First, we have just launched and are still figuring out pricing, this is a great point of feedback that we'll consider, thank you.
What differentiates Astro DB is the deep integration with the Astro framework and providing an easy path for common scenarios. Astro DB is a higher-level product than using a database service directly. For example, Astro DB handles migrations transparently for you and guides you when manual intervention is needed, just from running `astro db push`.
Astro DB also includes a local story, by default you use a local SQLite database that you can seed (using db/seed.ts) for local development. You can even use it for a purely static site, although we're still working on making SSG use-cases more seamless. For now though, this gives you a great local workflow for development that you can think easily connect to production with `astro build --remote`.
What differentiates Astro DB is the deep integration with the Astro framework and providing an easy path for common scenarios. Astro DB is a higher-level product than using a database service directly. For example, Astro DB handles migrations transparently for you and guides you when manual intervention is needed, just from running `astro db push`.
Astro DB also includes a local story, by default you use a local SQLite database that you can seed (using db/seed.ts) for local development. You can even use it for a purely static site, although we're still working on making SSG use-cases more seamless. For now though, this gives you a great local workflow for development that you can think easily connect to production with `astro build --remote`.