Neon
Serverless Postgres with branching, autoscaling, and backend for apps & agents.
Neon's branching and autoscaling are best-in-class for dev teams who hate managing Postgres. The new backend platform is promising but still in private preview. Evaluate cold-start latency for latency-sensitive workloads.
- Serverless app developers needing auto-scaling Postgres without provisioning
- Teams that want git-like branching for database schema changes & testing
- Multi-tenant SaaS platforms requiring per-tenant database isolation
- AI agent builders needing fast Postgres with vector search and LLM proxy
- High-throughput, always-on workloads better served by dedicated RDS/Aurora instances
- Applications requiring low-latency writes consistently under 10ms (cold-start penalty)
- Enterprises needing full on-premises or GovCloud deployment options
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Skip Neon if you need low-latency writes below 10ms consistently, or if you prefer a fixed monthly price for always-on production databases.
Free-tier databases pause after 5 minutes of inactivity; waking up takes a few seconds, which may not suit latency-sensitive apps.
Neon's free tier is generous for small projects, and pay-as-you-go suits bursty serverless workloads. For steady high traffic, a fixed RDS instance may be cheaper. Compared to Supabase, Neon offers branching and autoscaling but lacks a built-in GUI and realtime subscriptions.
In short
Neon — Serverless Postgres with branching, autoscaling, and backend for apps & agents. Best for Serverless app developers needing auto-scaling Postgres without provisioning, Teams that want git-like branching for database schema changes & testing, Multi-tenant SaaS platforms requiring per-tenant database isolation. Free to start; paid plans from $0.15/mo.
What's new in Neon
Checked 14 days agoAcross the latest 3 updates: 1 feature update, 1 launch and 1 changelog entry.
Postgres version updates to 14.23, 15.18, 16.14, 17.10, 18
Neon updated supported Postgres versions to latest minor releases across versions 14-18.
Lakebase Search GA for all users on Postgres 16+
Lakebase Search extensions lakebase_vector and lakebase_text are now available to all Neon users on Postgres 16+.
Agent skills for Neon Storage, Functions, and AI Gateway
Neon released agent skills for backend services in private preview: Functions, Object Storage, and AI Gateway.
Viability Score
How likely is Neon to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 4 signals — momentum (how recently it shipped), wrapper dependency, revenue model, and web presence.
Last calculated: July 2026
How we score →Key Features
- Storage-compute separation for autoscaling
- Instant database branching via copy-on-write
- Ephemeral branches with auto-deletion
- Point-in-time restore up to 30 days
- Built-in authentication (Neon Auth)
- Connection pooling (PgBouncer-based)
- Data API (REST HTTP for SQL queries)
- Read replicas with autoscaling
- Private networking via AWS PrivateLink
- Logs & metrics export (Datadog, OTel)
- Lakebase Search (vector ANN + BM25, GA for Postgres 16+)
- AI Gateway (LLM proxy, private preview)
- Serverless Functions (private preview)
- S3-compatible Storage (private preview)
- Neon Auth MFA
About Neon
Neon is a serverless Postgres platform, now a Databricks company, that separates compute and storage for autoscaling CPU, memory, and storage. It offers instant database branching via copy-on-write, built-in authentication (Neon Auth), connection pooling (PgBouncer-based), and point-in-time restore up to 30 days. Recent additions include Lakebase Search (vector ANN + BM25 text search, now GA for Postgres 16+) and private previews of serverless Functions, S3-compatible Storage, and an AI Gateway. Designed for serverless apps, multi-tenant databases, dev/prod environments, and AI agents. HIPAA, SOC2, SSO, and PrivateLink included at scale. Pricing is usage-based with a free tier. Neon's core differentiation is its storage-compute separation: compute scales to zero after inactivity, storage uses copy-on-write for instant branching and point-in-time restore. This makes it ideal for development workflows where you need ephemeral databases for testing, preview environments, or CI/CD pipelines. The platform also supports read replicas with autoscaling, and its Data API allows HTTP-based SQL queries without a persistent connection. The new backend platform—Functions (serverless compute), Storage (S3-compatible), and AI Gateway (LLM proxy)—is still in private preview but signals a move beyond just a database. Lakebase Search, now GA, adds hybrid search (vector + full-text) for AI/ML workloads. These features position Neon as a full-stack backend for AI agents and serverless apps. Compared to alternatives like Supabase or PlanetScale, Neon offers deeper branching capabilities and a more cost-effective model for bursty workloads. However, its cold-start latency (due to scale-to-zero) makes it less suitable for latency-sensitive real-time apps. For multi-tenant platforms that need per-tenant databases, Neon's branching and autoscaling provide a unique advantage.
