Serverless PostgreSQL with auto-scaling and instant recovery
Visit WebsiteThe Bottom Line
Entry price
Free plan available, paid tiers above
Biggest pro
Generous free tier
Biggest con
Cold starts possible
TL;DR - Neon
- Serverless Postgres that scales to zero
- Branching for database development
- Built by Postgres contributors
What is Neon?
Available on: Web
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Generous free tier
- Database branching
- Scale to zero
Cons
- Cold starts possible
- Newer platform
Ratings Across the Web
Neon holds an aggregate rating of 4.5 out of 5 from 6 reviews across G2 and Capterra, last checked August 27, 2026.
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Key Features
Pricing Plans
Pricing checked Aug 22, 2026
Free
- 100 projects
- 100 CU-hours per project
- 0.5 GB storage per project
- Compute up to 2 CU (8 GB RAM)
- Autoscaling and read replicas
- 6 hours instant restore
- Community support
Launch
$0.106 / CU-hour
- 100 projects
- 10 branches per project
- Compute up to 16 CU (64 GB RAM)
- $0.35/GB storage
- 7-day point-in-time recovery
- 1M monthly active users
Scale
$0.222 / CU-hour
- 1,000+ projects
- 25 branches per project
- Compute up to 56 CU (224 GB RAM)
- 30-day instant restore
- 99.95% SLA
- SOC 2 and HIPAA available
Is Neon worth the price?
Neon's Free tier is quite generous, offering 100 CU-hours and 0.5 GB storage per project, making it excellent for development and small projects.
The Launch tier at $0.106/CU-hour and $0.35/GB storage is competitive for growing applications, providing significant compute and storage flexibility. The Scale tier, while pricier at $0.222/CU-hour, offers enterprise-grade features like higher compute, extensive branching, and an SLA, making it suitable for large-scale, critical applications.
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
CU-hour overages can quickly increase costs.
Storage beyond free tier is usage-based.
Higher compute units mean higher hourly rates.
How Neon Compares to Competitors
Compared to traditional cloud Postgres offerings like AWS RDS, Neon's serverless model can be more cost-effective for variable workloads due to its pay-per-use compute. However, for consistently high-utilization databases, a provisioned RDS instance might offer more predictable costs, though without Neon's instant scaling and branching capabilities.
Reviews
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Still deciding?
Most buyers shortlist 2 or 3 tools before committing. Pull a side-by-side comparison or browse the full alternatives shortlist below.
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Neon FAQ
How does Neon support modern development workflows?
Which teams benefit most from using Neon?
How does Neon's database branching compare to other platforms?
Does Neon include a free tier?
What kind of trade-offs should users consider with Neon?
Can Neon automatically adjust its resources based on demand?
Source: neon.tech