PocketBase
by PocketBase · Open source backend in one file with realtime database, auth and file storage
BenchRank score
Screenshots of PocketBase
Homepage
Overview
PocketBase is an open source backend shipped as a single file. It provides an embedded database with a schema builder, data validations, realtime subscriptions and a REST API, plus email/password and OAuth2 authentication, file storage locally or in S3, and an admin dashboard. It can run standalone or be used as a framework and extended with Go and JavaScript hooks.
- Best for
- Developers wanting a single-file, self-hosted backend with database, auth and file storage.
- Pricing
- No prices are shown on the captured page; the project is presented as open source.
- Runs on
- macOSLinux
Strengths and trade-offs
Strengths
- One file covers database, auth, file storage and admin UI
- Realtime subscriptions and a REST API over an embedded database
- Files stored locally or in S3, with thumbnails generated on the fly
- Extendable via Go and JavaScript hooks, or usable as a framework
Trade-offs
- Version 0.39.10 — still pre-1.0, so APIs may change
- Only JavaScript and Dart SDKs are shown
- OAuth2 sign-up limited to Google, Facebook, GitHub and GitLab
- No hosted or managed option is mentioned; you run the server yourself
How PocketBase markets itself
A structured read of the promise, proof and page design on PocketBase’s captured homepage.
Homepage capture
“Open Source backend”
- Angle: Open source / ownership
- Hero: Product screenshot
Pricing
Published plans and prices from PocketBase’s own pricing page.
How this score is made up
Each dimension is scored out of 100 and combined into the headline score using fixed weights.
MCP support
Whether an agent can drive the product through the Model Context Protocol, and how much setup that takes.
API quality
Public API surface: machine-readable spec, official SDKs, documented auth, errors, rate limits and versioning.
Documentation
Publicly reachable docs — coverage, freshness, code samples and machine readability.
Agent friendliness
How readable the site is to an automated client: llms.txt, structured data, server-rendered content, crawler access.
Changelog
A public, dated record of what shipped and when — the clearest signal that a product is still alive.
Marketing site structure
Whether the site answers a buyer's questions: clear positioning, the pages that matter, and accessibility.
Page speed
How fast the site loads for real visitors: Chrome UX Report 75th-percentile LCP, INP and CLS, with a Lighthouse mobile run standing in where a site has too little traffic for field data.
Operational trust
Status page and incident history, security disclosure, compliance and data-processing documentation.
Measured, but not part of the score
Useful to know, but not a mark for or against the product — so these do not affect the ranking.
Openness
Source availability, self-hosting, data export and open standards. Scored and shown, but not part of the composite — paid SaaS is not worse for being paid SaaS.
Maintenance
Release cadence and repository activity. Scored and shown, but not part of the composite — it is only measurable for open repositories.
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Where this comes from
The PocketBase pages BenchRank reads when it scores the product — its documentation, release notes, status and security pages, and its repository where there is one.
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Is this your product?
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