Prisma Postgres vs Accelerate with own Postgres
What advantages does Prisma Postgres give me, that I don't have when using my own Postgres in combination with Accelerate?
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Prisma Postgres offers several unique advantages over using your own Postgres database with Prisma Accelerate:
1. Integrated, Managed Experience: Prisma Postgres is a fully managed PostgreSQL service that bundles Accelerate (connection pooling and global caching) by default. This means you don’t need to set up, maintain, or monitor your own database infrastructure, connection poolers, or caching layers—everything is integrated and managed for you, including updates and scaling Prisma Postgres Overview.
2. Unique Architecture for Performance: Prisma Postgres is built on bare metal servers using unikernels and microVMs, not on traditional cloud VMs. This architecture enables zero cold starts, ultra-fast boot times, high security through isolation, and auto-scalability. The connection pool and database can even run on the same machine, reducing latency compared to setups where the pooler and database are separated by a network hop Cloudflare, Unikernels & Bare Metal.
3. Pay-as-You-Go Pricing: Prisma Postgres charges per operation and storage, with a generous free tier and no fixed compute costs. This makes costs predictable and directly tied to usage, unlike most traditional managed Postgres offerings Prisma Postgres: The Future of Serverless Databases.
4. First-Class Integration with Prisma Tools: Out-of-the-box, you get not just Accelerate, but also features like AI-powered query optimization recommendations and real-time subscriptions, all tightly integrated with Prisma ORM [Prisma 6: Better Performance, More Flexibility & Type-Safe SQL](<https://www.prisma.io/blog/prisma-6-better-performance-more-flexibility-and-type-safe-sql#one-more-thing-prisma-postgres
Prisma
Prisma 6: Better Performance, More Flexibility & Type-Safe SQL
Today, we are releasing Prisma v6! Since the last major version, we have been hard at work incorporating user feedback, making Prisma ORM faster and more flexible, and adding amazing features like type-safe raw SQL queries.
--the-best-database-to-use-with-prisma-orm>).
In summary, Prisma Postgres provides a seamless, high-performance, and fully managed data layer with unique architectural and operational benefits you don’t get by combining your own Postgres with Accelerate.
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Hey!
With Prisma Postgres you get a new version of Prisma Studio (2.0) which at the moment is exclusive to Prisma Postgres and isn't available with Prisma Accelerate with another database provider.
Besides this we are working on workflows which will make working with Prisma Postgres locally seamless. For example: The new
prisma dev command launched in prisma 6.8.2
That being said, you can also use Prisma Accelerate with other database provider if it satisfies your use case. 🙂Ok thanks but do I still need to add the Cache strategy or is this now done automatically as you now know when data changes
I currently use a selfhosted postgres because I'm scared about my bill going way to expensive
You would still need to add cache strategy to enable caching
I currently use a selfhosted postgres because I'm scared about my bill going way to expensiveCan you let me know your monthly cost of running self hosted postgres?
I have a big server I use for many stuff like rtmp/srt etc currently. but previously I run it on a 5-10€ kvm that worked fine for me. Only bottleneck are the transactions times. I think what would be a "game changer" for prisma postgres would be to eliminate the need for the cache strategies stuff as you know what transactions are made on the database, you would in theory be able to update or invalidate the accelerate caches automatically. I know, that prisma postgres will never get to this pricing which is totally fair because to be honest I got a pretty good deal for what server I got but I think the 50€ fee on the paid plan is a bit to expensive for students like me or smaler projects, that want to benefit from the advantages of prisma postgres. I also can't really estimate what my usage of operations would be.
Just because it came in my mind rn are any of these features planned or already implemented?
- branching
- replicate to local db
- in db cron