In-process & embedded engines · MotherDuck, Inc.

MotherDuck

Managed cloud service built on DuckDB, adding hybrid local/cloud execution, sharing, and scale-out storage.

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MotherDuck is a commercial cloud service built around DuckDB, the open-source in-process analytical database. It runs DuckDB in the cloud with persistent, shareable storage, and supports a hybrid execution model where queries can run locally in a client's own DuckDB instance, in the cloud, or split across both depending on data location and size, so small interactive workloads stay fast while larger ones scale out. MotherDuck adds multi-user collaboration, read-scaling replicas, connectors, and enterprise features like PrivateLink and HIPAA support on top of DuckDB's SQL engine and file format compatibility (Parquet, CSV, JSON). It is aimed at teams that like DuckDB's simplicity and speed for local analytics but need a shared, durable, multi-user version rather than everyone running separate local files.

At a glance

Vendor MotherDuck, Inc.
Pricing model Free tier + paid plans
Free tier Yes
Deployment Cloud
Open source No
Best for Teams that want DuckDB's speed and simplicity with shared, durable, multi-user cloud storage.

Pricing

A free Lite tier for individuals; Business is a flat per-org monthly fee plus usage; Enterprise is custom-quoted; compute is metered hourly by instance size and storage by GB-month.

Plan Price Notes
Lite Starting from $0 Up to 3 active users, 2 service accounts, 10 GB free storage, 10 hours Pulse compute/month
Business $250 per org/month + usage Up to 10 active users, unlimited service accounts, 5 instance types, 90-day snapshot retention, 99.9% SLA
Enterprise Custom Unlimited users/service accounts, fixed-cost capacity pricing, AWS PrivateLink, HIPAA BAA available

Prices read from the vendor's own page on September 21, 2026. Vendors change prices; check the source before you budget.

Features

  • Hybrid local/cloud query execution built on DuckDB
  • Persistent, shareable cloud storage for DuckDB databases
  • Read-scaling replicas for concurrent access
  • Multiple compute instance sizes (Pulse through Giga)
  • Direct querying of Parquet, CSV, and JSON without preloading
  • Snapshotting and point-in-time recovery
  • SQL notebooks and a web-based query UI

Integrations

Profile last reviewed September 21, 2026

Alternatives

DuckDB Open-source embedded analytical database that runs SQL queries in-process, without a server, on local or remote files. Polars Open-source, Rust-built in-process DataFrame library offering a fast, multi-threaded alternative to pandas for local analytics. clickhouse-local Single-binary command-line tool that runs ClickHouse's query engine locally over files, without installing a server.

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Terms to know

OLAP (online analytical processing) A category of technology optimized for fast, multi-dimensional aggregation and slicing of data for analysis. Data warehouse A centralized, structured database optimized for fast historical reporting rather than day-to-day transactions. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) The U.S. law that sets privacy and security rules for protected health information handled by healthcare providers and insurers.

Related guides

How to choose an in-process analytics engine Pick an embedded analytics engine by workload shape, language runtime and what happens the day you outgrow a single machine.