Comparison

Microsoft SQL Server 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.

Microsoft SQL Server full profile →Neon full profile →

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Microsoft SQL Server23

★Neon79

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	Microsoft SQL Server	NeonLeader
Vioscale score	23 / 100low · 7%	79 / 100medium · 71%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	-	✓
Modelpricing.model	commercial	freemium
Price levelpricing.price_level	-	low
Transparentpricing.transparent	-	✓
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	3	1
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	-
Fedrampsecurity.fedramp	-	✓
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	✓
Hipaasecurity.hipaa	-	✓
Iso27001security.iso27001	-	✓
Pcisecurity.pci	-	✓
Soc2security.soc2	-	✓
Reliability
Sla pctreliability.sla_pct	-	99.95
Status pagereliability.status_page	-	✓
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · HQ US	-

Score

Vioscale score

Microsoft SQL Server23 / 100low · 7%

Neon79 / 100medium · 71%

Pricing

Free tier

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Model

Microsoft SQL Servercommercial

Neonfreemium

Price level

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neonlow

Transparent

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Integrations

Count

Microsoft SQL Server3

Neon1

Security

Disclosure policy

Microsoft SQL Server✓

Neon–

Fedramp

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Gdpr

Microsoft SQL Server✓

Neon✓

Hipaa

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Iso27001

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Pci

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Soc2

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Reliability

Sla pct

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon99.95

Status page

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Market

Availability

Microsoft SQL ServerAvailable worldwide · HQ US

Neon–

Capabilities

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

Capability comparison for Relational Databases
Capability	Microsoft SQL Server	Neon
Core
SQL model	Full SQL	Full SQL
Transactions
ACID transactions	Full	Full
Highest isolation level	-	Serializable
Consistency
Consistency	-	Strong
Scale
Horizontal scale	-	Read replicas
Replication
Replication	-	Async
Availability
Automatic failover / HA	-	✓
Deployment
Deployment	-	Managed
Serverless / scale-to-zero	-	✓
Compatibility
Wire compatibility	-	Postgres protocol
Extensibility
Extensions / plugins / UDFs	-	-
Licensing
Licence class	Proprietary	Proprietary
Data types
JSON / document support	✓	-
Geo / spatial	Native	-

Core

SQL model

Microsoft SQL ServerFull SQL

NeonFull SQL

Transactions

ACID transactions

Microsoft SQL ServerFull

NeonFull

Highest isolation level

Microsoft SQL Server-

NeonSerializable

Consistency

Microsoft SQL Server-

NeonStrong

Scale

Horizontal scale

Microsoft SQL Server-

NeonRead replicas

Replication

Microsoft SQL Server-

NeonAsync

Availability

Automatic failover / HA

Microsoft SQL Server-

Neon✓

Deployment

Microsoft SQL Server-

NeonManaged

Serverless / scale-to-zero

Microsoft SQL Server-

Neon✓

Compatibility

Wire compatibility

Microsoft SQL Server-

NeonPostgres protocol

Extensibility

Extensions / plugins / UDFs

Microsoft SQL Server-

Neon-

Licensing

Licence class

Microsoft SQL ServerProprietary

NeonProprietary

Data types

JSON / document support

Microsoft SQL Server✓

Neon-

Geo / spatial

Microsoft SQL ServerNative

Neon-

What each one is

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

Microsoft SQL Server

SQL Server 2025 is a commercial database platform that enables organizations to store, query, and analyze data while incorporating built-in AI capabilities. It supports multiple programming languages and deployment options ranging from on-premises installations to cloud-based managed services.

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.

Microsoft SQL Server

Pricing not documented yet.

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 2026-08-03verify ↗

Platform & deployment

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

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	Microsoft SQL Server	Neon
WebPlatforms	-	✓
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✓
Self-hostedDeployment	✓	✗

Platforms

Web

Microsoft SQL Server–

Neon✓

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

Microsoft SQL Server✓

Neon✓

Self-hosted

Microsoft SQL Server✓

Neon✗

Integrations

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

Microsoft SQL Server

3 total

LangChain
Semantic Kernel
Entity Framework Core

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.