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Side-by-side comparison · Databases & Backend

Neon vs Netlify vs Supabase

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Neon

4.2

From Pay as you go

Netlify

4.0

From From $9/mo

Best overall

Supabase

4.3

From From $25/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Neon4.2

Pick it if: Developers and Claude Code users who want a dependable Postgres database and nothing else.

Easiest to use

Pick it if: Marketers, freelancers and AI builders who want a simple, reliable place to put a website live without learning servers.

Best overall

Pick it if: Anyone building an app with AI tools who needs somewhere real to keep user accounts and data.

Overview

AttributeNeonNetlifySupabase
In one lineA Postgres database that switches off when idle, so side projects cost nothing.Easy website hosting: drag in a site or connect GitHub and it's live in seconds.A ready-made database, logins and file storage for apps you build with AI tools.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumFreemium
Starting pricePay as you goFrom $9/moFrom $25/mo
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeNeonNetlifySupabase
Overall rating4.24.04.3Winner
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
3.5
4.5
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
4.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.5
4.0
4.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
3.5
4.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeNeonNetlifySupabase
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes Yes
Mobile app No No No
Desktop app No No No
Browser extension No No No
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted Yes No Yes
AI abilities
Works with your files No Yes Yes
Understands images No– No
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code Yes Yes Yes
Runs agents or automations No Yes Yes
Learns your brand or style No– No
Works in many languages–––
Capabilities score7/ 178/ 179/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeNeonNetlifySupabase
Plans

FreeOur pick

Free

Side projects and learning.

Free

Free

Personal sites and trying it out.

Free

Free

Prototypes, side projects and seeing if it suits you.

Launch

Pay as you go, no monthly minimum

Small production apps.

PersonalOur pick

From $9/mo

A single business site with real traffic.

ProOur pick

From $25/mo

Anything real people will use.

Scale

Pay as you go, higher rates

Teams needing an SLA and bigger databases.

Pro

From $20/mo

Teams and agencies running several sites.

Team

From $599/mo

Companies that need SSO and compliance paperwork.

Enterprise

Custom

Large companies with uptime and security needs.

Enterprise

Custom

Large products with uptime guarantees.

Which plan to pickFree covers more than you'd expect, including several small live apps. Move to Launch when a project needs more than 100 compute hours a month or a longer restore window. Scale is for teams that need an SLA, not for individuals.Start free and watch how many credits you use. A business site that publishes often or gets steady traffic should move to Personal. Agencies with several people working on sites should go straight to Pro.Build on Free. Switch to Pro the day you share the app with anyone outside your team, mostly so the project stops pausing. Team is a big jump that only makes sense once a client or auditor asks for SSO or a SOC 2 report.

Key features

AttributeNeonNetlifySupabase
Standout features
  • Serverless Postgres
  • Branching
  • Point-in-time restore
  • Official MCP server
  • Neon Auth
  • Deploy any way
  • Preview links
  • Forms
  • Agent Runners
  • Functions and database
  • MCP server
  • Postgres database
  • Auth
  • Storage
  • Edge Functions
  • Realtime
  • Official MCP server

Pros and cons

AttributeNeonNetlifySupabase
Pros
  • Real Postgres, no lock-in
  • Free plan allows 100 projects
  • Branching is genuinely useful, not a gimmick
  • No monthly minimum on paid plans
  • First-class Vercel integration
  • Very easy to get a site live
  • Forms and functions built in
  • Deploys directly from popular AI builders
  • Projects stay private until you publish
  • Unlimited members on Pro
  • Standard Postgres underneath, so you can leave any time
  • Logins, storage, functions and live updates in one dashboard
  • The widest support across AI app builders and Claude Code
  • Generous free plan for trying things out
  • Open source, with self-hosting if you ever need it
Cons
  • Only the database; no storage, functions or mature auth
  • The first request after a quiet spell is slower while the database wakes up
  • Usage billing takes some learning to predict
  • Now owned by Databricks, so the direction could shift
  • Credit system makes costs harder to predict
  • Each production deploy uses 15 credits, so the free plan runs out quickly
  • Less suited to heavy apps than Railway or Render
  • Extra concurrent builds cost $40 each
  • Free projects pause after a week of inactivity
  • Usage charges on Pro can be hard to predict as traffic grows
  • Access rules and SQL still take some learning for non-technical people
  • The jump from Pro to Team is steep

Who each one is for

AttributeNeonNetlifySupabase
Best for
  • Postgres for side projects
  • Safe database experiments with branching
  • Apps hosted on Vercel
  • Usage-based pricing
  • Putting a marketing site or landing page live
  • Publishing sites from AI builders like Bolt
  • Simple sites with forms and no backend
  • Preview links for client sign-off
  • Backend for AI-built apps
  • User logins and permissions
  • File and image storage
  • Apps that need a real database
You'll find it used by
  • Developers
  • Vercel users
  • Startups
  • Claude Code users
  • Marketers
  • Freelancers
  • Agencies
  • Developers
  • Indie builders
  • Startups
  • Developers
  • Agencies

Questions people ask

Which is better, Neon, Netlify or Supabase?

Supabase scores highest overall in our ratings (Neon 4.2/5, Netlify 4.0/5 and Supabase 4.3/5). Neon is best for postgres for side projects and safe database experiments with branching. Netlify is best for putting a marketing site or landing page live and publishing sites from AI builders like Bolt. Supabase is best for backend for AI-built apps and user logins and permissions.

Which is cheaper, Neon, Netlify or Supabase?

Neon: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at Pay as you go. Netlify: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $9/mo. Supabase: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $25/mo.

Which is easier to use, Neon, Netlify or Supabase?

Netlify rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Marketers, freelancers and AI builders who want a simple, reliable place to put a website live without learning servers.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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