row; nothing here is hidden behind a sales call.
Web IDE
Query console in the dashboard, no extra client to install.
TLS by default
All connections encrypted. No setup required.
Always-on connections
Pin a database to your plan's always-on pool so it never hibernates. Free has no pool, so a free database always sleeps when idle; Solo includes 768 MB of pool and Pro 1.5 GB.
Scale to zero
Hibernates when idle. Wakes on the next connection.
Connection pooling
Pooled endpoint for serverless and edge workloads.
Direct connections
Bypass the pooler for migrations and replication.
Native HTTPS endpoint
Engines whose own wire protocol speaks HTTPS. Every database, including this one, is also queryable over the platform's HTTPS query API and web console.
Serverless driver
Drop-in HTTP driver for edge runtimes (Neon serverless, PlanetScale, Upstash REST, or the engine-native client).
IP whitelisting
Restrict access to specific IPs or CIDR ranges.
Automatic backups
Scheduled dumps and volume snapshots with one-click restore on paid plans. Free includes 1 manual backup slot you take and restore yourself.
What it costs
What ClickHouse costs on Layerbase
Plans are flat. There is no per-hour compute meter, no per-database line item, and no ingress or egress fee, so the bill does not change shape when your traffic does. You do not need an AWS, GCP, or Azure account either: Layerbase runs the infrastructure.
Every engine, plus a bigger always-on pool.
Side by side
Hosted ClickHouse, compared
| Provider | Free tier | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| ClickHouse Cloud | None; a 30-day trial with credits | Basic from $66.52/mo for a single replica, compute metered per minute |
| Layerbase | ClickHouse is a Performance engine on Pro | $15/mo flat as 1 of 10 databases, always-on from your pool. No compute meters. |
ClickHouse Cloud
- Free tier
- None; a 30-day trial with credits
- Billing
- Basic from $66.52/mo for a single replica, compute metered per minute
Layerbase
- Free tier
- ClickHouse is a Performance engine on Pro
- Billing
- $15/mo flat as 1 of 10 databases, always-on from your pool. No compute meters.
Competitor facts verified September 7, 2026 against each vendor's own pricing and documentation pages: ClickHouse Cloud.
More on ClickHouse
All articles- August 30, 2026
ClickHouse Cloud alternatives: managed ClickHouse without the $67 floor
ClickHouse Cloud Basic starts at $66.52 a month and meters compute by the minute in 8 GiB steps. That is a fair price for a real analytics platform and a strange price for a staging database or a side project event pipeline. Here is what the tiers actually buy, where a flat $15 plan fits, and when you should keep paying ClickHouse.
Read - August 14, 2026
ClickHouse sells Postgres now: the other way to get both engines
ClickHouse shipped a managed Postgres service so you can run transactions and analytics with one vendor. Layerbase already ran both, flat-priced, with Postgres free and ClickHouse on a $15/mo plan. Here is the honest comparison.
Read - July 20, 2026
Layerbase vs Tinybird: real-time analytics without the usage meter
Tinybird turns ClickHouse into a managed real-time analytics API with usage-based billing. Layerbase gives you the same ClickHouse engine on a flat monthly price and leaves the API layer to you. Here is the tradeoff, and when each one wins.
Read - June 14, 2026
Branching with any database
Neon branches Postgres. PlanetScale branches MySQL. Layerbase branches all of them, because branching happens at the filesystem, not inside the engine. Here is how it works.
Read - March 11, 2026
ClickHouse vs DuckDB
A practical ClickHouse vs DuckDB comparison with side-by-side code, covering when to pick a production analytics server versus an embedded engine.
Read
Upstream project
ClickHouse is developed by the ClickHouse project. Layerbase packages and hosts official releases; the engine itself is built upstream.