Tool profile
MotherDuck: cost, fit and limits
MotherDuck is a cloud analytics warehouse made by MotherDuck Corporation that runs SQL analytics for small data teams, with a free Lite plan, a Business plan billed per organization plus usage, and an AI + MCP Server for asking questions in natural language.
What to know first
MotherDuck sells three plans: Lite from $0, Business at $250 per organization per month plus usage, and a custom Enterprise tier. User counts are the main ceiling: 3 internal active users on Lite, 10 on Business, unlimited on Enterprise. The pricing page names an AI + MCP Server, Guides for agent context and Flights for agent-native pipelines, though the privacy policy gave no statement on model training.
MotherDuck at a glance
| Maker | MotherDuck Corporation, United States |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Entry price | Starting from $0 (Lite); Business $250 per org per month plus usage |
| API access | No |
| Category | Best AI Data Warehouse Software in 2026, rank 9 of 10 |
| Website | motherduck.com |
Who MotherDuck is best for
Solo analysts and tiny teams
Lite costs nothing to start and includes 10 GB storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute a month, enough to test whether the warehouse fits before any invoice.
Teams building AI agents on data
The AI + MCP Server, Guides and Flights are named on the pricing page, so a team wiring agents to a warehouse gets those features without a custom contract.
Healthcare data teams
Enterprise lists a HIPAA BAA, AWS PrivateLink and IP allowlisting, which a team handling protected data needs, though all three are custom-quote only.
MotherDuck plans and pricing
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Lite | Starting from $0 | Up to 3 internal active users and 2 service accounts; 10 GB free storage; 10 hours of Pulse compute per month; Pulse instances only. |
| Business | $250 per org per month + usage | Up to 10 internal active users; 5 instance types; read-scaling replicas; 90-day snapshot retention; 99.9% availability SLA; 7 day free trial. |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Unlimited internal active users and service accounts; AWS PrivateLink; IP allowlisting; HIPAA BAA; Bring Your Own Compute on request. |
Checked November 2026.
What MotherDuck does
- AI + MCP Server
- The pricing page describes this as getting answers from natural language. It also gives outside AI assistants a way to query the warehouse, though how queries are scoped was not checked.
- Guides
- Guides provide shared context for better AI agent performance and are listed on Lite and Business, so even the free plan gets some agent tuning.
- Flights
- Flights are described on the pricing page as agent-native data pipelines and are listed on the Business plan, which puts pipeline automation behind the paid tier.
- Access control and history
- Business adds role-based access control with preset and custom roles, plus query history, which gives a small team an audit trail of who ran what.
- Read-scaling replicas
- Business includes read-scaling replicas and five instance types, so concurrent dashboard reads can be spread out without moving to a custom Enterprise plan or contract.
How MotherDuck handles your data
The privacy policy was opened and gave no statement on whether customer data trains AI models, so that is not stated. The pricing page lists 90-day snapshot retention on Business and a HIPAA BAA on Enterprise. The vendor's policy was not checked for general retention, hosting region or security certifications beyond that, and none is named on the pages opened. Enterprise adds AWS PrivateLink and IP allowlisting for network controls. Ask for region and retention terms in writing.
Where MotherDuck falls short in practice
- User ceilings. Lite allows 3 internal active users and Business 10, so a growing analytics team reaches the custom Enterprise tier sooner than on warehouses with seat-free pricing.
- Compliance on the top tier only. HIPAA BAA, AWS PrivateLink and IP allowlisting are listed only on the Enterprise plan, so a regulated team cannot stay on the published Business price.
- Usage on top of the fee. Business is $250 per organization per month plus usage, and the page does not give a worked monthly total, so real cost depends on compute and storage.
- Free tier compute. Lite includes 10 hours of Pulse compute a month and Pulse instances only, which restricts heavier queries until a team pays for the Business plan.
Works with
Alternatives to MotherDuck
MotherDuck: common questions
Is MotherDuck free?
Lite is free to start, from $0, for up to 3 internal active users and 2 service accounts. It includes 10 GB of storage and 10 hours of Pulse compute a month, on Pulse instances only. Business starts at $250 per organization per month plus usage, with a 7 day free trial.
How many users does MotherDuck allow?
Lite allows up to 3 internal active users and 2 service accounts. Business allows up to 10 internal active users. Enterprise lists unlimited internal active users and service accounts. Beyond 10 users, a team must move to a custom quote.
What is the MotherDuck AI + MCP Server?
It is a feature the pricing page describes as getting answers from natural language. Guides, which supply shared context to AI agents, are listed on Lite and Business. How the server limits access or what models sit behind it was not stated on the pages checked.
Does MotherDuck offer a HIPAA BAA?
Yes, on the Enterprise plan only. The pricing page lists a HIPAA BAA together with AWS PrivateLink and IP allowlisting for Enterprise. Lite and Business do not list it, and Enterprise is priced by custom quote rather than a published figure.
Does MotherDuck train on customer data?
Not stated. The privacy policy was opened and no training statement was found. The vendor's policy was not checked beyond that for retention or hosting region, so ask MotherDuck for written terms before you load any sensitive data into the warehouse.