Pay per session.
Not per month.

Yes — completely fixed. You are buying a deliverable, not a block of time. If a Diagnostic session takes two hours because your instance is in good shape and the top issues are obvious, you still pay £497 and receive the same comprehensive written report. If your Remediation+ session takes eight hours because you have deeply layered bloat and a dozen index gaps, you still pay £897. The time the work takes is our problem to manage, not yours to worry about. There are no time-overrun charges, no mid-session surprises, and no incentive for us to pad the clock — our reputation depends on delivering value, not burning hours.

No. PGFlare connects via a read-only IAM role scoped exclusively to PostgreSQL performance statistics views: pg_stat_statements, pg_stat_bgwriter, pg_locks, and pg_stat_user_tables. We cannot read, write, or access application data under any circumstances. Your data never leaves your AWS environment. View the full IAM setup guide →

No. Onboarding requires only the creation of an IAM role — there is no software agent to install, no schema changes, and no maintenance window required. All remediation actions on Remediation+ sessions are applied using zero-downtime techniques. We will never execute a change that risks availability without your explicit written approval. Step-by-step IAM setup guide (Windows, Bash & macOS) →

PGFlare is purpose-built for AWS RDS PostgreSQL 16.9 and above. Our models are specifically tuned for the query planner changes introduced in 16.x. We also support PostgreSQL 15.x in maintenance mode — please contact us to discuss your specific version requirements.

Diagnostic and Remediation+ sessions are typically completed within the same working day. Your written priority report is delivered before end of session — not at the end of whatever time block you book. For Remediation+ sessions, all changes are applied during the session itself, subject to your approval at each step. Emergency sessions begin within 2 hours of booking confirmation (booked before 2pm BST).

Yes. PGFlare is designed to operate as a GDPR-compliant data processor under UK GDPR and EU GDPR. We maintain records of processing activities and operate UK data residency (AWS eu-west-2, London) by default. A signed Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is available to all customers: Diagnostic sessions on request, Remediation+ within 24 hours, and Emergency customers receive a DPA within 24 hours of session start.

If your Diagnostic session doesn’t identify at least three actionable, measurable performance improvements, we will repeat it at no charge — no questions asked. We’re confident in what our analysis surfaces. This applies to standalone Diagnostic sessions; Remediation+ sessions are covered by the quality of changes applied.

No. All sessions are one-time engagements with no subscription, retainer, or cancellation to manage. You book when you need us and pay on completion. If you find yourself needing regular advisory time, we can discuss a monthly retainer arrangement — contact us for details.

Yes. If you need ongoing advisory coverage — such as weekly check-ins, regular remediation cycles, or multi-instance engagements — we offer monthly retainer arrangements tailored to your needs. We also work with public sector, regulated financial services, and healthcare organisations with bespoke compliance requirements. Contact us to discuss.

PGFlare sessions are designed to be fast and decisive. A Diagnostic session is completed within a single working day and your written priority report is delivered before end of session. A Remediation+ session typically takes 3–8 hours depending on the depth of issues found — you pay the same flat £897 regardless. Emergency sessions begin within 2 hours of booking confirmation (booked before 2pm BST). There are no drawn-out multi-week retainers required — most clients see measurable improvement in query response times within 24 hours of a completed session.

Yes. The Diagnostic session is a fully fixed-fee AWS RDS PostgreSQL performance audit at £497. It covers slow query analysis via pg_stat_statements, index gap detection, autovacuum health scoring, table bloat analysis, and connection pool review — delivered as a prioritised written remediation report the same day. The Remediation+ session extends this with active implementation of fixes at a fixed £897, regardless of how long the work takes. There are no hourly billing surprises, no mid-session price changes, and no ongoing commitment after the session.

PGFlare charges a flat session fee: £497 for a read-only Diagnostic audit, £897 for a full Remediation+ session that includes implementing fixes, and £350/hour (2-hour minimum) for same-day emergency incident response. All fees are fixed — no hourly overruns. Compare this to hiring a PostgreSQL DBA contractor (£700–£1,200/day) or escalating to AWS Enterprise Support (typically thousands per incident). Use our ROI calculator to see your savings →