Can I start without a credit card?
Yes. The Free plan creates one permanent live project with enough capacity to validate a real backend.
Can I self-host Backenly instead of paying?
Yes. The platform is open source under Apache-2.0 and free to self-host: you bring the servers, the Postgres, and an OpenAI key if you want the natural-language build tools (the self-healing loop itself needs no model). The plans on this page are Backenly Cloud, where we run the infrastructure and handle backups and upgrades. It is the same codebase either way, and pg_dump moves your data between the two.
What counts as an AI credit?
One credit is 1,000 tokens of Backenly’s own model usage. Credits are spent when Backenly runs its own model on your behalf: the natural-language MCP tool (backend_chat), including the LLM-powered steps inside that turn such as the architect and function generation. They are a small included line, not the headline — the dashboard assistant answers questions free, the typed MCP tools cost nothing, and autonomy never draws credits.
Does driving the backend from my coding agent cost credits?
Almost never — it depends which tool your agent calls. The typed MCP tools (create_table, add_column, set_rls, generate_types, run_query and the rest) compile straight to SQL with no model call, so they are free on every plan: your agent supplies the intelligence and you pay your own provider. The exception is the natural-language tools — backend_chat and generate_function — where Backenly runs its own model on your behalf, and those draw credits: you are billed the tokens the call actually burned, nothing more. Point your agent at the typed tools and the AI meter stays at zero.
Does autonomy spend my credits?
Never. Detection and repair are deterministic: probes find drift, and each finding maps to a typed repair that compiles to SQL — no model in the repair path, so there is nothing to bill you for. When the loop cannot fix something and escalates it to you, a model may write up the diagnosis you read; that pass is on us, never your credits. Every plan gets the identical loop — checks every minute, repairs everything it safely can, with no per-window cap and no monthly limit, Free included. We do not meter healing: a backend that stops repairing itself once you hit a quota is the exact failure we built this to remove. Plans differ on capacity — projects, users, storage, AI credits — never on whether your backend is allowed to stay healthy.
Are database, auth, storage, and realtime paid add-ons?
No. Core backend primitives are included on every plan. Paid tiers increase capacity, support, rollback windows, and advanced controls.
Am I locked in? Can I get my data out?
Your backend is standard PostgreSQL, and it stays yours. Every plan — including Free — gets a real read-only connection string (psql, TablePlus, any BI tool), an optional read-write one, and one-click pg_dump exports that restore on any Postgres: RDS, Neon, your own server. The platform is open source too, so a full self-hosted Backenly is always an exit path. Schema, data, constraints, indexes — everything leaves with you, anytime, with no exit fee.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Paid access continues until the end of the billing period, then the account returns to the Free plan.