# Amazon RDS vs Neon

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/amazon-rds-vs-neon/

Every value below is read from Amazon RDS's and Neon's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | Amazon RDS | Neon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Managed connection pooling | Supported | Supported |
| Engine | PostgreSQL, alongside MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server and Db2. Each engine is a separate RDS product with its own version list and its own feature support, so a capability documented for one is not a capability of RDS as a whole. | PostgreSQL |
| Connection limit | Not a fixed number: RDS for PostgreSQL sets max_connections by formula from the instance's memory — LEAST({DBInstanceClassMemory/9531392}, 5000) — so a bigger instance class gets more connections and the ceiling is 5,000 however large it is. The parameter can be set by hand anywhere from 6 to 262,143, which is a limit on what you may configure rather than what an instance will serve. Other engines use different divisors: MySQL is memory/12582880 with no cap. | Scales with compute size: 104 direct connections at 0.25 CU (1 GB RAM), 419 at 1 CU, 2517 at 6 CU; up to 10,000 through the pooler |
| Point-in-time recovery | Any point inside the configured backup retention period, so up to 35 days. Transaction logs are uploaded to S3 every five minutes, which is what bounds how close to now the latest restorable time can be. | History window of 6 hours up to 1 GB-month on Free, up to 7 days on Launch, up to 30 days on Scale |
| Read replicas | Supported — 15 per primary, raisable on request | Supported |
| Backup retention | Between 0 and 35 days, set per DB instance; 0 disables automated backups entirely. The default depends on how the instance was created — one day via the API or CLI, seven days via the console — so there is no single default to quote. Multi-AZ DB clusters cannot be set below 1 day. | 1 day of history on paid plans by default and 6 hours on Free, configurable up to 7 days on Launch or 30 days on Scale. Neon notes that widening the window raises storage cost, so the ceiling is a paid choice rather than an included allowance. |
| SOC 2 | Listed as SOC-compliant on AWS's own compliance scope page. | Annual SOC 2 Type II audits by an accredited independent third party. |
| ISO 27001 | Covered under AWS's account-wide ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification — not scoped per-service the way SOC, HIPAA and PCI DSS are on AWS's own site. | Annual ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 audits. |
| HIPAA | Listed as a HIPAA-eligible service on AWS's own reference page. | HIPAA compliance achieved, to support customers handling protected health information (PHI). |
| GDPR / data residency | AWS customers can process personal data on all AWS services in compliance with GDPR, and choose the storage type and geographic region for their data. | Follows the GDPR framework; Data Processing Agreements (DPA) offered. |
| PCI DSS | Listed as PCI DSS-compliant on AWS's own compliance scope page. | Underlying infrastructure described as certified for PCI-DSS among other standards; scope (Neon's own service vs. cloud infrastructure) not distinguished on this page. |

## Where they differ

### Engine

- Amazon RDS: PostgreSQL, alongside MySQL, MariaDB, Oracle, SQL Server and Db2. Each engine is a separate RDS product with its own version list and its own feature support, so a capability documented for one is not a capability of RDS as a whole. ([source](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_PostgreSQL.html))
- Neon: PostgreSQL ([source](https://neon.com/docs/connect/connection-pooling))

### Connection limit

- Amazon RDS: Not a fixed number: RDS for PostgreSQL sets max_connections by formula from the instance's memory — LEAST({DBInstanceClassMemory/9531392}, 5000) — so a bigger instance class gets more connections and the ceiling is 5,000 however large it is. The parameter can be set by hand anywhere from 6 to 262,143, which is a limit on what you may configure rather than what an instance will serve. Other engines use different divisors: MySQL is memory/12582880 with no cap. ([source](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_Limits.html))
- Neon: Scales with compute size: 104 direct connections at 0.25 CU (1 GB RAM), 419 at 1 CU, 2517 at 6 CU; up to 10,000 through the pooler ([source](https://neon.com/docs/connect/connection-pooling))

### Point-in-time recovery

- Amazon RDS: Any point inside the configured backup retention period, so up to 35 days. Transaction logs are uploaded to S3 every five minutes, which is what bounds how close to now the latest restorable time can be. ([source](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_PIT.html))
- Neon: History window of 6 hours up to 1 GB-month on Free, up to 7 days on Launch, up to 30 days on Scale ([source](https://neon.com/docs/introduction/plans))

### Backup retention

- Amazon RDS: Between 0 and 35 days, set per DB instance; 0 disables automated backups entirely. The default depends on how the instance was created — one day via the API or CLI, seven days via the console — so there is no single default to quote. Multi-AZ DB clusters cannot be set below 1 day. ([source](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_WorkingWithAutomatedBackups.BackupRetention.html))
- Neon: 1 day of history on paid plans by default and 6 hours on Free, configurable up to 7 days on Launch or 30 days on Scale. Neon notes that widening the window raises storage cost, so the ceiling is a paid choice rather than an included allowance. ([source](https://neon.com/docs/introduction/point-in-time-restore))

