# Google Cloud Spanner vs Neon

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Neon

| Attribute | Google Cloud Spanner | Neon |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 54.9 (38% (low)) | 71.5 (70% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Google Cloud's globally distributed, multi-model database supporting relational, graph, key-value, and search capabilities with native PostgreSQL interface and Gemini AI integration. It is indexed under Relational Databases.","source":"https://cloud.google.com/spanner","question":"What is Google Cloud Spanner?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Google Cloud Spanner offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://cloud.google.com/spanner","question":"Is Google Cloud Spanner free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Google Cloud Spanner can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid, on-premise and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://cloud.google.com/spanner","question":"Can Google Cloud Spanner be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for Google Cloud Spanner, including Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform, Gemini CLI, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent Development Kit (ADK) and Data Agent Kit. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://cloud.google.com/spanner","question":"What does Google Cloud Spanner integrate with?","confidence":0.6}]` | `[{"answer":"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. It is indexed under Relational Databases.","source":"https://neon.tech","question":"What is Neon?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Neon offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $0.00. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://neon.tech","question":"Is Neon free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Neon. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://neon.tech","question":"What platforms does Neon support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Neon, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://neon.tech","question":"Can Neon be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and GDPR for Neon. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Neon not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://neon.tech","question":"What security certifications does Neon have?","confidence":0.6}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Google Cloud Spanner is a managed database service that unifies multiple data models (relational, key-value, graph, vector search) on one platform. It provides up to 99.999% uptime with globally consistent transactions through a distributed timestamp system. | A fully-managed PostgreSQL database that automatically scales compute resources, supports Git-like environment branching, and includes built-in user authentication without additional licensing. |
| features.capabilities | `{"isolation":"serializable","sql_model":"full_sql","deployment":"managed","consistency":"strong","replication":"consensus","extensibility":true,"license_class":"proprietary","horizontal_scale":"distributed_native","acid_transactions":"full","automatic_failover":true,"wire_compatibility":"postgres"}` | `{"isolation":"serializable","sql_model":"full_sql","deployment":"managed","serverless":true,"consistency":"strong","replication":"async","license_class":"proprietary","horizontal_scale":"read_replica","acid_transactions":"full","automatic_failover":true,"wire_compatibility":"postgres"}` |
| integrations.count | 4 | 2 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform"},{"name":"Gemini CLI"},{"name":"Model Context Protocol (MCP)"},{"name":"Agent Development Kit (ADK)"},{"name":"Data Agent Kit"},{"url":"https://github.com/gemini-cli-extensions/spanner","name":"VS Code","native":false,"category":"development"},{"name":"Cursor","native":false,"category":"development"},{"name":"GitHub Copilot","native":false,"category":"development"},{"name":"Kiro","native":false,"category":"development"}]` | `[{"name":"Datadog"},{"name":"OpenTelemetry","category":"monitoring"}]` |
| platform.support | - | `{"cli":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","summary":"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.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://cloud.google.com/spanner","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T12:40:26.715Z","freeTrialDays":90,"billingPeriods":["hour","month"]}` | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free - Build and learn","features":["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","Managed backend","Better Auth","Object Storage (Beta)","Functions (Beta)"],"description":"Build and learn free with no time limits and no credit card required","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"0.5 GB per project","projects":"100","max_compute_cu":"2","cu_hours_monthly":"100 per project"}},{"free":false,"name":"Launch","summary":"Usage-based, typical $15/mo (intermittent load, 1 GB)","features":["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","Private networking options","Object Storage (Beta)","Functions (Beta)","AI Gateway (Beta)"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"CU-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.106,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB-month"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.35,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"branch-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.002,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB-month"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.2,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay-per-usage plan for variable workloads","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"projects":"100","max_compute_cu":"16","branches_per_project":"10"}},{"free":false,"name":"Scale","summary":"Usage-based, typical $701/mo (high load, 100 GB)","features":["Compute autoscaling up to 56 CU","Configurable scale-to-zero","Database storage with up to 30-day instant restore history","100 snapshots","SLAs included","HIPAA compliance","Private networking with Private Link","Monitoring with 14-day retention and export (Datadog, OTel)","Spending limits","Multiple egress options","Object Storage (Beta)","Functions (Beta)","AI Gateway (Beta)"],"components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"CU-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.222,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB-month"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.35,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"branch-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.002,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB-month"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.2,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.01,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay-per-usage plan for production workloads with SLAs and compliance features","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"projects":"1000+","max_compute_cu":"56","branches_per_project":"25"}}],"summary":"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.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://neon.tech","retrievedAt":"2026-08-03T12:40:59.605Z","startingPrice":{"amount":0.002,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | low |
| pricing.transparent | - | no |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.999 | 99.95 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.fedramp | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.iso27001 | - | yes |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |

## Capabilities (Relational Databases)

| Capability | Google Cloud Spanner | Neon |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| SQL model | Full SQL | Full SQL |
| **Transactions** |  |  |
| ACID transactions | Full | Full |
| Highest isolation level | Serializable | Serializable |
| **Consistency** |  |  |
| Consistency | Strong | Strong |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Horizontal scale | Natively distributed | Read replicas |
| **Replication** |  |  |
| Replication | Consensus (Raft/Paxos) | Async |
| **Availability** |  |  |
| Automatic failover / HA | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Managed | Managed |
| Serverless / scale-to-zero | - | ✓ |
| **Compatibility** |  |  |
| Wire compatibility | Postgres protocol | Postgres protocol |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Extensions / plugins / UDFs | ✓ | - |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| **Data types** |  |  |
| JSON / document support | - | - |
| Geo / spatial | - | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:21:58.854Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*