Neon

Serverless Postgres with instant branching, autoscaling, and scale-to-zero — the backend for apps and agents.

What is Neon?

Neon is a serverless Postgres platform, now part of Databricks, that separates storage from compute so databases can autoscale with traffic and scale to zero when idle. Its signature feature is database branching: you can create an instant copy-on-write branch of your entire database for every preview deployment, test run, or experiment, then throw it away — the same workflow Git gives you for code. Provisioning takes seconds, which also makes Neon a favorite backend for AI agents and platforms that create a database per user or per tenant. Beyond core Postgres, Neon bundles built-in authentication, a REST Data API, connection pooling, read replicas, and instant point-in-time restore. A genuinely useful free tier and pure usage-based pricing make it a common choice for serverless apps built on Vercel, Cloudflare, and similar platforms.

Key Features

Serverless Postgres with autoscaling compute and scale-to-zero

Instant copy-on-write database branches for dev, test, and preview environments

Built-in auth, REST Data API, and connection pooling

Instant point-in-time restore and autoscaling read replicas

Provisions in seconds — ideal for database-per-tenant and AI agent workflows

Use Cases

Backing serverless and edge apps that need Postgres without server management
Creating a database branch per pull request for preview environments
Database-per-tenant SaaS architectures with isolated data
Letting AI agents and platforms provision databases programmatically
Dev/test environments that mirror production data cheaply

How to Use Neon

1Create a free account and spin up a Postgres project in seconds
2Connect with any Postgres driver or ORM using the connection string
3Create branches for development and previews via dashboard, CLI, or API
4Set autoscaling limits and let compute scale with traffic

Best For

Developers building on Vercel, Cloudflare, or other serverless platformsTeams that want Git-style branching workflows for their databasePlatforms provisioning Postgres for their own users

FAQ

Is Neon really free?

Yes. The free plan includes Postgres with autoscaling, branching, and enough storage and compute for side projects and prototypes. Paid plans start at $19/month with higher limits.

What is database branching?

A Neon branch is an instant copy-on-write snapshot of your database — schema and data. Branches cost almost nothing to create, so you can make one per pull request or experiment and delete it after.

Is Neon compatible with regular Postgres?

Yes. Neon runs standard Postgres, so existing drivers, ORMs like Prisma and Drizzle, and most extensions work unchanged. You connect with a normal Postgres connection string.

How is Neon different from Supabase?

Supabase is a full backend-as-a-service (auth, storage, realtime, edge functions) on Postgres, while Neon focuses on being the best serverless Postgres itself, with branching and scale-to-zero as core primitives — though it now adds auth and a Data API too.

Looking for Neon alternatives?

Compare 2 hand-picked alternatives by pricing, free plans, and open-source availability.

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