Compare Neon and Supabase free tiers side-by-side. Storage, compute, branching, auth, edge functions, realtime — verified data, cost-at-scale analysis, and database alternatives. Verified August to September 2026.

AgentDeals › Databases › Neon vs Supabase

Neon vs Supabase — Free Tier Comparison

Published 2026-03-26 · Not yet reviewed · Data verified from our index of 1,547 developer tools

100
Neon Projects
2
Supabase Projects
$19/mo
Neon Launch
$25/mo
Supabase Pro

Quick verdict: Choose Neon for pure serverless Postgres with database branching, scale-to-zero, and 100 free projects. Choose Supabase for a one-stop BaaS platform with auth, file storage, realtime, and edge functions bundled alongside Postgres.

On free tiers: Neon gives you 100 projects with 0.5 GB storage each, 100 CU-hours/month compute, 10 branches per project, and scale-to-zero. Supabase gives you 2 projects with 500 MB storage, 50K auth MAU, 1 GB file storage, 500K edge function invocations, and 200 realtime connections.

The core trade-off: Neon is a database-only service — you get the best serverless Postgres experience with branching and scale-to-zero, but you need separate services for auth, storage, and functions. Supabase is a full platform — less flexible at the database layer, but everything you need to build an app is included.

Jump to section

  1. Free Tier Comparison Table
  2. Key Differences
  3. Cost at Scale
  4. When to Choose Each
  5. Other Database Alternatives
  6. Recent Deal Changes

1. Free Tier Comparison Table

Side-by-side comparison using verified data from our index. Neon and Supabase free tiers. Verified August to September 2026.

FeatureNeon FreeSupabase FreeNotes
Database Storage 0.5 GB per project 500 MB Similar raw limits. Neon is per-project (up to 100 projects = potential 50 GB total), Supabase is total across 2 projects
Projects 100 2 Neon allows 50× more projects — ideal for microservices, multi-tenant apps, or per-client databases
Compute 100 CU-hours/month, up to 2 CU (8 GB RAM) Shared compute (limited resources) Neon offers explicit compute hours with auto-scaling. Supabase shared compute has no published limits
Branching 10 branches per project Paid only (Pro+) Neon's killer feature — database branching for dev/test workflows. Supabase requires paid plan
Auth (MAU) 60K MAU (Neon Auth) 50K MAU (Supabase Auth) Both generous. Neon Auth is newer (added Jan 2026). Supabase Auth is battle-tested with more features
File Storage None 1 GB Supabase includes file storage with CDN. Neon is database-only — use a separate storage service
Edge Functions None 500K invocations/month Supabase includes serverless functions. Neon focuses purely on the database layer
Realtime None 200 concurrent connections Supabase includes realtime subscriptions. Neon requires external pub/sub
Scale-to-Zero Yes (5 min idle timeout) Pauses after 1 week inactivity Neon scales to zero quickly and resumes in ~1s. Supabase pauses entirely after a week — requires manual unpause
Connection Pooling 10K connections via pooler Pooler included (Supavisor) Both include connection pooling. Neon's 10K limit is generous for serverless workloads
Neon verified data: Serverless Postgres with branching — free tier includes 100 CU-hours/month per project, 0.5 GB storage per project, up to 100 projects, 10 branches per project, Neon Auth (60K MAU), auto-scaling up to 2 CU, scale-to-zero
Verified: 2026-09-01 · Full profile →
Supabase verified data: Superseded: As of 2026-09-03, supabase.com/pricing reads: The free tier includes unlimited API requests, 50,000 monthly active users, 500 MB database size, 5 GB egress, 1 GB file storage. Free projects are paused after 1 week of inactivity. Paid plans include $10/mo in compute credits. We are not publishing our stored Supabase terms beside it — our own pricing change record, discovered 2026-09-03, names them as the previous ones. Read what we recorded ↓
Verified: 2026-08-17 · Full profile →

2. Key Differences

Beyond the raw numbers, these architectural differences shape which platform fits your use case.

Database-Only vs. Full Platform

Neon is a pure serverless Postgres service — it does one thing (database) and does it well. Supabase is a full BaaS platform that bundles Postgres with Auth, Storage, Realtime, Edge Functions, and a dashboard. Choose Neon if you want to pick your own auth/storage/functions stack; choose Supabase if you want everything integrated out of the box.

Project Limits: 100 vs. 2

Neon's 100 free projects is the standout difference. Each project gets its own 0.5 GB storage and 100 CU-hours/month. This makes Neon ideal for per-client databases, microservices architectures, or agencies managing multiple sites. Supabase's 2-project limit means you'll hit the paid tier quickly if you need more than a couple apps.

