Neon vs Railway: Pricing Comparison (2026)
Neon starts at $19/mo. Railway starts at $5/mo. Railway is $14/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Neon.
Serverless Postgres, valued $2B private. Positioned as the alternative to AWS RDS for developers who want true scale-to-zero + database branching (like git branches for your data). Launch tier from $19/mo, then usage-based on compute + storage + egress. Free tier includes real production Postgres. Popular with modern JavaScript stacks (Next.js, Vercel, Cloudflare) and Series A-B startups. Acquired by Databricks in 2025 for $1B.
Modern PaaS positioned as the alternative to Heroku for developers who want git-push-to-deploy simplicity plus per-resource billing. Distinctive for its usage-based pricing (compute per GB-hour, RAM per GB-hour) versus flat dyno pricing at Heroku. Free trial credits give hobby projects room; production apps typically $20-$500/mo. YC-backed, popular with indie hackers and Series A/B startups.
All plans compared
| # | Plan | Neon monthly | Neon annual | Railway monthly | Railway annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Free / Free Trial | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 | Launch / Hobby | 19 | 19 | 5 | — |
| 3 | Scale / Pro | 69 | 69 | 20 | — |
| 4 | Business / Enterprise | 700 | 700 | custom | custom |
What each is best for
Serverless Postgres, valued $2B private. Positioned as the alternative to AWS RDS for developers who want true scale-to-zero + database branching (like git branches for your data). Launch tier from $19/mo, then usage-based on compute + storage + egress. Free tier includes real production Postgres. Popular with modern JavaScript stacks (Next.js, Vercel, Cloudflare) and Series A-B startups. Acquired by Databricks in 2025 for $1B.
Modern PaaS positioned as the alternative to Heroku for developers who want git-push-to-deploy simplicity plus per-resource billing. Distinctive for its usage-based pricing (compute per GB-hour, RAM per GB-hour) versus flat dyno pricing at Heroku. Free trial credits give hobby projects room; production apps typically $20-$500/mo. YC-backed, popular with indie hackers and Series A/B startups.
At a glance
| Neon | Railway | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $19/mo | $5/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | — | Hybrid |
| Last verified | July 25, 2026 | July 17, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified July 25, 2026. Tracked daily.