Tool profile
ClickHouse Cloud: cost, fit and limits
ClickHouse Cloud is a managed analytical database service from ClickHouse that stores and queries large tables on usage-based billing, with vector search for machine learning and GenAI workloads and a GenAI-powered SQL assistant in its console.
What to know first
ClickHouse Cloud offers Basic, Scale and Enterprise plans, billed by compute-unit hour and by TB of storage per month. Only Enterprise shows rates, for example $0.39030 per compute unit per hour and $25.30 per TB per month on AWS us-east-1. A trial gives $300 in credits over 30 days without a credit card. The open source ClickHouse database stays free.
ClickHouse Cloud at a glance
| Maker | ClickHouse (company name as shown on the vendor pages; legal entity not stated on the opened pages), Not stated on the vendor pages |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Free trial only |
| Entry price | Quote only |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI Data Warehouse Software in 2026, rank 10 of 10 |
| Website | clickhouse.com/cloud |
Who ClickHouse Cloud is best for
Teams moving off a self-run ClickHouse
The open source engine is free, and the managed service takes over backups, upgrades and scaling. Basic keeps backups for 1 day and exports them to your own cloud account.
Pipelines that ingest from many sources
ClickPipes loads data from databases, APIs and streaming services, and the integrations list names Kafka, S3, PostgreSQL, MySQL and MongoDB as sources.
Regulated workloads on Enterprise
Enterprise lists HIPAA and PCI compliance, transparent data encryption, customer-managed keys, SAML SSO and private regions, so a security review can start from named controls.
ClickHouse Cloud plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Not published (usage-based) | Up to 1 TB storage, 8 to 12 GiB total memory, backups every 24 hours kept for 1 day, 1 availability zone, SSO via Google or Microsoft login, multi-factor authentication, 1 business day support response. |
| Scale | Not published (usage-based) | Unlimited storage, configurable memory, compute-compute separation, configurable backups, 2 or more availability zones, 24x7 support with 1-hour response for Severity 1, private networking and S3 role-based access. |
| Enterprise | Not published as a plan price; AWS us-east-1 is $0.39030 per compute unit per hour and $25.30 per TB per month | SAML SSO, private regions, 30-minute Severity 1 response, a named Lead Support Engineer, transparent data encryption with CMEK, scheduled upgrades, HIPAA and PCI compliance. |
| Trial | $300 in credits over 30 days, no credit card | Credits last 30 days or until used up, after which the account moves to pay-as-you-go billing. |
Checked November 2026.
What ClickHouse Cloud does
- Compute-compute separation
- The Scale plan separates compute from storage across services, so a heavy reporting workload can run on its own compute without taking capacity from the services that handle ingestion.
- ClickPipes ingestion
- ClickPipes is the managed ingestion feature for databases, APIs and streaming services. The ClickHouse CLI, clickhousectl, manages services and ClickPipes from a terminal or a coding agent.
- Vector search
- The homepage names an ML and GenAI use case built on vector search, which keeps embeddings next to the analytical tables instead of in a separate store.
- GenAI SQL assistance
- The SQL console includes GenAI-powered SQL assistance. The pricing page names no AI feature, so the assistant is documented on the vendor's other pages rather than as a priced item.
- Encryption and private networking
- The vendor's SQL console includes GenAI-powered SQL assistance. The pricing page names no AI feature, so the assistant is described on the vendor's other pages rather than as a priced item.
How ClickHouse Cloud handles your data
The compliance overview page lists SOC 2 Type II (since 2022), ISO 27001 (since 2023), the U.S. Data Privacy Framework (since 2024), HIPAA (since 2024, Enterprise) and a PCI service provider listing (since 2025, Enterprise). The pages read do not state whether customer data is used to train models, how long data is kept beyond the 1-day Basic backup window, or which regions are offered. Pricing is shown per region, with AWS us-east-1 as the example. The vendor's policy was not checked for AI training use.
Where ClickHouse Cloud falls short in practice
- Basic is a small ceiling. Basic stops at 1 TB of storage, 8 to 12 GiB of memory and a single availability zone, with backups kept 1 day. A growing workload moves to Scale, whose price is also unpublished.
- Prices appear only for Enterprise. Only Enterprise rates are listed, per region. A team planning a budget for Basic or Scale has to run the trial or ask the vendor before it can estimate a monthly bill.
- Compliance sits on the top tier. HIPAA and PCI compliance and private regions are Enterprise items. Teams with those requirements cannot satisfy them on Basic or Scale, per the plan lists read.
- Service management API not stated. The pages read describe the ClickHouse CLI for managing services but state no public API for that job, so automation plans should be checked with the vendor.
Works with
Alternatives to ClickHouse Cloud
ClickHouse Cloud: common questions
How much does ClickHouse Cloud cost?
Basic and Scale prices are not published; billing is per compute-unit hour and per TB of storage per month. Enterprise rates are listed per region, with AWS us-east-1 at $0.39030 per compute unit per hour and $25.30 per TB per month, in USD as of November 2026.
Is there a free trial of ClickHouse Cloud?
Yes. The trial gives $300 in credits over 30 days and needs no credit card. It ends after 30 days or when the credits are used up, and the account then moves to pay-as-you-go billing. The open source ClickHouse database is free forever.
Which ClickHouse Cloud plan includes HIPAA and PCI compliance?
HIPAA and PCI compliance are listed on the Enterprise plan. The compliance overview dates HIPAA to 2024 and the PCI service provider listing to 2025. Basic and Scale list neither, so regulated workloads need an Enterprise contract with the vendor.
Does ClickHouse Cloud have AI features?
The homepage names vector search for machine learning and GenAI workloads, and the SQL console includes GenAI-powered SQL assistance. The pricing page names no AI feature. Whether customer data trains models was not stated on the pages read, so ask before loading sensitive tables.
Can ClickHouse Cloud separate compute for different workloads?
Yes, on the Scale plan, which lists compute-compute separation. Scale also adds unlimited storage, configurable memory, two or more availability zones, private networking and a 1-hour Severity 1 response. Basic does not list compute-compute separation. The Scale plan page also lists automatic vertical scaling and manual horizontal scaling.