I have an app that has a number of test users with a set of data for each of them that shows off the app. Since the users interact in specific ways, I need to have several users otherwise the testing isn't useful.

My dev machine has a much smaller set of data, but on Heroku, I run stage servers with reasonable amounts of real life data that I need for final testing

FWIW: The actual limits of the dev plans aren't set yet.

But what is the use case for a dev databases with 'much more than 5MB of data' ?

I'd love it if you used the new dev plan for your staging/dev db needs. This can help us drive the final limits.

Can I access the shared DB from outside Heroku?

Yes, you can access the shared dev plan from outside as well as the crane and kappa plans.

Yes you can! I migrate my Ronin to a Crane i like perfect Plan for me, thanks!