Neon

The backend for apps and agents, built to scale on Lakebase Postgres

Also known as
neon

What is Neon?

Serverless PostgreSQL database built on Lakebase Postgres (by Databricks) with automatic scaling, instant branching, and managed features including authentication, functions, and object storage.

Independently observed

Neon pricing

Plans, per-tier features and add-ons, dated and linked to live pricing. Pricing changes often; always verify at source before you rely on it.

Pricing as of verify at live pricing ↗Independently observed
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.

Free

Free
Free

Build and learn free with no time limits and no credit card required

storage
0.5 GB per project
projects
100
max_compute_cu
2
cu_hours_monthly
100 per project
  • 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)

Launch

Usage-based, typical $15/mo (intermittent load, 1 GB)

Pay-per-usage plan for variable workloads

projects
100
max_compute_cu
16
branches_per_project
10
  • 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)

Scale

Usage-based, typical $701/mo (high load, 100 GB)

Pay-per-usage plan for production workloads with SLAs and compliance features

projects
1000+
max_compute_cu
56
branches_per_project
25
  • 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)

What Neon does

The capabilities that matter for relational databases, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.

Core
SQL model
Full SQL
Transactions
ACID transactions
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
Data types
JSON / document support
-
Geo / spatial
-
Independently observed

Platform & deployment

Independently observed
Platforms
  • Web
Deployment
  • Cloud / SaaS

Neon alternatives

Other relational databases we track, ranked by the same independent score.

Independent · unbought · dated

The Vioscale score: one lens on the evidence

Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for Neon, not the verdict.

Balanced composite 72 / 100
medium · 54%
Signal contributions to the composite score
SignalScoreWeightContributionEvidence
Security Posture9518.001710.0
Pricing Transparency1008.00800.0
Capabilities4617.00778.9
Reliability5010.00500.0
Price Level806.00480.0
Integrations08.000.0-

Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.

All data & sourcesshow ↓

Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.

Features

AttributeValueEvidence
Capabilities{"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"}mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%

Pricing

AttributeValueEvidence
Free tierYesmediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%
Modelfreemiummediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%
Price levellowmediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%
Starting gbp0.002mediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%
TransparentYesmediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%

Reliability

AttributeValueEvidence
Status pageYesmediumsource · 2026-08-03 · 60%

Security

AttributeValueEvidence
FedrampYeshighsource · 2026-08-03 · 75%
GdprYeshighsource · 2026-08-03 · 75%
HipaaYeshighsource · 2026-08-03 · 75%
Iso27001Yeshighsource · 2026-08-03 · 75%
PciYeshighsource · 2026-08-03 · 75%
Soc2Yeshighsource · 2026-08-03 · 75%