# Google Cloud Spanner vs Neon

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Neon

| Attribute | Google Cloud Spanner | Neon |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 43.9 (39% (low)) | 79 (71% (medium)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Google Cloud's globally distributed, multi-model database supporting relational, graph, key-value, and search capabilities with native PostgreSQL interface and Gemini AI integration. | 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. |
| 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 | 5 | 1 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform"},{"name":"Gemini CLI"},{"name":"Model Context Protocol (MCP)"},{"name":"Agent Development Kit (ADK)"},{"name":"Data Agent Kit"}]` | `[{"name":"Datadog"}]` |
| platform.support | - | `{"web":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 | - | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 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: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:35:08.647Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*