Comparison

Google Cloud Spanner vs Neon

On the evidence we track, Neon leads this comparison with a composite score of 79/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Google Cloud Spanner44
Neon79
Score
Vioscale score
Google Cloud Spanner44 / 100low · 39%
Neon79 / 100medium · 71%
Pricing
Free tier
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Model
Google Cloud Spannercommercial
Price level
Google Cloud Spannerlow
Neonlow
Transparent
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Integrations
Count
Google Cloud Spanner5
Neon1
Security
Fedramp
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Gdpr
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Hipaa
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Iso27001
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Pci
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Soc2
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Reliability
Sla pct
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon99.95
Status page
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for relational databases. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
SQL model
Google Cloud SpannerFull SQL
NeonFull SQL
Transactions
ACID transactions
Google Cloud SpannerFull
NeonFull
Highest isolation level
Google Cloud SpannerSerializable
NeonSerializable
Consistency
Consistency
Google Cloud SpannerStrong
NeonStrong
Scale
Horizontal scale
Google Cloud SpannerNatively distributed
NeonRead replicas
Replication
Replication
Google Cloud SpannerConsensus (Raft/Paxos)
NeonAsync
Availability
Automatic failover / HA
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Deployment
Deployment
Google Cloud SpannerManaged
NeonManaged
Serverless / scale-to-zero
Google Cloud Spanner-
Neon
Compatibility
Wire compatibility
Google Cloud SpannerPostgres protocol
NeonPostgres protocol
Extensibility
Extensions / plugins / UDFs
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon-
Licensing
Licence class
Google Cloud SpannerProprietary
NeonProprietary
Data types
JSON / document support
Google Cloud Spanner-
Neon-
Geo / spatial
Google Cloud Spanner-
Neon-

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Google Cloud Spanner

Google Cloud's globally distributed, multi-model database supporting relational, graph, key-value, and search capabilities with native PostgreSQL interface and Gemini AI integration.

Independently observed

Neon

Leader

Neon is a managed Postgres database service that automatically scales compute and storage based on workload demands. It features instant database branching for testing and development, point-in-time restore capability, and maintains SOC2 and HIPAA compliance.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Google Cloud Spanner

Usage-basedFree tier90-day trial

Usage-based pricing: compute capacity (nodes/processing units, hourly), storage (monthly), backups, data replication, network bandwidth. Free 90-day trial instances. Optional 1-year and 3-year committed use discounts. Three editions available: Standard, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus.

as of verify ↗

Neon

Leader
from $0.00/moUsage-basedFree tier

Free tier with 100 CU-hours/mo. Usage-based: Launch plan $0.106/CU-hr + $0.35/GB-mo, Scale plan $0.222/CU-hr + $0.35/GB-mo. Typical $15–$701/mo.

  • FreeFree
    • 100 projects
    • 100 CU-hours monthly per project
    • 0.5 GB storage per project
    • Compute up to 2 CU (8 GB RAM)
    • Unlimited team members
    • +4 more
  • LaunchUsage-based, typical $15/mo (intermittent load, 1 GB)
    • Compute autoscaling up to 16 CU
    • Scale to zero when inactive
    • Database storage with 7-day instant restore history
    • 100 snapshots
    • Monitoring with 3-day retention
    • +4 more
  • ScaleUsage-based, typical $701/mo (high load, 100 GB)
    • Compute autoscaling up to 56 CU
    • Configurable scale-to-zero
    • Database storage with up to 30-day instant restore history
    • 100 snapshots
    • SLAs included
    • +8 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon
Self-hosted
Google Cloud Spanner
Neon

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Google Cloud Spanner

5 total
  • Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform
  • Gemini CLI
  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Agent Development Kit (ADK)
  • Data Agent Kit
Independently observed

Neon

Leader
1 total
  • Datadog
Independently observed

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.

Google Cloud Spanner vs Neon: an evidence-based comparison · Vioscale