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Neon vs Turso 2026: PostgreSQL vs SQLite

Neon is a serverless PostgreSQL platform optimized for scalability with generous free tier limits (3GB storage), while Turso is a SQLite-based distributed database focused on edge performance with lower latency globally. Neon suits PostgreSQL users needing traditional relational features, while Turso excels for edge applications requiring minimal latency.

Neon

Neon

Serverless PostgreSQL platform with autoscaling and branch/rollback capabilities.

Backend developers, SaaS startups, and teams needing PostgreSQL's relational features and complex querying capabilities

Score63%
VS
T

Turso

Distributed SQLite database with native edge replication and millisecond latency globally.

Edge computing platforms, serverless applications, Vercel/Next.js projects, and globally distributed systems where latency is the primary constraint

Score63%

Quick Answer

AI Summary

Neon is a serverless PostgreSQL platform optimized for scalability with generous free tier limits (3GB storage), while Turso is a SQLite-based distributed database focused on edge performance with lower latency globally. Neon suits PostgreSQL users needing traditional relational features, while Turso excels for edge applications requiring minimal latency.

Our Verdict

AI-assisted

Choose Neon if you're building traditional server-side applications that require PostgreSQL's advanced features (full-text search, JSON operators, complex transactions) and need a generous free tier for prototyping. Choose Turso if you're building edge-first applications, serverless functions, or distributed systems where sub-50ms latency is critical and you prefer SQLite's simplicity with global replication.

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Neon
6.3/10
Turso
8.8/10
T
Neon

Choose Neon if

Backend developers, SaaS startups, and teams needing PostgreSQL's relational features and complex querying capabilities

T

Choose Turso if

Best pick

Edge computing platforms, serverless applications, Vercel/Next.js projects, and globally distributed systems where latency is the primary constraint

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Key Differences at a Glance

  • Database Engine:PostgreSQL vs SQLite
  • Free Tier Storage:Neon wins(3 GB vs 500 MB)
  • Primary Use Case:Server-side & traditional applications vs Edge & distributed applications
See all 7 differences

