Running Postgres on a free-tier VM: what I learned

Running Postgres on a small VM is entirely reasonable for side projects — as long as you respect a few things that managed databases usually do for you.

Backups first. A nightly pg_dump to object storage, plus a restore you have actually tested, removes most of the anxiety. A backup you've never restored is a hope, not a backup.

Then connections. The default max connections is generous relative to a tiny VM's memory, and every connection has a cost. Put PgBouncer in front or keep pools small.

Finally, memory. Tune shared_buffers and work_mem to the VM, not to a blog post. Watch for swap; if you're swapping, the database is telling you something.