Behind the Verdict
Neon is the smart pick for teams that want Postgres without the ops burden. Its storage-compute separation and copy-on-write branching are genuinely innovative—you can spin up a production-like branch in milliseconds, test schema changes safely, and delete it when done. For serverless apps, multi-tenant databases, and dev/test workflows, this is a game-changer in practice. Where it falls short: cold-start latency. Because compute scales to zero after 5 minutes of inactivity, the first query after idle time can take a second or two. That's fine for CI/CD, preview environments, and API backends with low traffic, but it's a non-starter for real-time apps needing consistent sub-10ms writes. If your workload is always-on and latency-sensitive, you're better off with RDS or Aurora. On pricing: the Free tier is generous—100 CU-hours/month per project, 0.5 GB storage, and most features unlocked. Launch ($0.106/CU-hr + $0.35/GB-month) works for intermittent loads; Scale ($0.222/CU-hr) for high-load production. The typical $15/month for Launch and $701/month for Scale are realistic estimates. There's no flat monthly fee, which is great for bursty workloads but can surprise you if usage spikes. Compared to Supabase, Neon is less opinionated—no built-in realtime subscriptions or file storage on Free. But its branching is far superior: Supabase's branching is newer and less performant. PlanetScale competes on MySQL vs Postgres, but Neon's Postgres compatibility, vector search, and AI Gateway give it an edge for AI/ML workloads. The agent skills (Functions, Storage, AI Gateway) are still private preview, so don't build on them today. But Lakebase Search is GA on Postgres 16+ and works well for hybrid search. If you're an AI agent developer, Neon's Postgres with built-in auth and
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Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Neon actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
You scaffold a Next.js app, run npx neonctl init to create a database and auth, then deploy to Vercel—all in under 10 minutes.
Outcome: Database autoscales with traffic, pauses when idle, and you pay near-zero on the free tier.
You use the Neon API to spin up a branch per tenant on signup, each isolated and priced by usage. Branches auto-pause when idle.
Outcome: Tenant isolation without hardware overhead; you can restore any tenant to a point in time within 30 days.
You build an agent that uses Lakebase Search for RAG and the AI Gateway to call Claude Opus. Branches provide isolated test environments.
Outcome: Production-ready vector+BM25 search directly in Postgres; no extra search service needed.
Use Cases
- Serverless app backend that autoscales with traffic
- Multi-tenant SaaS with per-tenant database isolation via branching
- Dev/test environments with ephemeral, production-like database copies
- AI agent builders needing vector search and LLM proxy
- Database per tenant: spin up isolated databases for each customer
Models Under the Hood
as of 2026-07-15
Limitations
- Cold-start latency: databases pause after 5 minutes of inactivity and resume on next query, adding a few seconds.
- Lakebase Search and the backend services (Functions, Storage, AI Gateway) are still in private preview and not production-ready.
- Pricing for steady, high-usage workloads can be higher than fixed-price alternatives.
- The lakebase architecture is proprietary; migrating away may require re-architecting.
- Limited AWS region availability compared to RDS.
- No cross-account IAM integration.
as of 2026-06-28
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Plans compared
For each published Neon tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.
Free
$0/mo
Ideal for
Solo developer or small team exploring Neon with no time limit, limited to 100 CU-hours and 0.5 GB storage per project.
What this tier adds
Free entry point with 100 projects, 5-minute scale-to-zero, and up to 2 CU (8 GB RAM).
Launch
Usage-based (est. $15/mo)
Ideal for
Startups and small apps with intermittent load, budget around $15/month typical.
What this tier adds
Adds $0.106/CU-hour compute, 7-day time travel, 3-day metrics, and up to 16 CU (64 GB RAM).
Scale
Usage-based (est. $701/mo)
Ideal for
Production apps with sustained high load, needing HIPAA, SOC2, and uptime SLAs.
What this tier adds
Higher compute rate ($0.222/CU-hour), 30-day time travel, 14-day metrics export, private networking, and compliance features.
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Neon's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
Neon's free tier is generous for small projects, and pay-as-you-go suits bursty serverless workloads. For steady high traffic, a fixed RDS instance may be cheaper. Compared to Supabase, Neon offers branching and autoscaling but lacks a built-in GUI and realtime subscriptions.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Neon — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
Solo dev: 5 minutes via npx neonctl init. Team: ~30 minutes to configure branches, auth, and CI/CD integration. AI agent: 1-2 hours to set up Lakebase Search and AI Gateway (private preview access required).
Switching to or from Neon
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From Supabase: pg_dump/pg_restore or Neon's migration guide (supports schema-only and logical replication).
- →From RDS: pg_dump/pg_restore or pgcopydb; downtime depends on database size.
- →From PlanetScale: export/import via dump; branch-based workflow similar.
- →From Heroku Postgres: pg_dump from Heroku and pg_restore into Neon.
- ↗To Supabase: pg_dump/pg_restore; note that Supabase uses a different auth model.
- ↗To RDS Aurora: use pg_dump/pg_restore or DMS; you lose branching and autoscaling.
- ↗To self-hosted Postgres: dump and restore; the lakebase architecture is proprietary and cannot be replicated.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
Official links
Tools that pair well with Neon
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Neon, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
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