The Problem
I needed a free database for my side project, but didn't know which one to choose.
The Comparison
I tested 5 free database services:
1. Supabase
- Free tier — 500MB database
- Features — PostgreSQL, real-time, auth
- Pros — Easy to use, good documentation
- Cons — Limited storage
2. Neon
- Free tier — 3GB storage
- Features — PostgreSQL, serverless
- Pros — Serverless, auto-scaling
- Cons — Limited features
3. PlanetScale
- Free tier — 5GB storage
- Features — MySQL, Vitess
- Pros — High performance, scalable
- Cons — MySQL only
4. Railway
- Free tier — $5 credit
- Features — PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB
- Pros — Multiple databases, easy deployment
- Cons — Limited credit
5. Vercel Postgres
- Free tier — 256MB storage
- Features — PostgreSQL, serverless
- Pros — Integrated with Vercel
- Cons — Limited storage
My Testing
I tested each service with the same app:
Setup Time
- Supabase — 5 minutes
- Neon — 3 minutes
- PlanetScale — 7 minutes
- Railway — 4 minutes
- Vercel Postgres — 2 minutes
Performance
- Supabase — Good
- Neon — Excellent
- PlanetScale — Excellent
- Railway — Good
- Vercel Postgres — Good
Ease of Use
- Supabase — Easy
- Neon — Very easy
- PlanetScale — Medium
- Railway — Easy
- Vercel Postgres — Very easy
Results
| Service | Setup Time | Performance | Ease of Use | Free Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Supabase | 5 min | Good | Easy | 500MB |
| Neon | 3 min | Excellent | Very easy | 3GB |
| PlanetScale | 7 min | Excellent | Medium | 5GB |
| Railway | 4 min | Good | Easy | $5 credit |
| Vercel Postgres | 2 min | Good | Very easy | 256MB |
Conclusion
Neon is the best free database service.
- ✅ 3GB free storage
- ✅ Serverless
- ✅ Auto-scaling
- ✅ Very easy to use
Try it with MonkeyCode!
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