Description
Ensure production Render Postgres databases run on a paid compute plan. Free databases have no backups or point-in-time recovery and expire 30 days after creation, so they are not suitable for production data.
Rationale
A production database on the Free plan can be lost when it expires, and it cannot be restored if data is deleted or corrupted, because it has no backups. Paid plans provide point-in-time recovery and on-demand exports, which protect production data.
Impact
Production data has backups and point-in-time recovery
The database does not expire
Paid plans have a monthly cost
Default Value
The Free plan can be selected when creating a database. Free databases expire 30 days after creation, become inaccessible, and are deleted if not upgraded within a 14-day grace period. They do not support any form of backups.
Pre-Requisites
Admin or Developer role (Admin for protected environments)
Billing approval for a paid plan
Remediation
Test Plan
Sign in to the Render Dashboard at https://dashboard.render.com.
From your workspace home (or project), click the Postgres database to open it.
Open the Plan page and check the current compute plan.
If a production database is on the Free plan, follow the implementation steps.
Implementation Steps
Sign in to the Render Dashboard at https://dashboard.render.com.
From your workspace home (or project), click the Postgres database to open it.
Open the Plan page, scroll down to the Compute section, and click Edit.
Select a paid compute plan and click Save. The database is briefly unavailable during the change.
Backout Plan
Sign in to the Render Dashboard at https://dashboard.render.com.
From your workspace home (or project), click the Postgres database to open it.
Open the Plan page, scroll to the Compute section, click Edit, and select the previous plan if it is offered. Free databases have no backups, so export your data first.
Reference