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Cloud · head to head

Neon vs Vitess

Neon logo

Neon

Cloud

Serverless Postgres for modern developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vitess logo

Vitess

Databases

Scalable database clustering system for horizontal scaling of MySQL

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; Vitess vTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties
  • They diverge on capability: Neon covers Serverless PostgreSQL, Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Neon and Vitess actually diverge.

Attributes where Neon and Vitess differ
AttributeNeonVitess
PlatformsCloudLinux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes
CategoryCloudDatabases
Founded20212010

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), 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 Neon

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

Only in Vitess

  • Horizontal Sharding
  • Query Routing
  • Online Schema Changes
  • Shard Management
  • Replication Management
  • Automated Failover
  • MySQL
  • Kubernetes

Both cover

  • Connection Pooling

What people use each for

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

Neon

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

Vitess

  • Transaction processingnot Neon
  • Data storagenot Neon
  • Application backendnot Neon
  • Reportingnot Neon
  • Data analyticsnot 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

Vitess

  • VTGate scatter queries without sharding key incur significant performance penalties
  • Foreign key constraints not enforced across shards, requiring application-level integrity handling
  • Single primary per keyspace limits multi-region write capabilities
  • Distributed transactions without proper sharding key routing suffer performance degradation

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

Vitess

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Vitess review.

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 Vitess if

  • You need horizontal sharding.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want query routing.
Vitess review

Questions people ask

Is Neon or Vitess better?
Neither clearly leads. Neon starts at Free and Vitess at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Neon or Vitess?
Neon starts at Free and Vitess at Free.
Does Neon or Vitess run on more platforms?
Neon runs on Cloud. Vitess runs on Linux, macOS, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Neon for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Vitess is typically brought in for.
What can Neon do that Vitess cannot?
Neon covers Serverless PostgreSQL, Database Branching, Autoscaling, Bottomless Storage. Vitess covers Horizontal Sharding, Query Routing, Online Schema Changes, Shard Management. Both handle Connection Pooling.

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
Vitess: Is Vitess free to use?

Yes. Vitess is completely free and open source under the Apache 2.0 license. It is a graduated CNCF project with no licensing costs or pricing tiers.

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
Vitess: What databases does Vitess support?

Vitess supports MySQL and MariaDB as backend databases. It acts as a middleware layer that adds sharding and orchestration capabilities on top of these databases.

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
Vitess: Does Vitess require Kubernetes to run?

No. Vitess can run on Kubernetes using the Vitess Operator, but it can also be deployed on traditional infrastructure. Kubernetes integration is optional and provides additional automation benefits.

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
Vitess: How does Vitess handle cross-shard transactions?

Vitess supports distributed transactions across shards, but they require queries to be routed through the sharding key. Transactions without a proper sharding key can result in slower performance.

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
Vitess: Does Vitess enforce foreign key constraints?

Vitess does not enforce foreign key constraints across shards by default. Referential integrity must be managed at the application layer, though per-database support can be enabled with limitations.

Source
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