What is Aiven used for?

Aiven is a managed cloud service that runs open-source data systems such as Postgres, MySQL and Kafka for teams that do not want to operate databases themselves. It is a good fit for outsourcing database operations for small teams and running Kafka without managing brokers.

Yes. Aiven has a free plan, and paid plans start at $5 per month. A free trial is also available.

Is Aiven open source?

No. Aiven is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Aiven include CloudNativePG, PostgreSQL and MySQL.

What are some alternatives to Aiven?

Aiven competes with Amazon RDS, MongoDB Atlas and PlanetScale. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Aiven alternatives.

Aiven: features, pricing and alternatives

About Aiven

Aiven is a commercial platform that hosts and operates popular data infrastructure on behalf of its customers. Teams pick a service such as PostgreSQL, MySQL or Apache Kafka, choose a cloud and region, and the provider handles provisioning, backups, upgrades and monitoring.

Because the services are based on widely used open-source engines, applications generally connect with standard drivers and client libraries, which keeps migration in and out relatively straightforward. Aiven can run on several public cloud providers, and services can be managed through its web console, API or infrastructure-as-code tooling. It suits engineering teams that want production-grade data systems without hiring dedicated database operations staff.

Key features

Managed PostgreSQL, MySQL and Kafka services
Choice of cloud provider and region
Automated backups, upgrades and monitoring
Management through console, API and Terraform
Standard open-source drivers and clients

Good fit for

→Outsourcing database operations for small teams
→Running Kafka without managing brokers

Tags: managed-database; postgresql; mysql; kafka; cloud; database-hosting; devops

Aiven: questions and answers

What is Aiven used for?: Aiven is a managed cloud service that runs open-source data systems such as Postgres, MySQL and Kafka for teams that do not want to operate databases themselves. It is a good fit for outsourcing database operations for small teams and running Kafka without managing brokers.
Is Aiven free?: Yes. Aiven has a free plan, and paid plans start at $5 per month. A free trial is also available.
Is Aiven open source?: No. Aiven is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Aiven include CloudNativePG, PostgreSQL and MySQL.
What are some alternatives to Aiven?: Aiven competes with Amazon RDS, MongoDB Atlas and PlanetScale. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Aiven alternatives.