Key Facts & Figures

79 numeric metrics compared

MetricNeonTursoRatio
Starting Monthly Cost(USD)Free (with paid tiers from $15)
PostgreSQL Compatibility(percentage)100%
Read Latency (Average)(ms)5-30 seconds on cold start
RPO (Recovery Point Objective)(seconds)Variable (depends on backup interval)
Time to Production Deploy(hours)<15 minutes (managed service)
Free Tier Storage Limit(GB)3 GB0.5 GB
Production Cost (100GB Storage, 1 Month)(USD)$15
Connection Pooling Cost(USD/month)Free included
Maximum Recommended Storage(TB)2 TB
Free Tier Database Storage(GB)3 GB
Free Tier Monthly Compute Hours(hours)100 hoursUnlimited
Max Connections (Free Tier)(connections)20 concurrent connections
Pro Tier Monthly Cost (100GB storage)(USD)$29/month (pay-per-use after free tier)
Time to Deploy First App(minutes)90-180 minutes (requires 3-5 integrations)
Free Tier Compute Allowance(hours/month)100 hours/month
Max Scalable Storage(GB)256GB per instance
Starting Paid Plan Cost(USD/month)$19/month
Global Read Latency (p95)(ms)150 ms (US to EU)8 ms (edge replicas)
Free Branching Limit(branches)Unlimited0 (not available)
Edge Locations Available(locations)1 region per database30+ global locations
Max Concurrent Connections (pooled)(connections)10,000Limited by SQLite architecture
Free Monthly Reads(reads)Unmetered (generous free tier)9 billion reads
Point-in-Time Recovery Window(days)30 days (Pro plan)Not available
Pricing (Low-Traffic Tier)(USD/month)$5-15/month typical
Cold Start Time(seconds)1-2 seconds
Setup Time with Vercel(minutes)10-15 minutes (manual)
Connection Pool Connections(count)Up to 1000 pooled
SQL Execution Speed (P95)(milliseconds)8-12ms (avg connection)
Compute Unit Cost (Post-Free)(USD per compute unit)$0.16
PostgreSQL Extensions(count)200+
File Storage (Free Tier)(GB)0 (not included)
Average Setup Time(minutes)120
Minimum Monthly Cost(USD)$0 (free tier available)
Production Tier Monthly Base Cost(USD)$15
Time to Deploy Production Database(minutes)2-5 minutes
Supported Geographic Regions(count)7 regions
Maximum Storage (Base Plan)(GB)3 GB (Pro tier)
Point-in-Time Recovery Retention(days)7 days standard
Time to Production(days)5-10 minutes
Monthly Cost (100 GB, moderate traffic)(USD)$150-400 (Neon compute + storage)
Auto-scaling Response Time(seconds)15-30 seconds (automatic)
Maximum Connections(concurrent connections)Up to 1000+ (configurable per plan)
Available PostgreSQL Extensions(count)50+ (limited selection, approved by Neon)
Cold Start Latency(milliseconds)10-15 seconds (after compute suspension)
Community Size & Support(user base estimate)50,000+ active users (2026)
Compute Cost (Hourly)(USD/hour)$0.135/hour
Storage Cost (per GB)(USD/GB/month)$0.12/GB
Free Tier Storage(million vectors)3GB9 GB
Maximum Storage Supported(GB)1000GB (scalable)
P99 Query Latency (Single Region)(milliseconds)75 ms20 ms
P99 Latency at Global Edge(milliseconds)120+ ms30 ms
Storage Cost (Beyond Free)(USD per GB/month)$0.30$0.25
Read Operations Cost(USD per 1M reads)Included in compute$0.25
Free Tier Storage Capacity(GB)9 GB9 GB
Startup Plan Monthly Cost(USD)$29$29
Global Edge Replication Locations(locations)100+ edge locations100+ edge locations
Maximum Database Size (Pro Plan)(GB)500 GB500 GB
Setup Time to Production(minutes)5-10 minutes5-10 minutes
Read Latency (Edge)(milliseconds)<1ms (edge)<1ms (edge)
Starter Plan Monthly Cost(USD)$29$29
Free Tier API Requests(monthly limit)1M free reads1M free reads
Base Cost (Monthly)(USD)$29$29
Query Cost(USD per 1M queries)$0.30 - $0.50$0.30 - $0.50
Geographic Replication(regions)Up to 10+ regionsUp to 10+ regions
Maximum Database Size(items supported)500+500+
Network Latency (P99)(milliseconds)20-50ms (edge)20-50ms (edge)
Read Latency (Global Edge)(milliseconds)~50-100ms~50-100ms
Global Read Replica Locations(locations)30+30+
Maximum Database Size (Free Tier)(GB)3GB (starter)3GB (starter)
Database Size Limit(GB)1TB per database (with scaling options)1TB per database (with scaling options)
Typical Query Latency (from edge)(milliseconds)10–50ms (200+ global edges)10–50ms (200+ global edges)
Free Tier Row Reads/Month(millions)1 million1 million
Global Edge Locations(locations)60+60+
OLAP Query Speed (1GB dataset)(milliseconds)150-300ms150-300ms
Replication Latency(milliseconds)<100ms (edge)<100ms (edge)
Supported Languages(count)4 (JS, Python, Go, Rust)4 (JS, Python, Go, Rust)
Base Monthly Cost(USD)$29$29
Native Workers Integration Latency(ms)50-100 (via HTTP API)50-100 (via HTTP API)
Backup & Point-in-Time Recovery(days)7 days7 days

Sourced from publicly available data ·

Key Differences

7 attributes compared head-to-head

Neon
1Neon
Turso leads3 ties
T
3Turso
  • Database Engine

    Neon

    PostgreSQL

    Turso

    SQLite

  • Free Tier Storage

    Neon

    3 GB(winner)

    Turso

    500 MB

  • Primary Use Case

    Neon

    Server-side & traditional applications

    Turso

    Edge & distributed applications

  • Global Edge Replication

    Neon

    Limited to single region

    Turso

    Multi-region replication built-in(winner)

  • Pricing Model

    Neon

    $0.30/GB storage + compute hours

    Turso

    $0.25/million row reads + $5/million writes

  • Query Latency (p99)

    Neon

    50-100ms (single region)

    Turso

    10-30ms (edge locations)(winner)

  • Free Tier Monthly Compute

    Neon

    100 compute hours

    Turso

    No compute hours limit(winner)

