CockroachDB vs Neon Pricing (2026)

Which one is cheaper?

One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.

Can I use either one for free?

Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.

How do they charge?

Both use a usage-based model, so the comparison is straightforward — it comes down to features and limits at each price point.

Which one is a better deal?

Depends on what you need. CockroachDB: At $0.18/hr for 2 vCPUs, they're positioning competitively against managed Postgres alternatives like AlloyDB or Aurora, but the distributed SQL angle means they're really gunning for teams that have outgrown single-region databases — not the cheapest option, but cheaper than building multi-region resilience yourself. Neon: Neon is positioning as the serverless-native alternative to traditional managed Postgres providers like RDS or Supabase — competitive on the low end with a generous free tier, but the Scale tier pricing suggests they're not trying to be the cheapest option at volume. They're going after developers who want autoscaling without the overhead of managing infrastructure.

Still deciding? See the best CockroachDB alternatives or the best Neon alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.