Encore is an open-source backend development platform that automates infrastructure and DevOps, allowing engineering teams to build applications faster with minimal DevOps overhead.
Main features:
- Performance: Offers significant performance improvements over traditional frameworks like Express.js
- Infrastructure Automation: Automatically provisions and manages cloud infrastructure on AWS and GCP
- Type-Safe Development: Framework for building robust TypeScript and Go applications with type safety
- Built-in Observability: Includes service catalog, API documentation, and distributed tracing
- Faster Development: Simplifies local development with automated infrastructure setup
- AI-Ready Framework: Enables AI tools to generate complete distributed systems with infrastructure integrations
Encore is designed for engineering teams in startups and scaling companies who want to focus on product development rather than managing complex infrastructure and DevOps tasks.
Encore is an open-source backend platform that automates cloud infrastructure and DevOps for TypeScript and Go apps.
- for
- Engineering teams at startups and scaling companies that want to reduce DevOps overhead.
- pricing
- freemium · free trial
- license
- MPL-2.0
- v1.58.4v1.58.4 — Fixes and improvements2 months ago
- v1.58.3v1.58.3 — Minor improvements2 months ago
- v1.58.2v1.58.2 — Fixes and improvements2 months ago
works withAWSGCPDatadogGrafanaCloudflare
Key features
6 features of Encore
- Infrastructure Automation — Automatically provisions and manages AWS/GCP resources from application code.
- Local Development Environment — Runs full backend locally with real databases, queues, and buckets in one command.
- Preview Environments — Creates temporary isolated environments per pull request for end-to-end testing.
- Built-in Observability — Provides service catalog, API docs, distributed tracing and logs.
- Type-Safe SDK — Framework for building robust TypeScript and Go services with full type safety.
- AI-Ready Framework — Allows AI agents to generate complete distributed systems with infrastructure definitions.
Use cases
- Spin up a full backend with databases and queues locally for rapid feature iteration.
- Generate preview environments for each PR to validate changes without shared staging.
- Replace Terraform pipelines with code-first infrastructure provisioning on AWS or GCP.
- Enable AI agents to create and deploy complete services automatically.
- Gradually adopt Encore in existing monoliths by converting services one at a time.
Encore pricing
- StarterFreeLocal dev with automated infra · 2 free dev environments · 1M tracing events / month · Community Discord support
- Pro$49/member/monthUnlimited dev environments · 20M tracing events included · Preview environments per PR · Custom domains and CI/CD
Encore vs alternatives
 Encore |  BuildShip |  Fastgen | .svg?width=64) Devzero |  Keel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Automated infrastructure from code to production | AI-driven visual backend builder | No-code backend creation | Speedy code-to-release pipelines | Backend services & team tooling |
| Pricing | Freemium | Free | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription |
| DevHunt upvotes | 18 | 118 | 95 | 85 | 46 |
| Launched | May 2025 | Jan 2023 | Jan 2023 | Apr 2024 | Mar 2024 |
- Encore vs BuildShip: BuildShip focuses on visual AI-driven backend building, while Encore is code-first with full infrastructure automation.
- Encore vs Fastgen: Fastgen markets itself as a "Webflow for the Backend" with UI-based API creation, whereas Encore provides a programmable SDK and cloud provisioning.
- Encore vs Devzero: Devzero emphasizes rapid release cycles but does not include automated infrastructure provisioning like Encore.
- Encore vs Keel: Keel offers backend services and team tools but lacks the integrated infrastructure-as-code and preview environments of Encore.
Encore FAQ
Can Encore be used with existing projects?+
Yes, you can incrementally adopt Encore by converting individual services to its SDK.
How does Encore differ from Terraform or Pulumi?+
Infrastructure is declared directly in application code, eliminating separate config files and manual PR handoffs.
What languages are supported?+
Encore currently supports TypeScript and Go; Python and Rust are announced for future support.
Do I pay Encore for cloud usage?+
No, you pay your cloud provider directly; Encore’s fee covers the platform and tooling only.
Is there a free trial for the Pro plan?+
Yes, the Pro plan offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.
Summarized by DevHunt from encore.dev · Sep 27, 2026. Details may change; check the official site.
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