Tool profile
Postgres sync engine and cloud platform for streaming partial database state into realtime apps and agentic systems.
Postgres realtime sync
Electric is a Postgres sync engine for teams that want fast, collaborative, local-first, or agentic application experiences without abandoning Postgres as the source of truth. Its core idea is read-path sync: data changes flow from Postgres through Electric into clients, services, local stores, caches, or agent runtimes using shapes and HTTP-friendly streams.
That makes Electric different from a hosted app backend. It is most useful when a team already values Postgres but needs the read side to become realtime, highly fan-out friendly, and better suited to modern collaborative interfaces. Electric Cloud extends the open-source engine with managed sync infrastructure, durable streams, and usage-based pricing where reads and delivery are free and writes plus retention drive the bill.
Quick fit
Editorial take
Electric is strongest when you already know Postgres is staying and the problem is delivering selective, live, scalable read models to clients or agents. It should not be confused with a general backend-as-a-service.
What it does well
Primary use cases
Fit notes
Compare with
Pressure-test this pick against nearby alternatives.
Pricing snapshot
Electric Cloud charges for writes and retention while reads, egress, fan-out, concurrent users, and data delivery are unlimited at no additional cost. PAYG has no monthly fee, waives usage under $5/month, and lists $1 per 1M writes plus $0.10 per GB-month retention; Pro is $249/month as prepaid credit, and Scale is $1,999/month with a 6-month commitment.
Alation
PaidEnterprise data catalog
Enterprise data intelligence and catalog platform for search, governance, trust, and AI-ready knowledge layers over organizational data.
Choose Alation when the buying problem is enterprise trust, governance, and discoverability across data assets.
