Neon vs Supabase (2026)
Pure Postgres or full platform? Chrome-verified pricing for Neon vs Supabase, serverless cold starts, and which managed database to pick in 2026.
| Criteria | Neon | Supabase |
|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | N/A/10 | N/A/10 |
| Free Tier | 0.5 GB (cold starts) | 500 MB (pauses after 1 week) |
| Paid Starts At | $19/month | $25/month |
| Best For | Serverless Postgres + branching | Full platform (auth+DB+storage) |
| Biggest Gotcha | 500ms cold starts below $69/mo | Overpaying if you only need DB |
| DX Rating | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| 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. |
TL;DR
Choose Neon if you only need a PostgreSQL database with serverless scaling and branching. Choose Supabase if you want a full platform (auth + database + storage + realtime).
Detailed comparison
| Factor | Neon | Supabase |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | PostgreSQL only | PostgreSQL + auth + storage + realtime + edge functions |
| Free tier storage | 0.5 GB | 500 MB |
| Free tier catch | 500ms cold starts | Pauses after 1 week idle |
| Paid tier | $19/month (Launch) | $25/month (Pro) |
| Always-on (no cold starts) | $69/month (Scale) | $25/month (Pro) |
| Database branching | Yes (killer feature) | No |
| Vendor | Acquired by Databricks (2025) | YC startup, $116M raised |
| Connection pooling | Built-in (serverless driver) | Built-in (Supavisor) |
When to choose Neon
- You only need a database (not auth, storage, or realtime)
- You want database branching for CI/CD
- You’re deploying on edge runtimes (Neon’s serverless driver works on edge)
- You want serverless scaling with scale-to-zero
When to choose Supabase
- You want auth + database + storage in one platform
- You’re building a full-stack app and want the fastest setup
- You want Row Level Security integrated with auth
- You’ll actually use the bundled services (otherwise you’re overpaying)
Get this comparison in your terminal: npx auxiliar · In Claude Code: claude mcp add auxiliar -- npx auxiliar-mcp