Neon
Best for: Pure serverless Postgres. Database branching and scale-to-zero.
Free Tier Limits (2026)
| Limit | Value |
|---|
| Storage | 0.5 GB per project |
| Compute | 100 CU-hours/month (scale-to-zero) |
| Projects | 100 projects |
| Branches | 10 per project |
| Cold start | Instant resume (pooled) |
| Always free? | ✅ Yes |
Key Strengths
- Database branching — branch your DB like git (perfect for CI/CD preview deployments)
- Scale-to-zero (no cost when idle, instant resume)
- Full standard Postgres (extensions, pgvector, PostGIS)
- Connection pooling built-in (PgBouncer)
- Point-in-time restore
Weaknesses
- Only 0.5 GB storage per project (projects are cheap to create, but small)
- 100 CU-hours goes fast if running heavy queries
- No built-in auth/storage like Supabase (pure database)
Best For
- Postgres databases alongside any frontend
- CI/CD pipelines needing disposable database branches
- Apps with intermittent traffic (scale-to-zero saves money)
- Developers who want pure Postgres without BaaS extras
Neon vs Supabase
| Aspect | Neon | Supabase |
|---|
| Focus | Pure serverless Postgres | All-in-one BaaS |
| Auth | ❌ | ✅ |
| Storage | ❌ | ✅ |
| Branching | ✅ (10/project) | ❌ |
| Storage limit | 0.5 GB/project (100 projects) | 500 MB (2 projects) |
| Lock-in risk | Low (standard Postgres) | Low (standard Postgres) |
Sources
- neon.tech/pricing
- agentdeals.dev database comparison
- techbytes.app: Neon vs Supabase vs Turso