Neon vs Supabase vs PlanetScale vs Render vs AWS RDS (2026)
Which managed database should you pick in 2026? Chrome-verified pricing, cold start warnings, and real gotchas for Neon, Supabase, PlanetScale, Render, and AWS RDS — compared side by side.
| Criteria | Neon | Supabase | PlanetScale | Render | AWS RDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 7.2/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 6.5/10 | 8.5/10 |
| Free Tier | 0.5 GB (cold starts) | 500 MB (pauses after 1 week) | None (removed 2024) | 256 MB (deleted at 90 days) | 12 months db.t3.micro |
| Paid Starts At | $19/month | $25/month | $39/month | $7/month | $13/month |
| Best For | Serverless + branching | Full platform | MySQL + schema changes | Simple + cheap | Enterprise production |
| Biggest Gotcha | 500ms cold starts on cheap tiers | Free tier pauses | No free tier, no foreign keys | Free DB deleted at 90 days | Multi-AZ doubles cost |
| DX Rating | 8/10 | 9/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Pick if | You want serverless Postgres with built-in connection pooling, HA, branching, and auth — all usage-based with a $5/month minimum spend on paid plans. | You want a full-stack platform (auth, database, storage, realtime) with a modern developer experience and fast setup. | You need MySQL with zero-downtime schema changes and horizontal sharding, and can handle $5/month minimum (single-node) or $39/month (Scaler cluster). | You are already hosting on Render and need a simple, cheap managed Postgres with minimal setup. | You are already on AWS, need enterprise compliance, and have ops capacity to manage VPC and security group configuration. |
When to choose each
Choose Neon if you want serverless Postgres with database branching for CI/CD. Great for development workflows. Need Scale tier ($69/month) for production without cold starts.
Choose Supabase if you want a full platform (auth + database + storage + realtime). Best DX in the category. The $25/month Pro tier is great value for the full stack.
Choose Render Postgres if you want the cheapest simple Postgres ($7/month). Don’t use the free tier for anything you care about — it gets deleted.
Choose AWS RDS if you need enterprise reliability, compliance, and are already on AWS. Budget for Multi-AZ (doubles cost) and RDS Proxy for serverless apps.
Avoid PlanetScale for new projects unless you specifically need MySQL. No free tier, no foreign keys, and uncertain business trajectory.
Cost comparison
| Need | Neon | Supabase | PlanetScale | Render | AWS RDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | Free* | Free** | $39 | Free*** | Free**** |
| Small prod | $19 | $25 | $39 | $7 | ~$13 |
| Medium prod | $69 | $25 | $99 | $20 | ~$50 |
| Enterprise | Custom | $599 | Custom | $95 | ~$175+ |
*Cold starts. **Pauses after 1 week. ***Deleted after 90 days. ****12 months only.
Get this comparison in your terminal: npx auxiliar · In Claude Code: claude mcp add auxiliar -- npx auxiliar-mcp