CloudHike vs NeonA Neon alternative
A Neon alternative
with the rest of the backend built in.
Neon is an excellent serverless Postgres. CloudHike gives you managed Postgres too, plus Redis, transactional email, functions, background jobs and AI models, so the whole backend lives on one key and one bill.
SIDE BY SIDECloudHike vs Neon
CloudHike vs Neon
at a glance.
The differences that change what you build and what you pay.
| Feature | CloudHike.dev | Neon |
|---|---|---|
| Managed Postgres | Postgres 16 on every plan; 500 MB free, dedicated container on Pro | Serverless Postgres; 1 GB and 100 CU-hours per project free, then $0.106/CU-hour and $0.35/GB-month |
| Free projects | 2 projects; free services sleep after 6 h idle | 100 projects; compute suspends after 5 minutes idle |
| User authentication | 10,000 monthly active users included per project, then $0.003 each | Managed Better Auth, up to 60,000 monthly active users per project free |
| File storage | S3-compatible, 500 MB free, then $0.08/GB-month on paid plans | Object storage, 5 GB per project free, then $0.023/GB-month |
| Managed Redis | Included on every plan, 32 MB free | Not listed on Neon pricing |
| Transactional email | Built-in sending API, 3,000 emails a month on the free plan | Not listed on Neon pricing |
| Functions and background jobs | 2 functions and 50,000 background jobs a month free | Not listed on Neon pricing |
| AI models | One OpenAI-compatible key for GPT, Claude, Gemini and 100+ more models | Not listed on Neon pricing |
| Paid plan | Pro $10/mo with $10 usage credits | Launch is usage-based with no monthly minimum |
Prices are in USD; usage beyond included amounts is billed on both platforms. Source: Neon pricing, checked November 2026. Neon is a trademark of its owner.
PICK NEON IFWhere Neon
Where Neon
is the better choice.
You want many small databases: Neon's free plan includes 100 projects. You rely on database branching for preview environments, or need compute that autoscales up to large sizes. You only need Postgres, and want to pay purely for what you use with no monthly fee.
PICK CLOUDHIKE IFWhere CloudHike
Where CloudHike
is the better choice.
You want Redis, transactional email, functions and background jobs next to your database, without signing up for more vendors. You're building an AI app and want 100+ AI models on the same key and bill as your database. You build with Cursor or Claude Code and want your agent to set up the whole backend through MCP.
SWITCHINGMoving from Neon
Moving from Neon
to CloudHike.
Both run standard Postgres, so your data moves with standard tools.
- 1. Export your database from Neon with pg_dump.
- 2. Create a CloudHike project and restore into its Postgres with psql or pg_restore. Postgres docs
- 3. Swap the connection string in your app for CloudHike's DATABASE_URL. Environment variables
- 4. Add what you were missing such as Redis, email or AI models, from the same project. Quick start
FAQQuestions people ask
Questions people ask
before switching.
- Is CloudHike a good Neon alternative?
- It is if you want more than a database: CloudHike adds Redis, transactional email, functions, background jobs and AI models next to Postgres. If you only need serverless Postgres with branching, Neon may suit you better.
- Does CloudHike use real Postgres?
- Yes. Every project gets a Postgres 16 database with a SQL editor, a data explorer and nightly backups, and any Postgres client or ORM can connect to it.
- Do I need a credit card to start?
- No. The free plan includes 2 projects with Postgres, auth, storage, functions, Redis and email. Pro is $10 a month when you need more.
- Can my AI coding tool set up CloudHike for me?
- Yes. Connect Cursor, Claude Code, Codex or VS Code to the CloudHike MCP server and your agent can create projects, deploy services and explore your data.
Try it on your next project.
Free to start.
Postgres, auth, storage, Redis, email and AI models. One API key.