Free Neon alternatives
Neon is in Backend & Database. It scored 9.5/10 in our tests. We list free or no-monthly-fee options first. Supabase is the highest-scoring tested free or no-monthly-fee alternative at 9.2/10. Firebase is recorded as requiring no card: Yes (Spark): capped free quotas, no card
Our record describes Neon as suited to: Indie devs who want serverless Postgres with instant branches for previews, tests and AI agents.. Recorded considerations: The projects API demanded org_id even for a single-org account; Our test covered the database only, not auth; We could not verify a plain TCP connection from our test box.
Free or no-monthly-fee alternatives
Listed first because most people comparing alternatives want a free or no-card starting point. Scores are recorded overall scores from our tests, not one shared benchmark. Official limits can change; re-check the tool page dates.
| Alternative | Overall | Free plan or fee model | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase | 9.2/10 | Yes: 2 projects, 500 MB DB, 50K MAU; pauses after 1 week inactive | Pro from $25/mo per org ($10 compute credit) |
| Convex | 8.7/10 | Yes: 1M function calls, 0.5 GB DB | Starter $0 + usage; Professional $25/dev/mo |
| Firebase | not yet tested | Yes (Spark): capped free quotas, no card | Blaze pay-as-you-go above free quotas |
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Tested: Supabase Cloud, Free plan (ap-southeast-2); self-hosted Docker edition also tested: 8.6 · 2026-10-16
Free tier: Yes: 2 projects, 500 MB DB, 50K MAU; pauses after 1 week inactive
Cloud: project provisioned in ~9s, table + REST write/read + email signup/login/wrong-password rejected passed 3/3 runs (~12s task).
Pros- Cloud project provisioned in about 9 seconds
- Database, REST API and email auth all passed 3 of 3 runs
- Generous free tier: 2 projects, 500 MB database, 50K MAU
Cons- Free projects pause after 1 week of inactivity
- Self-hosted Docker had an unhealthy edge-functions container on our box (scored 8.6)
Best if: Indie developers who want Postgres, auth and an instant REST API in one backend.
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Tested: Open-source local backend (anonymous local deployment via Convex CLI), not Convex Cloud · 2026-10-16
Free tier: Yes: 1M function calls, 0.5 GB DB
3/3 runs: push functions, insert and query rows, arg validation, all OK in about 7-8s each (warm).
Pros- Push functions, insert, query and validation passed 3 of 3 runs
- Each run took about 7-8 seconds
- Free tier includes 1M function calls
Cons- Self-hosted Docker images returned 'denied' for anonymous pulls in our test
Best if: TypeScript developers who want a reactive backend with functions and a database in one.
- Firebase Not yet tested
Free tier: Yes (Spark): capped free quotas, no card
Google's app development platform.
How Neon compares
Neon scored 9.5/10. Supabase is the highest-scoring tested free or no-monthly-fee alternative at 9.2/10 (difference 0.3 points).
Back to Neon · Best free Backend & Database · Best Backend & Database
FAQ
Is there a free alternative to Neon?
Supabase (9.2/10), Convex (8.7/10) have a tested score and a free plan or no monthly fee on record. Also listed as not yet tested: Firebase. Official limits are dated on each tool page; free does not mean unlimited.
Which free Neon alternative scored highest?
Supabase scored 9.2/10 overall among the free or no-monthly-fee tools we have tested in this category.
How are alternatives ranked?
Free or no-monthly-fee options are listed first. Tested tools show their recorded overall score; untested tools are marked not yet tested and have no score. Scores come from separate hands-on runs, not one shared benchmark. See our methodology for the rubric.
Scores come from our own tests and are never for sale; sponsored placements are always labelled. Some links are affiliate links (currently Railway). Disclosure