Neon vs Pocketbase
Neon is a fully managed, serverless Postgres database platform that scales compute to zero when idle and offers instant copy-on-write branching for development or testing. PocketBase is a free, open source backend that ships as a single executable file, combining an embedded SQLite database, auth, file storage and realtime subscriptions, but is self-hosted only with no official managed cloud offering. Choose Neon if you want a fully managed Postgres database with no servers to run; choose PocketBase if you want a free, self-hosted backend you control entirely.
Facts checked on against the official sources listed at the end. Usage numbers update daily.
Best for
A fully managed, serverless Postgres database with branching
Free plan.
Best for
A free, self-hosted single-binary backend you control entirely
Free plan.
Neon vs Pocketbase at a glance
| Compared on | Neon | Pocketbase |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting model | Fully managed cloud service, no server management | Self-hosted only; you run the binary on your own server |
| Data model | Relational (Postgres) | SQLite, embedded directly in the single executable |
| Built-in auth and storage | No; requires a separate auth provider and storage service | Yes, included in the single binary |
| Database branching | Instant, copy-on-write branching for full database copies | No built-in equivalent |
| Cost | Free plan, then usage-based hourly billing | Free and open source; only your own server cost applies |
| Open source | Yes, Apache-2.0 (core storage engine) | Yes, MIT |
| Free plan | Yes: 0.5 GB storage and 100 compute hours a month per project, no credit card required | Yes, PocketBase is free and self-hosted; there is no paid managed version |
| Paid plans from | Not listed | Not listed |
| Made by | Neon, Inc. (a Databricks company) | PocketBase (open source project) |
| Launched | 2021 | Not listed |
What's the difference between Neon and Pocketbase?
Managed vs self-hosted
Neon is a fully managed cloud service with no infrastructure to run yourself; PocketBase is self-hosted only, so you're responsible for running, scaling and backing up the server it runs on.
Bundled features differ
PocketBase ships auth, file storage and realtime subscriptions bundled into its single binary; Neon is a database-only service, so auth and storage need to be added through separate tools.
Branching is Neon-specific
Neon's instant, copy-on-write database branching lets you create a full copy of a Postgres database for development or testing in seconds; PocketBase has no equivalent feature.
Scaling model differs
Neon scales automatically as a managed cloud service, including scaling compute to zero when idle; PocketBase's single-binary, embedded-SQLite design is best suited to small-to-medium projects, since scaling further generally means scaling the server it runs on yourself.
Neon vs Pocketbase pricing
Neon has a free plan (0.5 GB storage, 100 compute hours/month) and usage-based Launch and Scale plans billed hourly. PocketBase is entirely free and open source, with no official paid plan; the only cost is your own hosting.
Neon
Free: 0.5 GB storage and 100 compute hours a month per project. Launch and Scale: usage-based, billed hourly for compute and storage.
- Free
- $0 a month
- Launch
- Usage-based, billed hourly
- Scale
- Usage-based, billed hourly
Pocketbase
Free and open source under the MIT license. There's no official managed version, so costs come only from whatever server or hosting provider you run the binary on.
Prices in USD from the official pricing pages on 3 October 2026. They change often, so confirm on neon.com and pocketbase.io before you commit.
Usage and activity
Pocketbase has 2.6 times as many GitHub stars as Neon (61.4k against 23.2k). Weekly npm downloads: 5.2M for @neondatabase/serverless and 286k for pocketbase.
| Measure | Neon | Pocketbase |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 23,210 | 61,433 |
| npm downloads a week | 5.2M (@neondatabase/serverless) | 286k (pocketbase) |
| Latest release | release-proxy-88…, 1 year ago | v0.40.5, 1 week ago |
| Releases in 90 days | 0 | 7 |
From the public GitHub and npm APIs, updated daily. Stars and downloads show developer interest, not product quality.
Should you choose Neon or Pocketbase?
Choose Neon if
- You want a fully managed Postgres database with no servers to run or maintain
- You want instant database branching for previews, tests or development copies
- Your data is relational and benefits from Postgres's structure and SQL features
- You want compute that scales to zero and back up automatically to control cost
Choose Pocketbase if
- You want a free, self-hosted backend with no per-usage billing
- You want auth, file storage and realtime bundled into one binary with your database
- Your project is small-to-medium and fits comfortably on a single server
- You're comfortable managing your own server, backups and scaling
Switching between Neon and Pocketbase
Moving from Neon to PocketBase means exporting Postgres tables into PocketBase's SQLite-backed collections and standing up your own server to run the binary, gaining built-in auth, storage and realtime in the process. Moving from PocketBase to Neon means importing SQLite data into Postgres tables and moving from a self-managed server to Neon's fully managed infrastructure, while adding separate auth and storage services since Neon doesn't include either.
Neon vs Pocketbase: common questions
Does PocketBase have a managed cloud option like Neon?
No. PocketBase is self-hosted only; there's no official managed or hosted version, so you always run the binary on your own server or a hosting provider of your choice.
Does Neon include authentication like PocketBase?
No. Neon is a database service only; you'd need to add a separate authentication provider, whereas PocketBase includes auth built into its single binary.
Can PocketBase scale as well as Neon?
Not automatically. Neon scales as a fully managed cloud service with compute that scales to zero when idle, while PocketBase's single-binary, embedded-SQLite design means scaling depends on the server you run it on.
What database does PocketBase use?
PocketBase uses an embedded SQLite database bundled directly into its single executable file, unlike Neon's cloud-hosted Postgres.
Is PocketBase's code open source?
Yes, PocketBase is released under the MIT license and is fully open source. Neon's core storage engine is also open source, under Apache-2.0.
Other options to consider
All databases tools
Supabase
Open source Postgres development platform with auth, instant APIs, realtime, storage and edge functions.
Redis
In-memory data store used as a cache, database and message broker, available self-hosted or as Redis Cloud.
MongoDB Atlas
MongoDB's fully managed cloud database service, with a free tier and usage-based paid tiers.
Firebase
Google's backend-as-a-service platform for mobile and web apps: database, auth, hosting and functions.
Sources
More sources for each tool are on the Neon and Pocketbase pages.
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