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AI · head to head

Arize AI vs Neon

Arize AI logo

Arize AI

AI

AI engineering platform for observability and evaluation of agents and LLM apps

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Neon logo

Neon

Cloud

Serverless Postgres for modern developers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Arize AI the free plan caps trace spans at 25,000 per month with only 15 days of retention.; Neon compute pricing at $0.106-$0.222/CU-hour means costs scale directly with workload, unlike fixed-price alternatives
  • They diverge on capability: Arize AI covers End-to-end tracing, Neon covers Serverless PostgreSQL.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arize AI and Neon actually diverge.

Attributes where Arize AI and Neon differ
AttributeArize AINeon
Pricing modelfreemiumUnknown
Platformsweb, apiCloud
CategoryAICloud
FoundedUnknown2021

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Arize AI

  • End-to-end tracing
  • Evaluation framework
  • Prompt testing and improvement
  • Alyx AI engineering agent
  • Custom dashboards
  • Data warehouse integrations

Only in Neon

  • Serverless PostgreSQL
  • Database Branching
  • Autoscaling
  • Bottomless Storage
  • Point-in-time Recovery
  • Connection Pooling
  • Read Replicas
  • Instant Cloning

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Arize AI

  • Tracing and debugging production AI agentsnot Neon
  • Running large-scale evaluations across traces and sessionsnot Neon
  • Improving prompts before production rolloutnot Neon
  • Storing and querying GenAI traces alongside a data warehousenot Neon

Neon

  • Serverless applicationsnot Arize AI
  • Development databasesnot Arize AI
  • Preview environmentsnot Arize AI
  • Testingnot Arize AI

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Arize AI

  • The free plan caps trace spans at 25,000 per month with only 15 days of retention.
  • Self-hosted deployment and Data Fabric integration are restricted to the custom-priced Enterprise tier.
  • Pricing beyond the $50/month Pro plan requires a custom quote, making cost planning less transparent at scale.
  • Advanced compliance features like HIPAA are only available on Enterprise.

Neon

  • Compute pricing at $0.106-$0.222/CU-hour means costs scale directly with workload, unlike fixed-price alternatives
  • Separation of compute and storage may add complexity to cost prediction compared to all-in-one plans

Pricing, plan by plan

Arize AI

Free
  • AX FreeFree
    • 25k trace spans/month
    • 1 GB storage/month
    • 15-day retention
  • AX Pro$50/month
    • 50k trace spans/month
    • 10 GB storage/month
    • 30-day retention
  • AX Enterprise$undefined/mo
    • Custom trace spans, storage, and retention
    • SaaS or self-hosted deployment
    • Managed agents and Data Fabric

Neon

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100 CU-hours/month
    • 0.5 GB storage
    • 1 project
  • Launch$15/month
    • Pay-as-you-go compute
    • $0.35/GB storage
    • Multiple projects
  • Scale$31/month
    • Higher compute rates
    • 99.95% SLA
    • HIPAA compliance

Which should you pick?

Choose Arize AI if

  • You need end-to-end tracing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want evaluation framework.

Choose Neon if

  • You need serverless postgresql.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud.
  • You also want database branching.

Questions people ask

Is Arize AI or Neon better?
Neither clearly leads. Arize AI starts at Free and Neon at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arize AI or Neon?
Arize AI starts at Free and Neon at Free.
Does Arize AI or Neon run on more platforms?
Arize AI runs on web, api. Neon runs on Cloud.
Can I use Arize AI for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Arize AI best used for?
Arize AI is most often used for tracing and debugging production ai agents, running large-scale evaluations across traces and sessions, improving prompts before production rollout, storing and querying genai traces alongside a data warehouse. Of those, tracing and debugging production ai agents and running large-scale evaluations across traces and sessions are not what Neon is typically brought in for.
What can Arize AI do that Neon cannot?
Arize AI covers End-to-end tracing, Evaluation framework, Prompt testing and improvement, Alyx AI engineering agent. Neon covers Serverless PostgreSQL, Database Branching, Autoscaling, Bottomless Storage.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arize AI: What does Arize AX cost?

Arize AX offers a free plan, a Pro plan at $50/month, and a custom-priced Enterprise plan, with pricing based on trace spans, storage, and retention needs.

Source
Neon: What is Neon and what makes it different?

Neon is a serverless PostgreSQL database that separates compute and storage, enabling automatic scaling and instant database branching. After acquisition by Databricks in May 2025, pricing has been significantly reduced.

Source
Arize AI: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

The AX Free plan includes 25,000 trace spans and 1 GB of storage per month with 15-day retention, plus unlimited users, evaluations, and experiments.

Source
Neon: Does Neon offer a free tier?

Yes, Neon's free tier includes 100 compute units per month and 0.5 GB of storage. This is suitable for development and small projects.

Source
Arize AI: What deployment options are available?

Free and Pro plans are SaaS-only, while Enterprise customers can choose SaaS or self-hosted deployment with custom SLAs.

Source
Neon: What are the paid plans and pricing for Neon?

Neon offers consumption-based pricing on Launch ($0.106/CU-hour, approximately $15/month) and Scale ($0.222/CU-hour, approximately $31/month) plans with separate storage billing at $0.35/GB-month. No monthly minimum required.

Source
Neon: What features does Neon provide?

Neon includes git-like branching for database copies, point-in-time recovery, data anonymization for testing, managed authentication, serverless functions, and object storage that branches with projects.

Source
Neon: What compliance and reliability guarantees does Neon provide?

Neon's Scale tier offers 99.95% uptime SLA, HIPAA compliance, SOC2 certification, and private networking via PrivateLink at no extra cost.

Source
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