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
Serverless PostgreSQL platform with autoscaling and branch/rollback capabilities.
Backend developers, SaaS startups, and teams needing PostgreSQL's relational features and complex querying capabilities
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
Quick Answer
AI SummaryNeon 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-assistedChoose 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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Choose Neon if
Backend developers, SaaS startups, and teams needing PostgreSQL's relational features and complex querying capabilities
Choose Turso if
Best pickEdge 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
Key Facts & Figures
79 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | Neon | Turso | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 GB | 0.5 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 hours | Unlimited | — |
| 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) | Unlimited | 0 (not available) | — |
| Edge Locations Available(locations) | 1 region per database | 30+ global locations | |
| Max Concurrent Connections (pooled)(connections) | 10,000 | Limited 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) | 3GB | 9 GB | |
| Maximum Storage Supported(GB) | 1000GB (scalable) | — | — |
| P99 Query Latency (Single Region)(milliseconds) | 75 ms | 20 ms | |
| P99 Latency at Global Edge(milliseconds) | 120+ ms | 30 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 GB | 9 GB | |
| Startup Plan Monthly Cost(USD) | $29 | $29 | |
| Global Edge Replication Locations(locations) | 100+ edge locations | 100+ edge locations | |
| Maximum Database Size (Pro Plan)(GB) | 500 GB | 500 GB | |
| Setup Time to Production(minutes) | 5-10 minutes | 5-10 minutes | |
| Read Latency (Edge)(milliseconds) | <1ms (edge) | <1ms (edge) | |
| Starter Plan Monthly Cost(USD) | $29 | $29 | |
| Free Tier API Requests(monthly limit) | 1M free reads | 1M 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+ regions | Up 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 million | 1 million | |
| Global Edge Locations(locations) | 60+ | 60+ | |
| OLAP Query Speed (1GB dataset)(milliseconds) | 150-300ms | 150-300ms | |
| 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 days | 7 days |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
- PostgreSQLDatabase EngineSQLite
- 3 GB(winner)Free Tier Storage500 MB
- Server-side & traditional applicationsPrimary Use CaseEdge & distributed applications
- Limited to single regionGlobal Edge ReplicationMulti-region replication built-in(winner)
- $0.30/GB storage + compute hoursPricing Model$0.25/million row reads + $5/million writes
- 50-100ms (single region)Query Latency (p99)10-30ms (edge locations)(winner)
- 100 compute hoursFree Tier Monthly ComputeNo compute hours limit(winner)
- 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
| Attribute | Turso | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Monthly Cost(USD) | Free (with paid tiers from $15) | — |
| Free Tier Storage Limit(GB) | 3 GB(winner) | 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 attributesStarting 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)(winner) |
| Cold Start Time(seconds) | 1-2 seconds | — |
Show 17 more attributesConnection 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(winner) |
| Supported Geographic Regions(count) | 7 regions | — |
| Global Edge Locations(locations) | 60+ | — |
| Global Read Replicas(regions) | Unlimited (automatic) | — |
Show 1 more attributePrimary 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 attributeTime 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 attributesBuilt-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 attributesMaximum 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)(winner) | 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(winner) |
| 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 | — |
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Pros & Cons
10 pros·6 cons across both
Neon
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
Turso
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
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.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
Where to Buy
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