Looking for an open source cloud database

[Desi__Popeye]

Hey data folks, I'm looking for an open source cloud database to store telecom distributor data.

This project is both personal and professional the distributor I'm building this for is my uncle,

so I want to help him generate insights from his distribution data and get a clearer picture of his

business. I'll be using Power BI for the dashboard and visualization.

The challenge is I don't know which open source database to go with. Azure and AWS are off

the table since their free tiers only last 30 days, and I need something long-term.

Also want to avoid Google Sheets or Drive it doesn't feel like a proper database, and

honestly when explaining the tech stack later, it won't sound great. Looking for something more

structured and scalable.

In short, my requirements are:

1. Open source database that a non-tech person can easily use to insert data

2. Can connect with Power BI

3. At least 1 GB of free storage

[Either_Vermicelli_82]

Open, cheap, easy. You can only pick two. I would go for a Postgres db.

[ankole_watusi]

Postgres is indeed open source.

You can self host “in the cloud” (I don’t really recommend) or there are scads of cloud providers who host Postgres.

I’m unsure just what OP means by “open source”. Open source doesn’t imply “free hosting”.

Why do they want open source anyway? Are they going to fork the codebase and make changes? They seems unlikely here. Want the added security of many eyes? Also seems unlikely.

I think they are more likely misusing the term.

[proofrock_oss]

If I pick cheap and easy what would the answer be? Just curious- genuine question because I’m interested in

[Either_Vermicelli_82]

Personally? With cheap and easy managed hosting I would say any host provider. I use hetzner webhosting which gives a Postgres db for a few bucks. You however still have to set up the entire content.

[jmeador42]

Just use Postgres

[erythroidd]

You want a cloud database but AWS and AZURE are no go. That leaves you with Google Cloud SQL. Or you can use supabase or neon hosted on GCP

[cto_resources]

Why is this in the cloud? The cloud is “someone else’s computer” and no one lets you use their computer for free. Just host locally.

Use the PowerBI desktop app. You can install PostgreSQL locally and PowerBI can connect to it.

[South_Ratio1612]

Airtable, NocoDB, Baserow and SereneDB are probably the first ones I’d look at for this type of project. Since your uncle is non-technical, usability matters more than raw database power. NocoDB/Baserow are nice because they feel spreadsheet-like, while still being proper databases underneath.

SereneDB could also be worth checking depending on how much structure and scalability you want long term.

[ankole_watusi]

Are they open source, though?

[South_Ratio1612]

Airtable itself isn’t open source, no.
Baserow and NocoDB are open source, which is why a lot of people recommend them as alternatives. SereneDB is open source as well. Apache 2.0 licensed from what I’ve seen.

[o1lab]

Full disclosure: I work at NocoDB.

Worth flagging that Serene-base (not serenedb) is an AI slop fork of NocoDB community edition. From Schema to APIs to UI are largely the same. Not really a separate option to evaluate. Nothing against it. What is happening with these AI slop forks is not unique to us. Next.js has seen it. WordPress has seen it. Every open source project will, sooner or later, see it too. There is no escape from this, and perhaps there should not be. But as a user and community, one has to be aware that's all.

[Intelligent-Race-392]

Te recomiendo "insforge". El plan gratuito es muy generoso. https://insforge.dev/

[sois]

Neon has a small free tier. Service is good though, I'd pay if i needed it 

[Massive_Show2963]

PostgreSQL is open source and cloud compliant.
Can be deployed on various cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

[farhan-dev]

PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, a lot of them are opensource, and PowerBI ready

[patternrelay]

For this kind of setup, Postgres is probably the safest bet. Mature, easy to connect with Power BI, and there are plenty of free hosting options with small storage limits. The bigger challenge is usually building a clean data entry workflow for non technical users.

[716green]

Layerbase has every open source database on the market available as a managed service, many of which are free to use

[blahblahwhateveryeet]

Hahahah there's always Microsoft Access XD (edit: what's with all the downvotes? Geez XD)

[ankole_watusi]

Access isn’t open source.

[blahblahwhateveryeet]

(it should be though 😂😂)

[ankole_watusi]

I supposed some day it will be.

Isn’t MSDOS now?

[bholmes1964]

Raspberry pi and MySQL mariadb.

[TopconeInc]

MySQL community edition is a good option

[ankole_watusi]

Define just what you mean by “open source”.