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Self-host MongoDB Atlas
Document database (managed)
Atlas is MongoDB's hosted offering. The self-host story is unusual because MongoDB themselves publish the same engine under SSPL — you can run it freely; you just can't resell it as a managed service. FerretDB and PocketBase are the truly OSS-licensed alternatives.
MongoDB Atlas pricing anchor: $57/mo M10 dedicated cluster; $400+/mo at production scale.
- GitHub
- ★ 28.3k · last commit today · 26 open issues
- License
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SSPL-1.0 SSPL is non-OSI but allows full self-host for any internal use, commercial or otherwise. The restriction is on offering MongoDB itself as a managed service to third parties.
- Setup time
- 10min (apt / docker)
- Monthly cost
- $5 VPS for dev; $10-20 for small production with replica set.
Migration sketch. Atlas → Cluster → ... → Migrate Data → choose 'Live Migration' or `mongodump` to local. `mongorestore` into your self-hosted instance. Indexes, sharding rules, replica-set config preserved. Atlas Triggers and Atlas Search are Atlas-only — replace with change streams + a search engine.
Good fit forApps that already use Mongo's query language and aren't redistributing the database.
Weak atSSPL is not OSI-approved; some compliance regimes treat that as a no-go.
- GitHub
- ★ 10.9k · last commit 3mo ago · 444 open issues
- License
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Apache-2.0 - Setup time
- 10min docker-compose (FerretDB + Postgres)
- Monthly cost
- $5-10 VPS — Postgres backend does the heavy lifting.
Migration sketch. FerretDB speaks the MongoDB wire protocol. `mongodump` from Atlas; `mongorestore` against the FerretDB endpoint. Most CRUD + aggregation pipelines work; advanced operators (geospatial, full-text search) have partial coverage — check the FerretDB compatibility matrix before committing.
Good fit forTeams that want a true OSS license + Postgres durability without leaving the Mongo client SDKs.
Weak atCompatibility is per-operator; not a 100% drop-in for large existing apps.
- GitHub
- ★ 58.2k · last commit 2d ago · 17 open issues
- License
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MIT - Setup time
- 5min (single Go binary)
- Monthly cost
- $5 VPS handles tens of thousands of records; SQLite-backed.
Migration sketch. Different model — PocketBase isn't wire-compatible with Mongo. Path: write a one-shot script that reads from Atlas via the Mongo driver and writes to PocketBase via its REST/JS SDK. Atlas's flexible-schema documents flatten to PocketBase 'Collections' (typed schemas).
Good fit forGreenfield apps where you'd take SQLite + auth + file storage in one binary over Mongo's flexible-schema model.
Weak atSchema-typed; doesn't suit apps that genuinely need flexible per-document structure.
In a terminal? npx os-alt mongodb-atlas prints this table —
how the CLI works →