What’s Included in the Free Tier of Oracle Database 26ai Autonomous Database

In this blog, we will explore what you actually get when you provision a free tier Autonomous Database on Oracle Database 26ai. Instead of just relying on documentation, we will look at a real SQLcl session and inspect the available resources directly from the database.

Environment Details

SQLcl: Release 24.4 Production on Fri May 15 22:03:16 2026

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Last Successful login time: Fri May 15 2026 22:03:22 +05:30

Connected to:
Oracle AI Database 26ai Enterprise Edition Release 23.26.2.1.0 - Production
Version 23.26.2.1.0

Pluggable Database Information

Let’s first check the available PDB in the free tier:

SQL> show pdbs

   CON_ID CON_NAME                OPEN MODE     RESTRICTED
_________ _______________________ _____________ _____________
      600 RE2D3BGG7YWWTP7_PYDB    READ WRITE    NO

You get a single pluggable database (PDB) that is fully open in READ WRITE mode and not restricted.

CPU Allocation

Now let’s check how much CPU is allocated in the free tier:

SQL> show parameter cpu

NAME          TYPE   VALUE
------------- ------ -----
cpu_count     string 2
cpu_min_count string 2

The free tier provides:

• 2 CPUs available
• 2 CPUs guaranteed minimum

SGA (System Global Area)

Let’s inspect the memory allocated for SGA:

SQL> show parameter sga

NAME         TYPE        VALUE
------------ ----------- -------
sga_max_size big integer 219008M
sga_min_size big integer 0
sga_target   big integer 3400M

Key observations:

• SGA Target: ~3.4 GB
• SGA Max Size: Configured high but not fully utilized

PGA (Program Global Area)

Now let’s look at PGA allocation:

SQL> show parameter pga

NAME                 TYPE        VALUE
-------------------- ----------- ------
pga_aggregate_limit  big integer 10200M
pga_aggregate_target big integer 5100M

This shows:

• PGA Target: ~5.1 GB
• PGA Limit: ~10.2 GB

In-Memory & Memory Features

Finally, let’s review memory-related parameters:

SQL> show parameter memory

NAME                               TYPE        VALUE
---------------------------------- ----------- -------
inmemory_automatic_level           string      MEDIUM
inmemory_clause_default            string
inmemory_deep_vectorization        boolean     TRUE
inmemory_expressions_usage         string      ENABLE
inmemory_force                     string      DEFAULT
inmemory_graph_algorithm_execution string      DEFAULT
inmemory_optimized_arithmetic      string      DISABLE
inmemory_optimized_date            string      DISABLE
inmemory_prefer_xmem_memcompress   string
inmemory_prefer_xmem_priority      string
inmemory_query                     string      ENABLE
inmemory_size                      big integer 0
inmemory_virtual_columns           string      MANUAL
inmemory_xmem_size                 big integer 0
memory_target                      big integer 0
optimizer_inmemory_aware           boolean     TRUE
shard_apply_max_memory_size        big integer 0
vector_memory_size                 big integer 0

Important takeaways:

• In-Memory features are enabled at a logical level
• In-Memory size is 0 (not allocated in free tier)
• Advanced optimizations like vectorization are enabled

Conclusion

The free tier of Oracle Database 26ai Autonomous Database is surprisingly capable and gives you:

• 2 CPUs (guaranteed)
• ~3.4 GB SGA
• ~5 GB PGA
• Fully functional Autonomous Database (READ WRITE)
• Advanced optimizer and in-memory capabilities (partially enabled)

This makes it an excellent environment for:

• Learning Oracle Database 26ai features
• Testing SQL and PL/SQL
• Exploring AI and Autonomous capabilities

Even though it is a free tier, it still provides a powerful sandbox to experiment with modern Oracle database features.