Full Comparison

Neon
TTurso
Starting Monthly Cost(USD)
Free (with paid tiers from $15)
Free Tier Storage Limit(GB)
3 GB
0.5 GB
Production Cost (100GB Storage, 1 Month)(USD)
$15
Free Tier Database Storage(GB)
3 GB
Free Tier Monthly Compute Hours(hours)
100 hours
Unlimited
Show 19 more attributes
Starting Paid Plan Cost(USD/month)
$19/month
Free Monthly Reads(reads)
Unmetered (generous free tier)
9 billion reads
Pricing (Low-Traffic Tier)(USD/month)
$5-15/month typical
Free Tier Monthly Compute/Storage(credits/GB)
3GB compute credits (~5 hours/month)
Compute Unit Cost (Post-Free)(USD per compute unit)
$0.16
Minimum Monthly Cost(USD)
$0 (free tier available)
Production Tier Monthly Base Cost(USD)
$15
Monthly Cost (100 GB, moderate traffic)(USD)
$150-400 (Neon compute + storage)
Compute Cost (Hourly)(USD/hour)
$0.135/hour
Storage Cost (per GB)(USD/GB/month)
$0.12/GB
Storage Cost (Beyond Free)(USD per GB/month)
$0.30
$0.25
Read Operations Cost(USD per 1M reads)
Included in compute
$0.25
Starter Plan Monthly Cost(USD)
$29
Free Tier API Requests(monthly limit)
1M free reads
Base Cost (Monthly)(USD)
$29
Query Cost(USD per 1M queries)
$0.30 - $0.50
License Cost(USD/month)
$29–$199+
Base Monthly Cost(USD)
$29
Cost per Million Row Reads(USD)
Included in plan
PostgreSQL Compatibility(percentage)
100%
Available Extensions/Ecosystem
500+ PostgreSQL extensions
SQL Compliance
SQLite (libSQL extended)
Read Latency (Average)(ms)
5-30 seconds on cold start
Automatic Autoscaling
Automatic compute scaling 0 to unlimited
Max Connections (Free Tier)(connections)
20 concurrent connections
Global Read Latency (p95)(ms)
150 ms (US to EU)
8 ms (edge replicas)
Cold Start Time(seconds)
1-2 seconds
Show 17 more attributes
Connection Pool Connections(count)
Up to 1000 pooled
SQL Execution Speed (P95)(milliseconds)
8-12ms (avg connection)
Auto-scaling Response Time(seconds)
15-30 seconds (automatic)
Cold Start Latency(milliseconds)
10-15 seconds (after compute suspension)
Connection Pooling
Built-in PgBouncer
P99 Query Latency (Single Region)(milliseconds)
75 ms
20 ms
P99 Latency at Global Edge(milliseconds)
120+ ms
30 ms
Concurrent Writers(count)
Unlimited via HTTP connections
Concurrent Readers(count)
Unlimited
Maximum Database Size(items supported)
500+
Network Latency (P99)(milliseconds)
20-50ms (edge)
Read Latency (Global Edge)(milliseconds)
~50-100ms
Write Operations Per Second Scaling(scaling model)
Horizontal via sharding
Typical Query Latency (from edge)(milliseconds)
10–50ms (200+ global edges)
OLAP Query Speed (1GB dataset)(milliseconds)
150-300ms
Replication Latency(milliseconds)
<100ms (edge)
Native Workers Integration Latency(ms)
50-100 (via HTTP API)
RPO (Recovery Point Objective)(seconds)
Variable (depends on backup interval)
Compute Scaling Model
Serverless with automatic scale-to-zero
Edge Locations Available(locations)
1 region per database
30+ global locations
Supported Geographic Regions(count)
7 regions
Global Edge Locations(locations)
60+
Global Read Replicas(regions)
Unlimited (automatic)
Show 1 more attribute
Primary Write Regions Available(regions)
Multiple (with CRDT)
Time to Production Deploy(hours)
<15 minutes (managed service)
Branching (Development Environments)
All tiers; includes time-travel recovery
Time to Deploy First App(minutes)
90-180 minutes (requires 3-5 integrations)
Native Branching Support
Yes (Git-like branches)
Average Setup Time(minutes)
120
Show 1 more attribute
Time to Deploy Production Database(minutes)
2-5 minutes
Branching/Preview Environments
Unlimited free
Connection Pooling Cost(USD/month)
Free included
Database Engine
PostgreSQL (15+)
SQLite 3
Free Branching Limit(branches)
Unlimited
0 (not available)
PostgreSQL Extensions(count)
200+
Show 8 more attributes
Built-in Authentication
No
No (external required)
File Storage (Free Tier)(GB)
0 (not included)
Realtime API (WebSocket)(boolean)
No (third-party required)
Database Branching Capability
Native instant branching
Auto-Scaling Support
Native automatic scaling
Database Branching
Supported
Multi-Region Replication
Single region by default; cross-region via standbys costs extra
Built-in multi-region replication included
Replication Support
Multi-region with LTR protocol
Horizontal Sharding Support
Not available
Maximum Recommended Storage(TB)
2 TB
Max Scalable Storage(GB)
256GB per instance
Horizontal Sharding
Application-managed
Max Concurrent Connections (pooled)(connections)
10,000
Limited by SQLite architecture
Show 2 more attributes
Maximum Connections(concurrent connections)
Up to 1000+ (configurable per plan)
Maximum Database Size (Pro Plan)(GB)
500 GB
Real-time Subscriptions
Not supported; polling only
No
Pro Tier Monthly Cost (100GB storage)(USD)
$29/month (pay-per-use after free tier)
Free Tier Monthly Read Requests(requests)
Unlimited
Startup Plan Monthly Cost(USD)
$29
Free Tier Compute Allowance(hours/month)
100 hours/month
Auto-Suspend Idle Databases
Yes (up to 80% savings)
Multi-region Support(regions)
Yes (Beta/roadmap)
ACID Transaction Support(boolean)
Full (serializable isolation)
Partial (single-writer only)
Point-in-Time Recovery Window(days)
30 days (Pro plan)
Not available
Standard Uptime SLA(percent)
Custom (not published)
Backup & Point-in-Time Recovery(days)
7 days
Max Storage (Paid Tier)(GB)
Unlimited (per usage)
Setup Time with Vercel(minutes)
10-15 minutes (manual)
Vercel Dashboard Integration
External setup required
Maximum Storage (Base Plan)(GB)
3 GB (Pro tier)
Point-in-Time Recovery Retention(days)
7 days standard
Time to Production(days)
5-10 minutes
Setup Time to Production(minutes)
5-10 minutes
Data Portability(score out of 10)
Moderate (standard PostgreSQL dump format)
Available PostgreSQL Extensions(count)
50+ (limited selection, approved by Neon)
Community Size & Support(user base estimate)
50,000+ active users (2026)
Workers Integration(integration type)
Via REST API/SDK
Free Tier Storage(million vectors)
3GB
9 GB
Maximum Storage Supported(GB)
1000GB (scalable)
Maximum Database Size (Free Tier)(GB)
3GB (starter)
Database Size Limit(GB)
1TB per database (with scaling options)
Free Tier Storage Capacity(GB)
9 GB
Global Edge Replication Locations(locations)
100+ edge locations
Database Engine Type
SQLite-based (libSQL)
Geographic Replication(regions)
Up to 10+ regions
Network Access
HTTP/REST API with authentication
Primary Database Engine
SQLite (libSQL fork)
Read Latency (Edge)(milliseconds)
<1ms (edge)
Vector Search (AI/ML)
No
Row-Level Security (RLS)
No
Global Read Replica Locations(locations)
30+
Geographic Coverage(countries)
200+ global regions
Setup Time(hours)
10–15 minutes
Free Tier Row Reads/Month(millions)
1 million
Supported Languages(count)
4 (JS, Python, Go, Rust)
Installation Required
Yes (cloud account)
Free Tier Daily Read Queries(queries)
Limited/Custom

