# Neon vs Supabase
URL: https://wwadd.dev/compare/neon-vs-supabase
Last verified: 2026-10-05

Both offer managed Postgres and auth options. For a Postgres application, compare database branching, connection handling, and the identity/data services you want to integrate rather than assuming one is only a database.

## Verdict
Choose by the database and identity workflow your app will actually use. Test the connection mode, branch-data handling, and total service costs before committing. Both can serve server-side SQL applications; using a browser-facing Data API adds authorization work. Skip either if required extensions, regions, or recovery guarantees are not available on the plan you can use.

## Pick Neon when
- Isolated Postgres branches and a branch-aware auth workflow fit your previews or CI
- Your deployment benefits from Neon's compute model and you have verified connections, latency, and current plan limits

**Skip Neon if:** your preview workflow cannot isolate sensitive data and auth state, or your required region and recovery limits are unavailable.

## Pick Supabase when
- You want to build around Supabase Auth, Data API, Storage, or Realtime alongside Postgres
- You can maintain tested row policies and prefer Supabase's project/environment workflow

**Skip Supabase if:** browser-facing data APIs are required but you cannot maintain tested grants and row-level policies.

## Related tools
- [Neon](https://wwadd.dev/tools/neon)
- [Supabase](https://wwadd.dev/tools/supabase)

## Related playbooks
- [Vite + React + Supabase + Vercel](https://wwadd.dev/stacks/vite-react-supabase-vercel)
- [Vue + Vite + Supabase](https://wwadd.dev/stacks/vue-vite-supabase)

## What actually differs
- Postgres workflow: Neon — Managed Postgres with autoscaling, scale to zero, and copy-on-write branches; Supabase — Managed Postgres with direct and pooled connections, migrations, and isolated project branches
- Preview data: Neon — Branches can clone existing data; schema-only branching is available when copied data is inappropriate; Supabase — New branches are data-less by default; seed data or explicitly choose to include it
- Auth integration: Neon — Managed Better Auth stores identity and session data in Postgres and isolates it with branches; Supabase — Supabase Auth issues JWTs for its data services; supported third-party providers can also integrate
- Connection strategy: Neon — Choose direct or transaction-pooled connections; pooling changes session-level SQL behavior; Supabase — Choose direct, session-pooled, or transaction-pooled access to suit the app's deployment
- Data API and access rules: Neon — Use server-side SQL/ORM access or evaluate Neon's Data API and its authentication/RLS setup; Supabase — Use server-side SQL/ORM access or the generated Data API with tested grants and row policies

## Sources
- [Neon backend services](https://neon.com/docs/introduction)
- [Neon Postgres](https://neon.com/docs/postgres/overview)
- [Neon database branching](https://neon.com/docs/introduction/branching)
- [Neon Managed Better Auth](https://neon.com/docs/auth/overview)
- [Neon connection pooling](https://neon.com/docs/connect/connection-pooling)
- [Neon Data API and access control](https://neon.com/docs/data-api/overview)
- [Supabase database connections](https://supabase.com/docs/guides/database/connecting-to-postgres)
- [Supabase branching](https://supabase.com/docs/guides/deployment/branching)
- [Supabase third-party auth](https://supabase.com/docs/guides/auth/third-party/overview)
- [Supabase Row Level Security](https://supabase.com/docs/guides/database/postgres/row-level-security)