I spent 16 months building a cheaper hosted database for quick projects
I started building ElyDB because hosted databases felt weirdly expensive for small side projects.
A lot of DBaaS products start around $10 a month, which can be more than people pay for the database hosting itself. That felt backwards to me, especially for indie hackers, students, and vibe coders who just need a quick database to test an idea.
So I built ElyDB around one simple idea: create a hosted database fast, keep it cheap, and make it useful for prototypes, experiments, and small apps.
Right now you can spin up a new hosted database in under 30 seconds. The goal is basically: need a quick database for a project, create one, keep building.
I’ve been fully vibe coding this for about 16 months now. It has automated CI/CD pipelines, automated rollback, AI anomaly detection, and a bunch of backend safety work that I honestly did not expect to be building when I first started.
One funny/scary milestone: I recently got an email from someone claiming they found 3 security issues that could lead to auth bypass. I assumed it was someone learning security and testing the app. After reviewing it, 2 of the 3 were real issues, and I patched them quickly. Definitely a humbling moment, but also one of those moments that made the project feel more real.
I’m looking for honest feedback from people who build SaaS products, side projects, or prototypes.
If anyone wants to try ElyDB and give feedback, DM me the email you used to register and I’ll add 3 months free to your account.
Mostly curious about:
Is the idea useful?
Is the pricing actually low enough to matter?
Is the database creation flow simple enough?
What would make you trust it for a real project?
Appreciate any feedback, even if it’s blunt.