NocoBase - Self-Hosted Database Builder for Teams

NocoBase thinks in data models instead of tables. Airtable locks you into their table structure - need a different view? You're building workarounds. NocoBase lets you design your data once, then create whatever interface makes sense.

Same customer data can show up as:

• Table view for admin tasks
• Kanban for project tracking
• Dashboard for executives
• Mobile forms for field work

I spent weeks trying to get Notion to do this. Ended up with a mess of linked databases that nobody could maintain.

You define entities once (customers, projects, whatever), then build interface blocks that display the data however you need. Tables, forms, kanban, charts - mix and match without rebuilding everything.

Plugins That Actually Work

Everything is a plugin - even basic CRUD operations. Sounds over-engineered? Maybe. When I needed to connect to an existing PostgreSQL database with some weird schema naming conventions, I wrote a custom plugin. Took me 4 days instead of the planned 1, but worked way better than fighting with those shitty "universal connector" systems.

The plugin docs are actually readable. Which is rare.

Live Interface Editing (No Deploy Hell)

There's a toggle that switches between "use mode" and "config mode." Users are working in the app, you flip the switch, drag fields around, flip it back. No redeployment. No staging environment. No fucking developer tickets for moving a dropdown.

Cut way down on those annoying "can you make this field bigger" Slack messages that destroy your flow.

The Stack (What You're Actually Deploying)

• Backend: Node.js 18+ with TypeScript (not proprietary bullshit)
• Frontend: React (you can read the source code)
• Database: PostgreSQL, MySQL, or SQLite
• APIs: REST endpoints that work
• Deployment: Docker Compose or build from source

Version 1.8.23 dropped September 3rd. I've been running 1.8.x in production since June - only major issue was a memory leak in 1.8.15 that got fixed in 1.8.18. Better track record than most of this shit.

Self-Hosting Reality

You're the one getting paged at 3am when it breaks. But at least the deployment actually works, logs make sense, and you can backup your data without reverse-engineering proprietary formats.

The GitHub community (16k+ stars) actually solves problems instead of just creating them. Lost a weekend to a PostgreSQL connection pooling bug - found the fix in a GitHub issue within an hour.

AGPL-3.0 for the free version. If you're building internal tools, you're fine. If you're selling software with NocoBase inside or your legal team has AGPL paranoia, you need a commercial license.

What AGPL Actually Means

Free version: unlimited users, no feature limits, but if you modify and distribute (even internally), your changes must be open source under AGPL.

Most companies building internal tools don't give a shit about this. Software vendors and paranoid legal departments lose their minds. Our legal team spent 3 weeks analyzing AGPL and still made us get a commercial license "just to be safe."

Free version gets you:

• Unlimited everything
• Full plugin development
• Self-hosting
• Community support (GitHub issues, forums)

The plugin system is actually decent. Workflow designer makes sense, unlike most BPM tools.

Commercial Pricing (Real Cost Breakdown)

Standard Edition - $800 One-Time

Legal compliance license. Pay once, keep modifications private, remove branding.

Gets you:

• Keep plugins proprietary
• No "Powered by NocoBase"
• 8 commercial plugin credits
• One year updates

Reality: You still need hosting (AWS will eat $600/month just for hosting), backups, monitoring, and custom dev work. The license doesn't include infrastructure magic.

Professional Edition - $8,000 One-Time

10x price jump for businesses. Gets you:

• Multi-tenancy
• Enhanced security
• Dev/staging/prod deployment tools
• Actual support (15 tickets, 12-hour response)
• 64 plugin credits

Hidden cost: You're still running all the infrastructure. PostgreSQL crashed at 2am with a cryptic "connection terminated" error that turned out to be a memory limit nobody documented. Assumes your team actually knows DevOps.

Enterprise Edition - "Call Us"

Translation: expensive (5-6 figures). Gets you:

• Cluster deployment
• Advanced monitoring
• AI integrations
• Roadmap influence
• Direct core team access

Unless you have thousands of users or need hand-holding, stick with Professional.

Security Reality Check

Professional/Enterprise get you:

• Encryption (you configure it)
• Role-based access control
• Audit logging (if enabled)
• SSO (SAML, OIDC)
• IP restrictions and 2FA

Security features exist but aren't enabled by default. Docs assume you actually know what SAML is and how to configure it. No cryptic XML config files at least, but you're still doing everything yourself.

Production Users (Not Just Demos)

Companies actually using this:

• HouseWell: 110+ employees, replaced paper HR forms and Excel hell
• XtalPi: Chemical company with data sovereignty paranoia
• China Unicom: Telecom lab data management
• BIEL Crystal: 1.85 billion units/year manufacturing dashboard

BIEL ships to Apple and Samsung. When they trust NocoBase with production data, it means something.

Real Cost Breakdown

50-person internal team:

• Community Edition: $0 (AGPL fine for internal)
• AWS hosting: $400-800/month
• Setup time: 60-100 hours
• Maintenance: 3-5 hours/week

Software vendor (white-label):

• Standard License: $800 one-time
• Hosting: $600-1500/month
• Custom dev: Budget 30% extra vs other platforms
• Learning curve: Your team will struggle initially

You're building and maintaining everything. When shit breaks at 2am on Sunday and users are screaming, you're the one fixing it. No magical support team to call.