Neon vs Supabase
Pricing
Neon: Free tier, Pro from $19/mo
Supabase: Free tier, Pro from $25/mo
Description
Neon: Serverless Postgres that scales to zero: you only pay when your database is actually being used
Supabase: Postgres database with built-in auth, storage, and real-time (the open-source Firebase alternative)
Pros
- Scales to zero on the free tier: no cost when your app has no traffic
- Database branching for safe schema changes and testing
- Generous free tier with 0.5 GB storage and autoscaling
- Full Postgres database, not a proprietary system: your data, your queries
- Auth, file storage, edge functions, and real-time included at no extra cost
- Free tier includes 500MB database and 1GB file storage
Cons
- Cold starts on free tier add 1-2 seconds to the first query after inactivity
- Newer service than established options like RDS or Supabase
- Compute limits on free tier can bottleneck during traffic spikes
- Some features (like edge functions) are still maturing compared to Firebase
- Free tier pauses inactive projects after 7 days
- Less hand-holding than Firebase: you need to know some SQL
Details
Neon is Postgres that disappears when you are not using it. On the free tier, your database scales to zero during quiet periods and wakes up when a request comes in. This means a side project that gets occasional traffic costs nothing, not $39/month like PlanetScale.
The tradeoff is cold starts: that first query after a period of inactivity takes a second or two while the database wakes up. For APIs and web apps, this is usually fine. For real-time applications, it might matter. The branching feature is great for testing migrations safely. If you want Postgres without paying for idle time, Neon is the best option right now.
Supabase gives you a real Postgres database with the convenience of Firebase. Set up a project, and you immediately get a database, auth system, file storage, edge functions, and real-time subscriptions. No piecing together separate services.
The free tier is enough to build and test a real product. The Pro tier at $25/month gives you a production-ready setup. The key advantage over Firebase: it is Postgres under the hood. Your queries are standard SQL, and you can migrate your data to any Postgres host if you ever want to leave. That data portability is worth a lot for a solo founder building something long-term.
Verified
