nself vs Hasura Cloud

nself includes Hasura. That is the shortest version of this comparison. nself bundles open-source Hasura with PostgreSQL, Auth, Storage, Nginx, and 87 optional plugins, all managed by one CLI. Hasura Cloud is the managed version of Hasura alone — you still need to bring your own Postgres, auth, and storage.

Feature matrix

See the [full comparison table](/compare) for a side-by-side view across nself, Supabase, Nhost, Firebase, and Appwrite.

Where Hasura Cloud is better

Managed Hasura with enterprise SLAs. Hasura Cloud runs Hasura for you with uptime guarantees, automated upgrades, and Hasura's enterprise support tier. If you need a Hasura SLA from the vendor, nself (which runs open-source Hasura) does not provide one. Source: [Hasura Cloud pricing](https://hasura.io/pricing/).

Query caching and performance analytics. Hasura Cloud includes built-in query response caching and a per-query performance insights dashboard. Open-source Hasura (what nself runs) does not include these Cloud-only features. Source: [Hasura Cloud features](https://hasura.io/docs/latest/hasura-cloud/overview/).

Multi-region deployments. Hasura Cloud Enterprise supports running your Hasura instance across multiple cloud regions for global low-latency reads. nself runs on one server you specify. Source: [Hasura Cloud Enterprise](https://hasura.io/docs/latest/hasura-cloud/high-availability/).

Dedicated support from Hasura engineers. Hasura Cloud's paid tiers include direct Slack access to Hasura's team. For orgs where Hasura is a core infrastructure component, this matters. Source: [Hasura support](https://hasura.io/support/).

Where nself is better

nself includes everything Hasura Cloud requires you to bring yourself. Hasura Cloud is GraphQL only. You still need:

- PostgreSQL (Hasura Cloud connects to any Postgres but does not manage it)

- Authentication (Hasura Cloud delegates auth to a JWT provider or webhook)

- File storage (Hasura Cloud has no storage)

- SSL and reverse proxy (Hasura Cloud's cloud endpoint handles this, but self-hosted Hasura does not)

nself gives you all of these integrated and CLI-managed. Source: [Hasura Cloud architecture](https://hasura.io/docs/latest/hasura-cloud/overview/), [nself architecture](https://docs.nself.org/architecture).

Cost. Hasura Cloud starts at $99/mo for a production instance (Professional plan). nself's full stack (including Hasura) runs on a $10/mo VPS. Source: [Hasura pricing](https://hasura.io/pricing/), [nself pricing](https://nself.org/pricing).

87 plugins. nself adds AI assistants, media processing, real-time chat, billing, monitoring, and email delivery on top of Hasura. Hasura Cloud is a GraphQL API layer only. Source: [nself plugins](https://docs.nself.org/plugins).

No vendor lock-in. Hasura Cloud stores nothing — your data stays in your Postgres. But the Hasura Cloud service itself is a dependency: if pricing changes or the service is discontinued, you need to migrate to self-hosted Hasura and manage it yourself. nself already runs open-source Hasura you control. Source: [Hasura open-source](https://github.com/hasura/graphql-engine).

Admin and monitoring bundled. nself Admin (localhost:3021) gives you a GUI for plugin management, service health, environment switching, and license management. Hasura Cloud's dashboard is Hasura-only. Source: [nself admin](https://docs.nself.org/admin).

Side-by-side pricing

*Prices from Hasura's public pricing page, verified April 2026.*

| What you get | nself | Hasura Cloud |

|---|---|---|

| **GraphQL API** | Hasura (included) | Hasura Cloud |

| **PostgreSQL** | Included | You provide |

| **Auth** | nHost Auth (included) | You provide (JWT/webhook) |

| **Storage** | MinIO (included) | You provide |

| **Monitoring** | Prometheus + Grafana (optional) | Hasura Cloud dashboard |

| **Price** | $5-20/mo VPS | $99-399+/mo Cloud |

Choose nself if...

1. You want a complete backend stack, not a GraphQL API layer only

2. You want predictable costs below Hasura Cloud's $99/mo entry point

3. You need integrated auth, storage, and monitoring alongside GraphQL

4. Data ownership and self-hosted control matter

5. You want a plugin ecosystem for AI, media, or chat features

Choose Hasura Cloud if...

1. You need Hasura with an enterprise SLA from the Hasura team

2. You need query caching and per-query performance analytics from Hasura Cloud's dashboard

3. Multi-region Hasura deployment is a hard requirement

4. You are already managing your own Postgres and want only the GraphQL layer managed

5. Direct support from Hasura engineers via Slack is a procurement requirement

Migration guide

Moving from Hasura Cloud to nself. Since nself already runs Hasura open-source, the Hasura metadata migrates directly.

### Step 1: Export your Hasura metadata and migrations

# Install Hasura CLI
npm install -g hasura-cli

# Export metadata from Hasura Cloud
hasura metadata export \
  --endpoint https://YOUR-PROJECT.hasura.app \
  --admin-secret YOUR_ADMIN_SECRET

# Export migrations
hasura migrate export \
  --endpoint https://YOUR-PROJECT.hasura.app \
  --admin-secret YOUR_ADMIN_SECRET \
  --database-name default

### Step 2: Export your Postgres data

# Get your Postgres connection string from Hasura Cloud settings
pg_dump \
  "postgres://USER:PASSWORD@HOST/DATABASE" \
  --format custom \
  --no-owner \
  --file hasura_cloud_dump.pgdump

### Step 3: Install nself

curl -fsSL https://install.nself.org | sh
nself init my-project
cd my-project
nself start

### Step 4: Restore Postgres data

nself db restore hasura_cloud_dump.pgdump

### Step 5: Apply Hasura metadata

# nself's Hasura instance runs at localhost (via nself proxy)
hasura metadata apply \
  --endpoint http://localhost:$(nself port hasura) \
  --admin-secret $(nself env get HASURA_GRAPHQL_ADMIN_SECRET)

hasura migrate apply \
  --endpoint http://localhost:$(nself port hasura) \
  --admin-secret $(nself env get HASURA_GRAPHQL_ADMIN_SECRET)

### Step 6: Update your app's GraphQL endpoint

// Before (Hasura Cloud)
const client = new ApolloClient({
  uri: 'https://YOUR-PROJECT.hasura.app/v1/graphql',
  headers: { 'x-hasura-admin-secret': 'YOUR_SECRET' },
})

// After (nself — your own domain)
const client = new ApolloClient({
  uri: 'https://api.yourdomain.com/v1/graphql',
  headers: { 'x-hasura-admin-secret': process.env.HASURA_ADMIN_SECRET },
})

FAQ

**Does nself have all the features of Hasura Cloud?**

nself runs Hasura open-source, which lacks Hasura Cloud-only features: query response caching (Cloud-only), granular query analytics, and multi-region deployment. Everything in the open-source Hasura works identically.

**Can I run both Hasura Cloud and nself simultaneously?**

Yes. Both point at Postgres. During migration, point Hasura Cloud at the same Postgres instance as nself until you are confident in the switch.

**Do I lose query performance without Hasura Cloud's caching?**

nself includes Redis (optional), which you can use for application-level caching. For GraphQL response caching, you can add a caching layer via the API gateway.

**What if I need Hasura Enterprise features?**

Hasura Enterprise (self-hosted) is available separately and works inside nself's stack. Contact Hasura for self-hosted Enterprise licensing.

[Install nself](https://install.nself.org) | [View pricing](/pricing) | [See all comparisons](/compare)