Neon
Turso
| Feature | Neon | Turso |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $19/mo | Free / from $29/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | startups, jamstack-developers, serverless-apps, side-projects | edge-applications, serverless-developers, jamstack-apps, multi-tenant-saas |
| Founded | 2021 | 2022 |
| Serverless Postgres | ✓ | ✗ |
| Branching | ✓ | ✓ |
| Autoscaling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Scale To Zero | ✓ | ✗ |
| Point In Time Recovery | ✓ | ✓ |
| Connection Pooling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Logical Replication | ✓ | ✗ |
| Edge Replication | ✗ | ✓ |
| Embedded Replicas | ✗ | ✓ |
| Sqlite Compatible | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Tenancy | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cli Tools | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Neon Pros
- Generous free tier with autoscaling
- Database branching for development workflows
- Scale-to-zero reduces costs for low-traffic apps
- Full PostgreSQL compatibility
- Instant database provisioning
✗ Neon Cons
- Relatively new platform (less battle-tested)
- Cold starts when scaling from zero
- Some PostgreSQL extensions not yet supported
✓ Turso Pros
- Sub-millisecond reads from edge locations
- SQLite-compatible with embedded replicas
- Generous free tier (9GB storage, 500 databases)
- Embedded replicas for zero-latency local reads
✗ Turso Cons
- Write operations still route to primary region
- Newer platform with smaller ecosystem
- SQLite limitations apply (no stored procedures)
The Verdict
Neon is built for startups and jamstack developers, with a focus on serverless-postgres and branching. Turso targets edge applications and serverless developers and leads with edge-replication and embedded-replicas.
On pricing, Neon is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $19/mo compared to $29/mo for Turso. That $10/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.