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Not yet released. This guide describes implemented changes awaiting rollout. Availability requires the corresponding backend and dashboard release.

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Goal

Choose the database tier that fits your app before you create it.

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Prerequisites

  • A StackShift account

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Workflow

1
Start with Starter for prototypes, side projects, previews and small production apps.
2
Choose Dedicated when the database is business-critical: you need guaranteed CPU and memory, a standby that takes over automatically, read replicas, or restore to an exact second.
3
Pick the engine. Starter offers PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, ClickHouse, Redis and Valkey. Dedicated offers PostgreSQL 15 to 18. MySQL on Dedicated isn’t available yet.
4
Create the database from Databases → Create and choose the tier. Already running on Starter? You can move the database to Dedicated later without changing your app code.

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How they differ

  • Isolation: Starter runs in an isolated container on a shared server. Dedicated runs in its own virtual machine with its own encrypted disk.
  • Resources: Starter sizes share CPU. Dedicated offers shared-CPU sizes (s-…) and sizes with CPUs reserved only for your database (d-…). See the sizes with stackshift database instance-classes.
  • Storage: Dedicated storage is 10 GB to 1 TB and grows automatically up to a limit you set.
  • Recovery: Starter keeps regular backups. Dedicated also archives every change continuously, so you can restore to any second in your retention window (7 to 35 days). Starter PostgreSQL can turn on the same point-in-time restore as an add-on.
  • Availability: Dedicated can add a standby on another server that takes over automatically, plus up to 5 read replicas. Starter PostgreSQL can add a standby too.
  • Visibility: Dedicated has Performance Insights, which shows what your database spends its time on, and an events feed of failovers, backups and maintenance.
  • Access: Starter gives your database user superuser rights. On Dedicated your master user can create databases, roles and the allowed extensions but is not a superuser, which protects backups and replication.
  • Billing: Starter follows your plan. Dedicated is billed per database, monthly, yearly or hourly. See https://stackshift.cloud/pricing.

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Availability

Dedicated databases are rolling out. If Create doesn’t offer Dedicated, it isn’t switched on for your account yet, and the API answers 403.

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Expected result

You know which tier to create and what each one guarantees.

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Common failures

  • 403 when creating with "tier": "dedicated": Dedicated isn’t switched on for your account yet. Create a Starter database for now.

Dedicated databases

Create a Dedicated PostgreSQL database, connect to it, resize it and manage its lifecycle.

Move a Starter database to Dedicated

Copy a Starter PostgreSQL database to a new Dedicated database, switch your apps over and keep the original read-only for 7 days.

Restore to any second

Dedicated databases archive every change, so you can restore to an exact second. A restore always creates a new database.

Standby and high availability

Add a standby on another server. If the primary fails, the standby takes over and your connection address stays the same.

Dedicated billing

Pay for a Dedicated database monthly, yearly or by the hour, from your wallet or card.