Railbase vs PocketBase
The same single-binary, self-hosted simplicity as PocketBase — plus commercial business modules you install at runtime.
Updated
PocketBase and Railbase start from the same idea: a backend that ships as one self-hosted binary instead of a cloud account and a pile of services. If you love that model but need ready-made business features, here's how they compare.
At a glance
| PocketBase | Railbase | |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | Single Go binary | Single Go binary |
| Database | Embedded SQLite | Embedded single-file store (Vault) |
| License | Open-source (MIT), free | Free to self-host; commercial plugins |
| Auth, REST, realtime, files, admin UI | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-tenancy + RBAC | Rules-based | Built into the core |
| Ready business apps | — | Marketplace: helpdesk, inventory, accounting, CMS… |
When PocketBase is the better choice
PocketBase is open-source and completely free, with a polished developer experience and a large community. If you want a minimal backend for a side project or micro-SaaS, prefer MIT-licensed source you can fork, and are happy to build product features yourself, PocketBase is hard to beat.
When teams pick Railbase
Railbase keeps the single-binary, self-host-anywhere feel, then adds the layers most products eventually need:
- Multi-tenancy and RBAC in the core, not bolted on.
- An admin SPA plus a public site frontend out of the box.
- A plugin marketplace — buy a helpdesk, inventory, accounting (GL/AP/AR), CMS or translation module and install it at runtime, self-hosted, with no rebuild and no third-party cloud.
In short: choose PocketBase when you want the leanest open-source backend and will build features yourself; choose Railbase when you want that same operational simplicity plus commercial business modules you run on your own server.
FAQ
Is Railbase open source like PocketBase?
No. PocketBase is MIT-licensed open source. The Railbase core is closed-source but free to self-host — you download and run the binary at no cost; only the optional business plugins are paid (per-seat licenses).
Does Railbase use SQLite like PocketBase?
No. Railbase persists everything in Vault — an embedded, single-file NoSQL document store. The operational model is the same as PocketBase's SQLite file: one data file next to one binary, and a backup is a file copy.
Does Railbase support multi-tenancy?
Yes. Tenant isolation and role-based access control are part of the core, not an add-on — every collection, API call and plugin is tenant-scoped.
Can I extend Railbase with my own code?
Yes. railbase init scaffolds a site you build on with schema definitions,
hooks, scheduled jobs and the TypeScript SDK — and compiled plugins from the
marketplace install at runtime without a rebuild.