### SOC 2

- Amazon RDS: Listed as SOC-compliant on AWS's own compliance scope page. ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/services-in-scope/SOC/))
- Neon: Annual SOC 2 Type II audits by an accredited independent third party. ([source](https://neon.com/security))

### ISO 27001

- Amazon RDS: Covered under AWS's account-wide ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification — not scoped per-service the way SOC, HIPAA and PCI DSS are on AWS's own site. ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/iso-27001-faqs/))
- Neon: Annual ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 audits. ([source](https://neon.com/security))

### HIPAA

- Amazon RDS: Listed as a HIPAA-eligible service on AWS's own reference page. ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/hipaa-eligible-services-reference/))
- Neon: HIPAA compliance achieved, to support customers handling protected health information (PHI). ([source](https://neon.com/security))

### GDPR / data residency

- Amazon RDS: AWS customers can process personal data on all AWS services in compliance with GDPR, and choose the storage type and geographic region for their data. ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/gdpr-center/))
- Neon: Follows the GDPR framework; Data Processing Agreements (DPA) offered. ([source](https://neon.com/security))

### PCI DSS

- Amazon RDS: Listed as PCI DSS-compliant on AWS's own compliance scope page. ([source](https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/services-in-scope/PCI/))
- Neon: Underlying infrastructure described as certified for PCI-DSS among other standards; scope (Neon's own service vs. cloud infrastructure) not distinguished on this page. ([source](https://neon.com/security))

## Which should you choose?

Pick Amazon RDS if Teams already inside AWS, where the database sitting in the same VPC as everything else is worth more than any single feature on this page. Six engines, up to 35 days of point-in-time recovery, and read replicas you create and delete yourself.

Pick Neon if Workloads that are idle most of the time, and teams who want a real database per pull request. Compute suspends after five minutes and storage is billed separately, so a staging branch costs almost nothing while nobody is using it.

Consider something else: Amazon RDS — You want a database per pull request. RDS documents no branching, and replicas are manual — AWS states outright that it does not autoscale them.

Consider something else: Neon — You need predictable monthly billing. Usage pricing with no minimum fee cuts both ways, and a runaway query on an autoscaling compute is billed at the rate it ran.

## Documented by only one

- Free tier: Neon: Yes
- Entry paid plan: Neon: No fixed monthly fee. Launch is usage-based — Neon's own worked example puts typical spend at $15/month for intermittent load on 1 GB — so there is no entry price to compare, only a rate card. Recorded without a magnitude because a vendor's spend estimate is not a price.
- Pricing model: Neon: Usage-based with no minimum monthly fee on paid plans: $0.106/CU-hour compute and $0.35/GB-month storage on Launch, $0.222/CU-hour on Scale
- Egress over allowance: Neon: 5 GB per project included on Free; 500 GB per project included on Launch and Scale, then $0.10/GB
- Startup credit program: Neon: Via the Databricks Startup Program: up to $1,000 in Neon credits for self-funded startups (<$1M raised), or up to $200K in Neon and Databricks credits for VC-backed startups (≥$1M raised) or accelerator participants. Credits valid 12 months from acceptance.
- Storage (entry plan): Neon: No included allowance on the Launch plan; storage is metered at $0.35/GB-month. The Free plan includes 0.5 GB per project.
- Scales to zero: Neon: Supported
- Regions: Neon: 8 AWS regions: N. Virginia, Ohio, Oregon, Frankfurt, London, Singapore, Sydney, São Paulo. A project's region is fixed at creation and cannot be changed.
- When idle: Neon: Compute suspends after 5 minutes idle on Free and Launch, and can be disabled on Launch; configurable from 1 minute to always-on on Scale. The database is not deleted or paused — the next query restarts the compute.
- Database branching: Neon: Supported
- Encryption at rest: Neon: AES-256, with key rotation policies.
- Role-based access control: Neon: Access to production systems is role-based, requiring SSO and continuous monitoring.

## Questions this comparison answers

**Should I choose Amazon RDS or Neon?**

Pick Amazon RDS if Teams already inside AWS, where the database sitting in the same VPC as everything else is worth more than any single feature on this page. Six engines, up to 35 days of point-in-time recovery, and read replicas you create and delete yourself.
Pick Neon if Workloads that are idle most of the time, and teams who want a real database per pull request. Compute suspends after five minutes and storage is billed separately, so a staging branch costs almost nothing while nobody is using it.