Neon
Serverless Postgres with branching, scale-to-zero, and a deep separation of compute and storage.
VISIT NEONQuick facts
- CategoryPostgres
- EnginePostgres
- PricingFreemium
- LicenseApache-2.0
- Created2021
- GitHub stars16.8k
- PostgresCompatible
- Edge-readyNo
What it is
Neon is serverless Postgres reimagined — compute and storage separated, instant database branching for preview environments, scale-to-zero for inactive databases. Acquired by Databricks in 2025. Vercel Postgres is built on Neon. The cleanest serverless Postgres experience in the category.
Best for
- Apps that want pure Postgres without the platform layer above
- Teams using preview-environment database branching as a workflow primitive
- Variable-traffic workloads that benefit from scale-to-zero
- Apps already on Vercel that want the integrated database
When not to pick it
Skip Neon if you want Auth + Storage + Functions bundled in — Supabase is the better fit there. Skip if your workload has steady high traffic where scale-to-zero does not save you anything.
My take
Neon is the cleanest serverless Postgres in 2026. Branching is genuinely useful and the Databricks acquisition added gravity without changing direction.
Links
Compare Neon side-by-side
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Read the take →If Neon is your pick — the next conversation is short
The 30-min call is where your database choice becomes a real architecture, a migration plan if you are switching, and a price range you can take to your stakeholders. Describe your stack, your scale, your data shape. I tell you whether Neon is genuinely your fit.