What is the difference between Neon and Hasura?

Neon is best for Developers who want serverless Postgres with branching and scale-to-zero, while Hasura is best for Developers wanting instant GraphQL APIs on their database. Neon starts at $19/mo and Hasura starts at Free.

Is Neon or Hasura cheaper?

Neon starts at $19/mo with a free tier. Hasura starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Hasura?

Both Neon and Hasura offer free tiers.

Neon vs Hasura

Neon is Serverless Postgres with autoscaling, branching, and a generous free tier for modern applications, while Hasura is Instant GraphQL and REST APIs on Postgres, SQL Server, and other data sources. The biggest difference up front: Hasura is free, while Neon starts at $19/mo. Neon is built for developers who want serverless postgres with branching and scale-to-zero, whereas Hasura targets developers wanting instant graphql apis on their database.

At a glance

	Neon	Hasura
Best for	Developers who want serverless Postgres with branching and scale-to-zero	Developers wanting instant GraphQL APIs on their database
Starting price	$19/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	✓
Auth	—	✓
Autoscaling	✓	—
Branching	✓	—
GraphQL	—	✓
Real-Time	—	✓
Remote Schemas	—	✓
Scale-to-Zero	✓	—
Serverless Postgres	✓	—

Neon

Strengths

Scale-to-zero means no cost when database is idle
Database branching for development and preview environments
Fully compatible Postgres with extensions support
Generous free tier for development and small projects

Weaknesses

Cold starts when scaling from zero can add latency
Relatively young platform compared to managed Postgres competitors
Connection pooling needed for serverless frameworks
Limited regions compared to larger cloud providers

Try Neon → Full review

Hasura

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes GraphQL as a core feature, purpose-built for database workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
Free for 1 project — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in database
Community support can be slower than the dedicated support teams at commercial alternatives

Try Hasura → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Hasura is completely free (Free for 1 project), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Neon starts at $19/mo, but Free tier with 0.5 GB storage and 190 compute hours. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Neon offers Autoscaling, Branching and Scale-to-Zero that Hasura lacks. Hasura brings Auth, GraphQL and Real-Time that Neon does not have.

Team fit: Neon is geared toward any size teams, while Hasura is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Both Neon and Hasura are open source, so self-hosting and code audits are on the table with either choice.

Where each tool shines: Neon's biggest strengths are: scale-to-zero means no cost when database is idle. database branching for development and preview environments. Hasura's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes graphql as a core feature, purpose-built for database workflows.

Watch out for: With Neon, users commonly note that cold starts when scaling from zero can add latency. With Hasura, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Neon if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: developers who want serverless postgres with branching and scale-to-zero
You specifically need Autoscaling and Branching
You care about database branching for development and preview environments
Your team size fits the any size profile Neon is designed for
The free tier works for you: free tier with 0.5 gb storage and 190 compute hours

Choose Hasura if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: developers wanting instant graphql apis on their database
Budget is a hard constraint — Hasura is free, Neon is not
You specifically need Auth and GraphQL
You care about includes graphql as a core feature, purpose-built for database workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Hasura is designed for