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Neon vs Prisma Postgres
Short answer: Pick Neon if you want serverless Postgres with full backend suite; pick Prisma Postgres if you want Managed Postgres with integrated preview databases. Neon has a free plan; Prisma Postgres has a free plan, paid from $10/month.
NeonServerless Postgres
Prisma PostgresManaged Postgres for TypeScript and AI apps. Spin up a free database in seconds with npx create-db, no credit card.Which to pick
Pick Neon if you want…
- Serverless Postgres with full backend suite
- Serverless Postgres
- Integrations with Better Auth, Databricks or pgBouncer (on Neon's list, not Prisma Postgres')
Pick Prisma Postgres if you want…
- Managed Postgres with integrated preview databases
- Integrations with Node.js, Bun or Next.js (on Prisma Postgres' list, not Neon's)
Side by side
- What it is
- Neon:Neon provides a serverless Postgres database with built-in auth, object storage, functions and an AI gateway.
- Prisma Postgres:Managed PostgreSQL with per-operation billing, preview databases and optional app hosting for TypeScript and AI apps.
- Best for
- Neon:Serverless Postgres with full backend suite
- Prisma Postgres:Managed Postgres with integrated preview databases
- Who it’s for
- Neon:Developers building apps or agents that need instant, branchable backends.
- Prisma Postgres:TypeScript developers building full-stack or AI applications.
- Pricing
- Neon:Freemium
- Prisma Postgres:Freemium
- Starting price
- Neon:—
- Prisma Postgres:$10/month (Starter)
- Free plan or trial
- Neon:Free plan (Free)
- Prisma Postgres:Free plan (Free)
- Plans
- Neon:Free $0
- Prisma Postgres:Free $0 · Starter $10 per month · Pro $49 per month · Business $129 per month
- Works with
- Neon:Better Auth, Databricks, pgBouncer
- Prisma Postgres:Node.js, Bun, Next.js, Prisma ORM, Drizzle, Kysely, TypeORM, BetterAuth
Neon features
- Serverless Postgres. Lakebase Postgres scales compute and storage independently and auto-scales in real time.
- Managed Auth. Fully-managed Better Auth integration provides free user authentication per database.
- Branchable Storage. S3-compatible object storage and database branches copy-on-write for isolated environments.
- Functions. Serverless functions run close to the database without timeouts.
- AI Gateway. Single API to access frontier and open-source models at cost-based rates.
- Autoscaling & Scale-to-Zero. Compute auto-adjusts to demand and scales to zero when idle, billed per CU-hour.
- High Availability & Read Replicas. Multi-AZ storage and read replicas are included on all plans.
- Extensions Library. Supports Postgres extensions such as pg_vector, PostGIS, TimescaleDB, etc.
Prisma Postgres features
- Per-operation billing. Pay only for the queries your app runs, with hard spend limits to avoid surprise bills.
- Free preview databases. Automatic preview DB for each feature branch declared in your Composer module.
- Integrated app hosting. Host Node.js, Bun or Next.js apps next to the database on Prisma Compute in one project.
- Standard Postgres. Full PostgreSQL compatibility; you can export with pg_dump and use any client or ORM.
- Daily backups & compliance. Paid plans include daily backups and encryption, with GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 on higher tiers.
- Query insights. Built-in UI shows latency, slow queries and operation counts without extra tracing tools.
Neon vs Prisma Postgres FAQ
What is the difference between Neon and Prisma Postgres?+
Neon offers serverless Postgres but separate hosting; Prisma bundles DB with compute and preview DBs.
Should I use Neon or Prisma Postgres?+
Pick Neon if you want serverless Postgres with full backend suite, serverless Postgres or integrations with Better Auth, Databricks or pgBouncer (on Neon's list, not Prisma Postgres'). Pick Prisma Postgres if you want Managed Postgres with integrated preview databases or integrations with Node.js, Bun or Next.js (on Prisma Postgres' list, not Neon's).
Is Neon or Prisma Postgres free?+
Neon has a free plan and paid plans. Prisma Postgres has a free plan; paid plans start at $10/month (Starter).
Do Neon and Prisma Postgres integrate with the same tools?+
Their integration lists don't overlap: Neon lists Better Auth, Databricks and pgBouncer; Prisma Postgres lists Node.js, Bun, Next.js, Prisma ORM and 7 more.
On DevHunt
Based on each tool's website and DevHunt data. Details may change; check the official sites.