Face-off
NeonvsNhost
1 shared stage. Nhost adds Hosting & deploy.
| Neon | Stat | Nhost |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Free plan | Yes |
| Backend | Type | Backend |
| Freemium | Pricing | Not stated |
| not listed | App Builders | not listed |
| not listed | AI IDEs | not listed |
| not listed | Coding Agents | not listed |
| not listed | Hosting & deploy | covered |
| covered | Backend As A Service | covered |
Pick your stack
Both are managed Postgres backends with auth, storage and functions, and both still require you to write the app. Pick Neon if you want branching that copies auth, storage and functions with the database, a REST-style Data API, scale to zero and an AI Gateway. Pick Nhost if you want an instant GraphQL API, a CLI that runs the whole stack locally, Git-push deploys with CI/CD, and custom containers for services in any language.
Build with Neon if
- You want copy-on-write branches of the database, with auth, storage and functions included, for previews, tests or agents
- You prefer querying Postgres over HTTP through a REST-style Data API instead of GraphQL
- Your app has intermittent traffic and benefits from scale to zero, including on the Free plan
- You call several AI models and want one AI Gateway API for them
Build with Nhost if
- You want a real-time GraphQL API generated over your Postgres data
- You want to run the full backend stack locally with one CLI command
- You deploy through Git and want built-in CI/CD to ship the backend on push
- You need services in languages beyond JavaScript/TypeScript through custom containers
Side by side
| Aspect | Neon | Nhost |
|---|---|---|
| API layer | Data API is a managed REST API for querying Postgres over HTTP with no backend server. | Generates a real-time GraphQL API for your data; teams expecting REST-first will need to adjust. |
| Environments and workflow | Instant copy-on-write branching where auth, object storage and functions branch with the database; start with npx neon init. | CLI runs the entire stack locally with one command; Git-based deployments with built-in CI/CD. |
| Functions and custom code | Functions without timeouts that run close to the database. | Serverless functions in JavaScript or TypeScript, plus custom containers for services in any language. |
| AI features | AI Gateway with one API for frontier and open-source models; Postgres extensions such as pgvector. | AI toolkit with auto-embeddings, assistants and file stores. |
| Scaling and hosting | Autoscaling and scale to zero; Free compute scales to zero after 5 minutes of inactivity. Part of Databricks since May 2025. | Runs on Nhost cloud with autoscaling and load balancing across 6 regions on 4 continents and 80+ CDN locations. |
| Pricing | Free plan at $0 with 100 projects, 100 CU-hours per project monthly and 1 GB storage per project; usage-based Launch plan with typical spend of $15/mo; Scale plan for HIPAA, SLAs and private networking. | Free tier with no credit card required; teams can also book a demo. |
Builder questions
Do Neon and Nhost both have free plans?
Yes. Neon's Free plan costs $0, has no time limit, needs no credit card and includes 100 projects. Nhost offers a free tier that needs no credit card to start.
Can a non-coder build an app with either one?
No. Both are backends rather than visual app builders, so the UI and app logic still have to be written in code.
Which one offers realtime features?
Nhost provides a real-time GraphQL API. Neon offers Realtime, but it is still in beta.
Which frontend frameworks does Nhost support?
Nhost has a JavaScript SDK with quickstarts for React, Vue, Next.js, SvelteKit and React Native, plus a Dart SDK.