Serverless QuestDB
High-throughput time-series with SQL. Postgres-wire endpoint, web SQL console, the same fast queries you expect from QuestDB.
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 QuestDB for every preview deploy
Fork a running QuestDB 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 QuestDB client
Financial market data, IoT telemetry, observability metrics, ad-tech, and any high-throughput time-series workload with strict latency requirements.
- Ingest IoT or trading data over ILP, query with SQL from any Postgres client
- Build an observability backend that holds tight latency budgets
- Per-environment time-series stores for production-shaped staging
- Prototype a real-time dashboard against QuestDB on the desktop, deploy to cloud
- Self-host on your own hardware with the Layerbase CLI
psql "postgresql://layerbase:password@your-host.cloud.layerbase.dev:5432/qdb?sslmode=require"
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 QuestDB hosting
What managed QuestDB costs here, and how it runs
QuestDB is a Pro engine on Layerbase Cloud: the floor is the $15/mo Pro plan, flat, with no ingestion meter and no query meter. It runs always-on rather than sleeping, which is the only sensible arrangement for something ingesting a telemetry stream.
QuestDB 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 QuestDB draws 1 GB of that pool, which is what buys it the always-on guarantee. Pool blocks stack at $10/mo each for another 1 GB of RAM, 1 vCPU, and 25 GB of storage when the series outgrow it.
Always-on, so ingestion never hits a sleeping database
QuestDB never hibernates here and is never auto-archived, so a writer that goes quiet overnight does not come back to a cold start. The one wait is the initial provision, about 1 to 2 minutes the first time because the binary is large.
ILP in, SQL out, over the Postgres wire
Ingest with InfluxDB Line Protocol for throughput, then query with SQL over the PostgreSQL wire protocol, so psql, Grafana, and any Postgres driver read it directly. Both endpoints come from the dashboard, along with a web SQL console for ad-hoc work.
Branch a time-series database
QuestDB is branchable here, which is unusual for a time-series engine: take a copy-on-write copy of the running database in seconds, try the partition change or the schema migration against it, and delete it afterwards. 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.
QuestDB needs the Pro plan, $15/mo flat, with a 7-day free trial. Pool blocks add capacity at $10/mo.
FAQ
Common QuestDB questions
What is QuestDB?
QuestDB is an open-source time-series database built for high-throughput ingestion and low-latency SQL over timestamped data: market data, IoT telemetry, ad-tech, and observability metrics. It accepts InfluxDB Line Protocol for ingestion and speaks the PostgreSQL wire protocol for queries, so ordinary Postgres clients can read it. Layerbase runs it as a managed database with a web SQL console, always-on from your Pro pool rather than sleeping when idle.
How much does managed QuestDB hosting cost?
QuestDB 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 ingestion or query meter, and the cost preview in the create flow shows the monthly cost before you provision anything.
How do I ingest data into QuestDB?
QuestDB accepts InfluxDB Line Protocol (ILP) for fast ingestion and Postgres wire protocol for SQL queries. Both endpoints are exposed from the dashboard.
Can I query QuestDB with psql?
Yes. QuestDB speaks Postgres wire protocol for queries, so psql and any PostgreSQL driver work.
How long does a QuestDB database take to provision?
QuestDB takes a bit longer to provision than typical OLTP engines because of binary size, about 1 to 2 minutes the first time. After that it runs always-on from your Pro pool, so there is no idle sleep to wake from.
Is there a free QuestDB tier on Layerbase?
No. QuestDB is a paid-tier engine on Cloud. The cost preview in the create flow shows the monthly burn before you provision; the Free plan covers Postgres, MariaDB, Redis, and others for prototyping.
Can I run QuestDB locally?
Yes. The Layerbase CLI and Layerbase Desktop both run QuestDB with the same one-command install.
Branch QuestDB in seconds
Fork a running QuestDB 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 QuestDB free for 7 days
QuestDB 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 QuestDB database should ship with
The same primitives on every QuestDB 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 QuestDB 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 QuestDB, compared
QuestDB Cloud was discontinued, and QuestDB now publishes only Enterprise and Bring Your Own Cloud engagements, with no prices and no self-serve signup. Layerbase is the only self-serve managed QuestDB: sign up, create a database, connect. It runs always-on from your Pro pool at $15/mo flat.
Competitor facts verified September 7, 2026 against each vendor's own pricing and documentation pages: QuestDB.
More on QuestDB
All articles- August 28, 2026
The InfluxDB 3 Core 72-hour query limit: what it is, why it exists, and your two ways out
InfluxDB 3 Core refuses queries that touch more than 432 Parquet files, which at the default 10-minute file duration works out to about 72 hours of data per query. The data is still there. Here is the mechanism, the knob, what Layerbase actually runs, and the two honest exits.
Read - August 25, 2026
QuestDB 10 Is Now the Default on Layerbase Cloud
QuestDB 10.0.1 is now what a new QuestDB database on Layerbase runs. Here is what actually changed in 10.0, what stays the same when you connect, and what happens to databases already on 9.x (nothing).
Read - August 24, 2026
Timescale is TigerData now: where to take a time-series workload
Timescale rebranded to TigerData, the cloud is Tiger Cloud, and the extension is still called TimescaleDB. If you use hypertables we are not your migration path, and this post explains exactly why. If you are on Tiger Cloud running ordinary Postgres, or you want managed time-series without an extension license in the middle, read on.
Read - August 15, 2026
Branching time-series databases
Nobody branches a time-series database. Neon branches Postgres, PlanetScale branches MySQL, and telemetry data gets a stale CSV sample. QuestDB and InfluxDB branch on Layerbase now, and it changes how you test against real metrics.
Read - August 7, 2026
QuestDB 9.4: Time-Series Partitions You Can Store as Parquet
QuestDB 9.4 lets a table declare Parquet as its partition format at CREATE TABLE time. Here is what Parquet actually is, why a time-partitioned table is the ideal shape for it, and how the feature behaves on a real database.
Read
Upstream project
QuestDB is developed by the QuestDB project. Layerbase packages and hosts official releases; the engine itself is built upstream.