Pros & Cons

10 pros·6 cons across both

Neon
T
Neon

Neon

+5-3

Pros

  • 3GB free tier storage (5x more than Turso)
  • Full PostgreSQL compatibility with advanced features like JSON, arrays, and full-text search
  • Built-in branching feature for development environments
  • Point-in-time recovery and automated backups
  • 100 compute hours free monthly for prototyping

Cons

  • Higher baseline latency (50-100ms) due to centralized compute model
  • Limited multi-region replication without significant cost increase
  • Cold start delays when autoscaling compute up to handle traffic spikes
T

Turso

+5-3

Pros

  • Multi-region edge replication built-in for <30ms p99 latency worldwide
  • Unlimited free tier compute hours (pay-per-use reads/writes only)
  • Ultra-lightweight SQLite engine ideal for serverless/edge functions
  • Native TypeScript SDK with excellent developer experience
  • Embedded replication eliminates need for complex migration tools

Cons

  • Only 500MB free tier storage (6x less than Neon)
  • SQLite limitations: no true multi-writer concurrency, limited geospatial features
  • Smaller ecosystem of tools and integrations compared to PostgreSQL

Frequently Asked Questions

5 questions

  1. Neon has built-in branching for creating isolated development/staging databases from production snapshots, useful for CI/CD. Turso doesn't offer native branching—you must manually manage separate databases. This gives Neon an advantage for teams with complex deployment workflows.

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