Supabase vs Neon: Postgres for AI-built apps
Pick Supabase if you want the whole backend in one place: Postgres plus sign-in, file storage, realtime updates and APIs generated from your tables. Pick Neon if you only need the database and want it cheap when idle, since compute suspends after a few minutes without queries and you branch a copy of your data for every preview. Both run standard Postgres and both offer an MCP server, so Claude or Cursor can read your schema and run queries. Your other needs decide it, not the SQL.
Which one to pick
Supabase suits an app builder who wants auth, storage and the database from one dashboard, with row-level security deciding who reads each row.
Neon suits a developer who already has auth elsewhere, runs many small or test databases, and wants to pay by the hour only for compute in use.
Side by side
Questions
How far do the free plans go?
Supabase's free plan gives you two active projects with a 500 MB database each, and it pauses a project after a week without activity. Neon's free plan allows up to 100 projects with 1 GB of storage and 100 compute hours per project each month. For many side projects or test databases, Neon's free tier stretches further.
How do the paid plans charge?
Supabase Pro starts at $25 a month and includes $10 of compute credits, enough for one small instance, with spend caps on by default. Neon's paid plans have no monthly minimum and bill by the hour, starting at $0.106 per compute-unit hour plus $0.35 per GB of storage a month. A quiet app costs very little on Neon because compute scales to zero.
Can I move from one to the other later?
Yes, since both are plain Postgres you can dump and restore with standard tools such as pg_dump. The database moves easily. Supabase extras such as auth users, storage buckets and row-level policies tied to its auth need more work to replace on Neon.
Do I need auth from somewhere else with Neon?
Yes, plan for it. Neon focuses on the database, so you add sign-in through a separate provider or your framework. Supabase includes auth with email, magic links and social logins, which saves a step on a new app.
What do branches give me on Neon?
A branch is a copy of your database you create in seconds, the way you branch code. Each pull request or test can get its own data without touching production. The free plan includes 10 branches per project, and paid plans add more at $1.50 per branch a month.