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Cloud · head to head

Neon vs Poolside

Neon logo

Neon

Cloud

Serverless Postgres for modern developers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Poolside logo

Poolside

AI

Open-weight foundation models built for agentic software engineering

From
$0.06/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Neon has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Neon compute pricing at $0.106-$0.222/CU-hour means costs scale directly with workload, unlike fixed-price alternatives; Poolside no self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways
  • They diverge on capability: Neon covers Serverless PostgreSQL, Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Neon and Poolside actually diverge.

Attributes where Neon and Poolside differ
AttributeNeonPoolside
Starting priceFree$0.06/month
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsCloudweb, api, mac, windows, linux
CategoryCloudAI
Founded20212023

Identical on both: 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 Neon

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

Only in Poolside

  • Laguna S 2.1
  • Laguna XS 2.1
  • Desktop and CLI tools
  • Open-weight models
  • Third-party gateway access

What people use each for

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

Neon

  • Serverless applicationsnot Poolside
  • Development databasesnot Poolside
  • Preview environmentsnot Poolside
  • Testingnot Poolside

Poolside

  • Enterprises deploying AI coding assistance across large developer organizationsnot Neon
  • Government and defense agencies needing on-premise or sovereign coding modelsnot Neon
  • Teams building custom coding agents on open-weight foundation modelsnot Neon
  • Organizations wanting on-device lightweight coding modelsnot Neon

Where each one falls short

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

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

Poolside

  • No self-serve public application; access is largely through enterprise sales or third-party model gateways
  • Pricing for the flagship enterprise and government offering is not public and requires a sales conversation
  • Targets organizations with large (5,000+) developer headcounts, making it a poor fit for individuals or small teams
  • Documentation and product surface area are thin compared to consumer-facing coding assistants

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Poolside

$0.06/month
  • Laguna XS 2.1$undefined/month
    • $0.06 per 1M input tokens
    • $0.12 per 1M output tokens
    • Available via OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway
  • Laguna S 2.1$undefined/month
    • $0.10 per 1M input tokens
    • $0.20 per 1M output tokens
    • 1M token context window
  • Enterprise / Government$undefined/month
    • Custom contracts for large engineering organizations
    • Sales-quoted pricing
    • On-premise or dedicated deployment options

Which should you pick?

Choose Neon if

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

Choose Poolside if

  • You need laguna s 2.1.
  • You work on web, api, mac, windows, linux.
  • You also want laguna xs 2.1.
Poolside review

Questions people ask

Is Neon or Poolside better?
Neither clearly leads. Neon starts at Free and Poolside at $0.06/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Neon or Poolside?
Neon has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Neon and $0.06/month for Poolside.
Does Neon or Poolside run on more platforms?
Neon runs on Cloud. Poolside runs on web, api, mac, windows, linux.
Can I use Neon for free?
Yes. Neon has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Poolside starts at $0.06/month.
What is Neon best used for?
Neon is most often used for serverless applications, development databases, preview environments, testing. Of those, serverless applications and development databases are not what Poolside is typically brought in for.
What can Neon do that Poolside cannot?
Neon covers Serverless PostgreSQL, Database Branching, Autoscaling, Bottomless Storage. Poolside covers Laguna S 2.1, Laguna XS 2.1, Desktop and CLI tools, Open-weight models.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Poolside: How is Poolside's Laguna model usage priced?

Laguna XS 2.1 is priced at $0.06 per 1M input tokens and $0.12 per 1M output tokens; Laguna S 2.1 is $0.10 per 1M input tokens and $0.20 per 1M output tokens.

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
Poolside: Where can I access Poolside's models?

Laguna models are available through third-party gateways OpenRouter and Vercel AI Gateway, as well as via Poolside's own desktop and CLI tools.

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
Poolside: Does Poolside offer enterprise or government pricing?

Yes, Poolside offers custom, sales-quoted contracts for large enterprises and government/defense customers, including on-premise or dedicated deployment options.

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
Poolside: How do I get started building with Poolside's models?

Poolside's documentation provides a quickstart guide for installing the `pool` CLI and running an agent task, alongside API documentation for custom integrations.

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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