Stack
Neon
Serverless Postgres that scales compute to zero when idle and bills by the compute hour.
What it actually does
Neon is a managed Postgres platform that separates storage from compute, so the database scales its compute to zero after a few minutes of inactivity and bills you by the compute hour rather than a flat monthly fee. It is a standard Postgres you connect to like any other.
It offers copy-on-write branching: you can spin up a full database branch for a preview deploy or a test with no upfront copy cost, which pairs naturally with serverless hosts like Vercel. The Launch plan has no monthly minimum, so a small app might bill $5 to $15/mo total.
The trade-offs are that hitting a free-tier monthly limit suspends compute until the next billing month, taking the app down rather than throttling it, and storage at $0.35/GB-month is roughly 3x Supabase's overage rate. You also still need auth, file storage, and functions from elsewhere.
Neon vs its main rivals
The tools people actually weigh against Neon: Supabase, PlanetScale, CockroachDB. Same criteria for every column, including where Neon loses.
| Neon |  Supabase |  PlanetScale | CCockroachDB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing & access | ||||
| Free tier | Unknown100 CU-h/mo | Unknown500 MB | UnknownNone | Unknown10 GB free |
| Starting price | $0.106/CU-h | $25/mo | $5/mo | $0 PAYG |
Scaling & limits | ||||
| Scale-to-zero when idle | YesYes | NoAlways-on | NoNo | YesServerless |
| Autoscaling compute | YesYes | NoFixed | UnknownResize | YesYes |
| Storage overage rate | $0.35/GB | $0.125/GB | EBS-based | $0.50/GB |
Database engine | ||||
| Postgres | YesYes | YesYes | YesPG+MySQL | UnknownPG-compatible |
| Database branching | YesYes | UnknownPreview | YesYes | UnknownLimited |
Bundled services | ||||
| Bundled auth / storage | UnknownAuth beta | YesFull | NoNo | NoNo |
Developer & API | ||||
| Auto REST / data API | Data API | REST+GraphQL | No | No |
| CLI | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Portability | ||||
| Self-host / open source | YesYes | YesYes | NoNo | YesCore OSS |
- Scale-to-zero means an idle database costs $0 in compute, well suited to side projects and staging
- Copy-on-write branching spins up a full database branch for a preview deploy at no upfront cost
- Launch plan has no monthly minimum, so a small app might bill only $5 to $15/mo total
- Hitting a free-tier monthly limit suspends compute until the next billing month, taking the app down rather than throttling
- Storage at $0.35/GB-month is nearly 3x Supabase's $0.125/GB overage rate
- Provides only the database; auth, file storage, and functions must come from other services
Pay less for it
5 ways foundAn idle or staging database burns no compute-hours, so many side projects stay at $0
Pure pay-as-you-go; invoices under $0.50 are not even collected
Copy-on-write branches avoid paying for a second full database for previews and tests
Neon offers credits through startup and accelerator partner programs; apply if eligible
PlanetScale — For an always-on app that never idles, PlanetScale's flat $5/mo node can be cheaper and more predictable than metered compute-hours
StackTracker tracks what you actually pay for Neon and every other tool, flags overpayment, and shows the dollars you would save by switching.
Is it the right tool for you
- Your app runs on Vercel or a serverless stack and sits idle much of the day
- You want real Postgres with a true zero idle cost
- You want cheap database branches for every preview deploy
- You also need bundled auth, storage, and functions in one product → use Supabase
- Your app is always-on and you want flat predictable node pricing → use PlanetScale
Track what Neon and the rest of your stack cost
StackTracker adds up every subscription, plus your hours, so you see the real number.
Prices and limits last verified 2026-07-20.