---
title: Neon + Drizzle
slug: neon-drizzle
url: "https://toolweight.com/options/neon-drizzle"
homepage: "https://neon.com"
categories: convex-alternatives
last_verified: 2026-07-20
license: CC-BY-4.0
---

# Neon + Drizzle

> The DIY baseline: serverless Postgres, a typed SQL query builder, nothing else.

The reference point for this comparison rather than a competitor: serverless Postgres with branching and scale-to-zero, plus a TypeScript query builder that generates SQL you can read. There is no reactivity, no auth, no storage and no scheduler, you assemble those. In exchange every query is SQL, every migration is a file, and moving to any other Postgres is a connection string change.

## Identity

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Name | Neon + Drizzle |
| Company | Neon (Databricks) / Drizzle Team |
| One-liner | The DIY baseline: serverless Postgres, a typed SQL query builder, nothing else. |
| Site | https://neon.com |
| Docs | https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/overview |
| Repo | https://github.com/drizzle-team/drizzle-orm |
| Founded | 2021 |
| Funding | Acquired by Databricks, 2025 |
| Open source | Yes |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 |
| Brand | https://toolweight.com/vendors/Neon |
| Compared in | 1 |

## Where it is compared

### [Convex alternatives](https://toolweight.com/compare/convex-alternatives)
Ranked **#7 of 11** on default weights.
| Field | Value | Confidence | Verified | Source | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reactivity | manual | Inferred | - | - | Nothing is pushed. LISTEN/NOTIFY exists, but you build the delivery. |
| TS inference | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/overview | Schema is TypeScript and query results are inferred, with no codegen step. |
| Transactions | mvcc | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://neon.com/docs | Postgres, with every isolation level available. |
| Local-first sync | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - |
| Optimistic writes | ○ | Inferred | - | - | - |
| Cron & scheduling | ○ | Inferred | - | - | pg_cron on the database, but no application scheduler, you bring a worker. |
| File storage | ○ | Inferred | - | - | Pair it with object storage yourself. |
| Vector search | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://neon.com/docs/extensions/pgvector | pgvector. |
| Full-text search | ● | Inferred | - | - | Postgres tsvector. |
| Auth | bring-your-own | Inferred | - | - | Neon has shipped auth adjacencies, but the baseline here assumes you supply it. |
| Hard limits | Postgres limits. The operational ceiling is your compute size and connection count, both dials you control. | Inferred | - | - | - |
| Cold start | 500 ms | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://neon.com/docs/introduction/auto-suspend | Compute resume after auto-suspend; sub-second in practice. |
| Function timeout | - | Unknown | - | - | No function runtime, you run your own server. |
| Exit cost | 1 | Inferred | - | - | The reference point. Standard Postgres over the wire and SQL you wrote yourself: leaving is a connection string and a pg_dump. Every other row on this page is scored against this one. |
| Self-hostable | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Neon's storage engine is Apache-2.0 but running it is a project. In practice you self-host by running ordinary Postgres, which is rather the point. |
| Bulk export | ● | Inferred | - | - | - |
| Raw SQL | ● | Inferred | - | - | - |
| Schema changes | sql-migrations | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://orm.drizzle.team/docs/kit-overview | drizzle-kit generates reviewable SQL files. |
| MCP server | ● | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://neon.com/docs/ai/neon-mcp-server | - |
| Agent fit | 4 | Inferred | - | - | Typed schema in-repo, real migration files, and a database branch per agent run. What it lacks is plumbing, the agent writes the API layer itself. |
| Pricing model | flat + compute-hours + storage | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://neon.com/pricing | - |
| Entry price | $19 /mo | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://neon.com/pricing | Launch plan, including an allowance of compute hours and storage. |
| Egress metered | ◐ | Inferred | - | - | Generous allowances rather than a per-GB line at small scale; verify at volume. |
| GitHub stars | 18,000 | Inferred | - | - | neondatabase/neon, approximate as of mid-2026. |
| Backing | big-tech | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://neon.com/blog/neon-and-databricks | Acquired by Databricks in 2025. |
| Positioning | Serverless Postgres with branching, paired with a typed SQL query builder. | Vendor-claimed | 2026-07-20 | https://neon.com | - |

**Verdict.** Not a competitor, the yardstick. You write the realtime layer, the auth, the file handling and the scheduler yourself, and in exchange nothing you build is owned by anyone else. Every exit-cost score here is measured against this row.

## Alternatives

- [Appwrite](https://toolweight.com/options/appwrite), Open-source backend platform: databases, auth, storage, functions, self-hostable.
- [Convex](https://toolweight.com/options/convex), Reactive TypeScript backend: database, functions and live queries in one project.
- [ElectricSQL](https://toolweight.com/options/electricsql), Postgres read-path sync: stream subsets of your own database to clients over HTTP.
- [Firebase](https://toolweight.com/options/firebase), Google's app platform: Firestore documents, auth, functions, deep mobile SDKs.
- [InstantDB](https://toolweight.com/options/instantdb), Client-side reactive database with a relational graph model and instant sync.
- [Nhost](https://toolweight.com/options/nhost), Postgres plus Hasura GraphQL, auth, storage and serverless functions.
- [PocketBase](https://toolweight.com/options/pocketbase), One Go binary: SQLite database, auth, file storage, realtime and an admin UI.
- [Zero](https://toolweight.com/options/rocicorp-zero), Sync engine that puts a queryable client cache in front of your own Postgres.
- [Supabase](https://toolweight.com/options/supabase), Managed Postgres with auth, storage, realtime and edge functions around it.
- [Triplit](https://toolweight.com/options/triplit), Full-stack database that syncs: local cache, server, relational queries, offline.

## Licence and attribution

Data from toolweight (https://toolweight.com), licensed CC-BY-4.0.

- Licence: [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- Canonical HTML: https://toolweight.com/options/neon-drizzle
- Machine-readable: https://toolweight.com/options/neon-drizzle.md · https://toolweight.com/api/v1 · https://toolweight.com/mcp
- toolweight takes no affiliate revenue and sells no placements. Corrections: https://toolweight.com/suggest