Neon vs Supabase in 2026: pick Neon if you only need a database
Neon vs Supabase in one line: pick Neon for serverless Postgres that branches and scales to zero, pick Supabase for Postgres plus auth, storage and realtime in one project. Both are Postgres, so your data is portable either way and every ORM works with both.
Facts and prices checked on against the sources listed below.
Quick verdict
Neon vs Supabase at a glance
| Feature |  Neon |  Supabase |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Serverless Postgres with branching, from Databricks | Postgres plus auth, storage, realtime and functions |
| Free plan | 100 projects, 1 GB storage and 100 CU-hours a month per project | 2 active projects, 500 MB database, 50,000 monthly active users |
| Idle behaviour | Scales to zero after 5 minutes, wakes on the next query | Free projects pause after 1 week of inactivity |
| Paid plans | Usage based, no monthly minimum (Launch from $0.106 per CU-hour) | Pro from $25 a month |
| Branching | Copy-on-write branches; 10 per project on the free plan | Branching for preview environments |
| Auth | Built in auth, up to 60,000 MAU on the free plan | Supabase Auth with row level security |
| File storage | 5 GB object storage on the free plan | 1 GB on free, 100 GB on Pro |
| Leaving | pg_dump | pg_dump, plus moving auth and storage |
Pricing and free tier (checked Oct 2026)
Neon's free plan is the more generous one if you run many small databases. You get up to 100 projects, and each one has 100 compute-hours a month, 1 GB of storage, 10 branches and 5 GB of egress, with a 20 GB storage cap across the account. It is permanent, needs no card, and when you hit a limit Neon blocks writes or suspends compute rather than deleting data.
Supabase's free plan gives you two active projects, each with a 500 MB database, 1 GB of file storage, 5 GB of egress and auth for 50,000 monthly active users. That covers far more of an app than a database alone, but free projects pause after a week without activity.
Past the free tier the models differ. Neon is pay as you go with no monthly minimum: on the Launch plan compute is $0.106 per CU-hour and storage $0.35 per GB-month. Supabase Pro starts at $25 a month and includes an 8 GB disk per project, 100,000 monthly active users and 100 GB of file storage, and paid projects never pause.
A rough rule: a database that is busy around the clock favours Supabase's fixed price, and a database that is idle most of the day favours Neon's usage billing.
Branching and developer workflow
Branching is why most people pick Neon. A branch is a copy-on-write clone of your database, so each pull request can get its own copy of production-shaped data in seconds, and deleting it costs nothing. You can test a migration on a branch, throw it away and try again.
Neon separates storage from compute. Compute scales down to nothing after 5 minutes without queries and starts again on the next query. The cold start is short but real, so check whether your app can live with it.
Supabase has branching for preview environments too, but its centre of gravity is the project: one Postgres instance with services around it, always on once you pay.
Auth, storage and realtime
This is where Supabase pulls ahead. Each project comes with Supabase Auth (social sign-in, plus row level security policies tied to the signed-in user), file storage with access rules, realtime subscriptions to table changes, edge functions and a generated API. For a solo founder that is weeks of work you skip.
Neon has grown beyond the database. Its free plan now lists built in auth for up to 60,000 monthly active users and 5 GB of object storage. Neon is still a database first, though: there is no realtime layer or generated API in the same sense, so you bring your own backend.
When to pick Neon
- You need a preview database per pull request.
- You run many small or idle databases, such as one per customer or per demo.
- You already have auth and an API and only need Postgres.
- You want to pay close to nothing while nobody is using the app.
When to pick Supabase
- You are starting a new SaaS and want auth, storage and a database tomorrow.
- You need realtime updates in the UI. Convex is the other option if the whole app is live by nature (see picking a database for a new app).
- You want a fixed monthly price with no cold starts.
Because both are Postgres, this is one of the few infrastructure choices you can reverse with a dump and a restore. For SQLite at the edge and reactive backends too, read picking a database for a new app, or see the wider list of Supabase alternatives.
FAQ
Is Neon cheaper than Supabase?
For a database that sits idle most of the time, Neon usually costs less: compute scales to zero and you pay for what you use, and the free plan covers up to 100 small projects. For a database that is busy around the clock, or when you also need auth and file storage, Supabase's Pro plan from $25 a month tends to work out cheaper.
Does Neon pause like Supabase?
Not in the same way. Neon's compute scales to zero after 5 minutes without queries and wakes on the next query, with a short cold start. Supabase does not scale to zero, but projects on its free plan pause after a week without activity and have to be restored.
Can I move from Supabase to Neon later, or the other way?
Yes for the database itself: both are Postgres, so a pg_dump and restore moves your data and schema. Supabase Auth users, Storage files and anything built on its realtime or functions have to be moved or replaced separately.
Which is better for a side project?
Neon if you only need a database: the free plan never pauses your data and scales to zero. Supabase if you need sign-in and file uploads too, as long as you open the project at least once a week or accept the pause.
Sources, checked October 22, 2026
Prices and plans change often. If something here is out of date, tell us through the contact page.