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Neon vs Vercel
Side-by-side comparison of Neon and Vercel.
Quick summary
Neon — Serverless Postgres. Neon is a serverless Postgres platform with branching, autoscaling, and a generous free tier.
Vercel — The frontend cloud. Vercel is the platform built by the creators of Next.js, offering edge-first hosting, preview deployments, and serverless functions.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Neon | Vercel |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $19/mo | $20/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Engine | PostgreSQL | — |
| Branching | Yes | — |
| Free Tier | 0.5GB storage | — |
| Serverless | Yes | — |
| Scale-to-zero | Yes | — |
| Point-in-time Recovery | Yes | — |
| Edge Network | — | Yes |
| Custom Domains | — | Yes |
| Edge Functions | — | Yes |
| Bandwidth (free) | — | 100GB |
| Preview Deployments | — | Yes |
| Build Minutes (free) | — | 6000/mo |
| Serverless Functions | — | Yes |
Neon
Serverless Postgres
Pros
- Git-like branching for databases
- Scale-to-zero saves money
- Standard Postgres
Cons
- Cold starts after scale-to-zero
- Younger platform vs RDS
Vercel
The frontend cloud
Pros
- Best-in-class Next.js support
- Fast global edge network
- Excellent DX with Git integration
Cons
- Expensive at scale
- Vendor lock-in with Edge runtime
- Function timeout limits
Which should you choose?
Choose Neon if you value open source and want the option to self-host, and a free tier is important for your stage. Choose Vercel if a free tier is important for your stage.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, Neon or Vercel?
There is no universal “better.” For most teams, Neon is the safer default because Neon is open source, which means you can self-host and avoid vendor lock-in. Vercel is proprietary. For edge cases, the comparison table above highlights where each tool wins.
Is Neon cheaper than Vercel?
Neon starts at $19/mo, while Vercel starts at $20/mo. Exact costs depend on usage — check both vendors' calculators before committing.
Can I migrate from Neon to Vercel?
Migration difficulty depends on how deeply Neon-specific features (APIs, SDK conventions, data schemas) are baked into your app. Most database migrations take days to weeks. Both vendors typically publish migration guides — check their docs.
Is Neon or Vercel open source?
Neon is open source; Vercel is a proprietary managed service.
Does Neon or Vercel have a free tier?
Both Neon and Vercel offer a free tier.
Which is best for startups and indie hackers?
Startups usually optimize for the lowest friction to ship and the cheapest possible free tier. The one with the most generous free tier here is Vercel. For production workloads, revisit the trade-offs in the feature table above.