# Get Started Using SingleStore for Free

> **📝 Note**: SingleStore no longer requires a license for development, prototyping, and functional testing when using [SingleStore Free Edition](https://portal.singlestore.com/) or the [SingleStore Dev Image](https://docs.singlestore.com/db/v9.1/deploy/singlestore-dev-image.md).

There are two ways to try SingleStore for free. With either option, you can quickly develop an application, test-drive SingleStore features, and measure your application’s query performance.

| Helios Shared (Public Cloud)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | Dev Image (Local Development)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| This option allows you to quickly deploy a database and experience the performance and scalability ofSingleStorein the cloud.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         | This option enables rapid application development and testing, and is the fastest way to develop locally on your laptop or in a CI/CD environment, such as GitHub Actions.                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| <ul> <li>Quickly deploy SingleStore in a public cloud and instantly take advantage of cloud features such as: <ul> <li>SingleStore <a href="https://docs.singlestore.com/docs/notebooks/">Notebooks</a>: A common tool for developing code and presenting results</li> <li><a href="https://docs.singlestore.com/cloud/singlestore-kai/">SingleStore Kai</a>: Connect to a SingleStore Helios cluster from MongoDB® clients and tools</li> <li><a href="https://docs.singlestore.com/cloud/monitoring">Monitoring</a>: Assess application workloads and debug performance-related issues</li> <li>...and <a href="https://docs.singlestore.com/cloud/shared-edition/">more</a>.</li> </ul></li> </ul> | <ul> <li>Easily deploy on a laptop for local development</li> <li>Deploys SingleStore as a <a href="https://docs.singlestore.com/db/v9.1/introduction/distributed-architecture/cluster-components.md">two-node</a> (an aggregator and a leaf node) Docker container</li> <li>Provides for continuous local development.</li> </ul>                                    |
| [Sign up](https://www.singlestore.com/cloud-trial/)to start developing in the cloud.When ready, easily migrate your application and data to an AWS, Azure, or GCP production environment.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | [Download](https://docs.singlestore.com/db/v9.1/deploy/singlestore-dev-image.md)theSingleStoreDev Image to start developing locally.When ready, migrate your application and data to either[SingleStore Helios](https://docs.singlestore.com/cloud/migrating-to-workspaces/)or a[self-managed](https://docs.singlestore.com/db/v9.1/deploy.md)production environment. |
| **Support**For community support and/or questions, check out the[SingleStoreForums](https://www.singlestore.com/forum).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |

***

Modified at: June 2, 2026

Source: [/db/v9.1/developer-resources/get-started-using-singlestore-for-free/](https://docs.singlestore.com/db/v9.1/developer-resources/get-started-using-singlestore-for-free/)

(An index of the documentation is available at /llms.txt)