Branching: Dev Workflows vs. Production-First

Neon's database branching (10 branches per project) lets you create instant copy-on-write database copies for development, testing, and previews. This is transformative for CI/CD — branch your database like you branch your code. Supabase doesn't offer branching on the free tier (it's a Pro feature), so testing against production-like data requires manual setup.

Scale-to-Zero vs. Inactivity Pausing

Neon scales to zero after 5 minutes of idle and resumes in ~1 second — designed for intermittent workloads. Supabase pauses projects entirely after 1 week of inactivity (tightened Feb 2026), requiring manual unpause from the dashboard. For always-on projects this doesn't matter, but for side projects you check weekly, Neon's approach is significantly better.

3. Cost at Scale

What happens when you outgrow the free tier? Neon Launch ($19/mo) vs Supabase Pro ($25/mo).

MetricNeonSupabaseNotes
Starter paid plan Launch: $19/mo Pro: $25/mo Neon is $6/mo cheaper at the entry paid tier
Storage included 10 GB (Launch) 8 GB database + 100 GB file storage (Pro) Supabase Pro includes file storage. Neon is database-only
Compute 300 CU-hours/mo (Launch) Dedicated compute (Pro) Neon bills per compute-hour. Supabase provides always-on compute
Branching Included on all plans Pro+ only Neon branching is free-tier-up. Supabase gates it behind Pro
Scale-to-zero All plans Not available (always-on) Neon saves money by scaling down when idle. Supabase bills for always-on compute
Spending protection Usage-based billing, per-project caps $25/mo base + usage, spend caps available Both offer billing alerts. Supabase has a fixed base; Neon is fully usage-based
Bottom line on scaling: Neon Launch ($19/mo) is cheaper than Supabase Pro ($25/mo), but the comparison isn't apples-to-apples. Supabase Pro includes auth, file storage (100 GB), edge functions, and realtime — services you'd need to source separately with Neon. If you only need a database, Neon is the better value. If you need the full BaaS stack, Supabase's $25/mo covers everything in one bill.

4. When to Choose Each

Decision Guide

Choose Neon if:

You need pure Postgres with branching for dev/test workflows, you're running many small projects or microservices (100 free projects), you want scale-to-zero for intermittent workloads, or you prefer picking your own auth/storage/functions stack. Best for: serverless apps, microservices, CI/CD-heavy teams, agencies.

Choose Supabase if:

You want a complete BaaS platform with auth, storage, realtime, and edge functions included alongside Postgres. Best for: MVPs, prototypes, full-stack apps that need auth and file uploads, teams that want one platform instead of assembling services.

Consider both together:

Some teams use Neon for the primary database (branching + scale-to-zero) and Supabase for auth and storage. This hybrid approach gives you the best database experience with the best BaaS features. Both are Postgres — your SQL skills transfer directly.

Consider alternatives if:

For embedded/edge databases, try Turso (SQLite at the edge, 100 databases free). For a self-hosted BaaS, try Appwrite or PocketBase. For a managed Postgres with generous storage, check CockroachDB (10 GB free). See alternatives below.

5. Other Database Alternatives

If neither Neon nor Supabase fits, these database platforms offer competitive free tiers.

ProviderTierFree Tier Details
CockroachDB Basic Free serverless distributed SQL — 50M Request Units + 10 GiB storage/month, scales to zero
Turso Free Edge SQLite — 100 databases, 5 GB storage, 500M rows read/month, 10M rows written/month free
Convex Free Reactive backend — 1M function calls/month, 0.5 GB database + vector storage, 1 GB file storage, real-time sync
Notable mentions: CockroachDB offers 10 GB free storage with multi-region support — great for distributed Postgres. Turso gives 100 databases with 5 GB storage for SQLite-at-the-edge workloads. For a Firebase-like self-hosted experience, see Supabase vs Firebase. See our full database comparison for 30+ options.

6. Recent Deal Changes

From our deal change tracker:

Neon — 2026-01-15

Moved to fully usage-based pricing model post-Databricks acquisition — free tier storage now per-project, projects increased 10→100, branches capped at 10 per project, Neon Auth added Source ↗

Impact: medium · Source →

Supabase — 2026-02-01

Project pause policy tightened — inactive projects now pause after 1 week Source ↗

Impact: medium · Source →

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Methodology: Free tier data sourced from our verified index of 1,547 developer tools. Neon data verified against neon.com/pricing (2026-09-01). Supabase data verified against supabase.com/pricing (2026-08-17). Cost-at-scale analysis based on published pricing tiers. Deal changes tracked from official vendor announcements.

This comparison covers Neon vs Supabase free tiers as of March 2026. For more database options, see our full database comparison with 30+ free options. Browse all 1,547 developer tools at /search.

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