COMPARISON

The Neon alternative for AI apps on Postgres

Neon is serverless Postgres with branching and scale-to-zero, plus backend services such as auth, a PostgREST-compatible Data API, and Functions. Powabase gives every project its own Postgres instance with auth, REST, storage, and realtime, then adds managed document ingestion, retrieval, agents, and workflows. Building RAG or agents? Pick Powabase. If branching and scale-to-zero matter most, pick Neon.

Last reviewed: September 24, 2026

THE SHORT VERSION

Which one fits you.

Choose Powabase if…

  • You want documents extracted, chunked, embedded, and indexed for you. Somewhere to store vectors isn't enough.
  • You want agents on your backend with tools, MCP servers, sessions, and a human approval step, and no agent code to deploy.
  • You want orchestrations plus webhook- and cron-triggered workflows in the same project as your data.
  • You want the whole stack, AI layer included, under the Apache-2.0 license.

Choose Neon if…

  • You want to branch your database for every preview deployment and CI run.
  • Your database sits idle for long stretches, and you want compute to scale to zero.
  • You'd rather write your own AI pipeline and agents in TypeScript next to serverless Postgres.

COMPARISON TABLE

Powabase vs. Neon.

  • Postgres per project[1][2][3]

    Powabase: Its own Postgres instance, with pgvector ready to use

    Neon: Serverless Postgres with separate compute and storage

  • Auth[2][6]

    Powabase: GoTrue auth built in

    Neon: Managed Better Auth

  • REST API and RLS[2][7][8]

    Powabase: PostgREST APIs over your tables, guarded by Row Level Security

    Neon: Data API: PostgREST-compatible, respects Row Level Security

  • Object storage[9][10]

    Powabase: Storage API with public or private buckets

    Neon: S3-compatible Object Storage

  • Realtime[11][12]

    Powabase: Postgres changes, broadcast, and presence over WebSockets

    Neon: WebSocket or SSE servers you write and host on Functions

  • Document extraction[13][14]

    Powabase: Managed: PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and images via OCR

    Neon: Not included; you insert text you've already extracted

  • Chunking and embeddings[4][14]

    Powabase: Managed on upload, with five indexing strategies

    Neon: You generate embeddings with your provider and insert them

  • Retrieval[4][5][14]

    Powabase: Vector, full-text (BM25), hybrid, and tree search, with an optional reranker, in one API call

    Neon: SQL you write over lakebase_ann and lakebase_bm25 indexes

  • Agent runtime[15][16]

    Powabase: Managed ReAct agents with built-in, HTTP, and MCP tools, sessions, and approval hooks

    Neon: Agent code you write and deploy on Neon Functions

  • Multi-agent orchestration[16][17]

    Powabase: Supervisor, sequential, and parallel strategies

    Neon: Built in the agent code you deploy

  • Workflows[12][18]

    Powabase: Block graphs started by API, webhook, or cron, with a copilot that drafts the graph

    Neon: Functions invoked by HTTP, a cron schedule, or an object upload

  • MCP server for coding agents[19][20]

    Powabase: Hosted, OAuth: SQL, auth users, storage, knowledge bases, agents, and workflows

    Neon: OAuth or API key: projects, queries, and schema changes

WHAT POWABASE ADDS

On top of the database.

  • Managed RAG

    Upload PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or images. Powabase pulls out the text (with OCR for scans), generates the embeddings, and indexes them using one of five strategies. Search by vector, full-text, hybrid, or tree search, with an optional reranker on top.

    Read the docs →

  • An agent runtime

    Agents run a ReAct loop inside your project. Each one gets eight built-in tools plus your own HTTP tools and MCP servers. Runs keep their session history, and a hook can hold a step until a person approves it. You configure them through the API rather than deploying agent code.

    Read the docs →

  • Workflows

    Chain agents and other steps into a block graph, then start it by API, by webhook, or on a cron schedule. You can also describe what you want and let the copilot draft the graph.

    Read the docs →

RIGHT FIT

When Neon fits the job.

  • Your team works in branches. Neon creates copy-on-write branches of your database, and your auth state, object storage, and functions on Neon branch along with it. Every preview deployment or CI run gets its own copy.
  • Your database is idle much of the time. Neon suspends compute after 5 minutes without activity and wakes it in a few hundred milliseconds on the next query, so you pay for active time only.
  • You want to write your own retrieval pipeline and agents in TypeScript, with Postgres, an AI gateway, and long-running Functions side by side.
  • Your company already runs on Databricks. Neon is part of Databricks, and its Lakebase Search extensions come from Databricks.

COEXISTENCE & MIGRATION

Use both, or move over.

Keep Neon, add Powabase

Keep your app database on Neon and create a Powabase project for the AI layer. Upload documents to a knowledge base, define agents and workflows, then call our REST API from your server or a Neon Function. The Powabase service key stays on the server, never in the browser.

Migrate from Neon

Both sides are Postgres, so standard tools do the job. pg_dump your own schemas from Neon and restore them into your Powabase project in a single transaction (pg_restore --single-transaction, or psql --single-transaction for a plain SQL dump). The single transaction matters because Powabase's Postgres URL goes through PgBouncer in transaction mode. Test the restore on a copy first, and move auth users and stored files as separate steps.[21][22]

FAQ

Questions.

Yes, if you're building RAG or agents. Both give you Postgres with pgvector, auth, and a PostgREST-style API. On top of that, Powabase extracts, embeds, and indexes your documents, runs agents with tools and human approval, and triggers workflows on webhooks and cron. If branching and scale-to-zero matter most, Neon is built around them.

Yes. Your app database stays on Neon, and a Powabase project holds the AI layer. Upload documents to a knowledge base, define agents and workflows, and call the Powabase REST API from your server or a Neon Function. Keep the service key on the server, out of the browser.

Yes. Neon supports pgvector, and its Lakebase Search extensions add vector, BM25 keyword, and hybrid search. Generating the embeddings and writing the queries is up to you. Powabase uses pgvector as well, and it also extracts your documents, generates embeddings, and serves vector, full-text, hybrid, or tree search through one API.

Neon gives you building blocks. Its Functions can host long-running, tool-calling agents you write in TypeScript, and an AI Gateway handles model calls. Powabase runs the agents for you, configured by API, with eight built-in tools, your own HTTP tools, MCP servers, sessions, and a human approval step.

Yes. pg_dump your own schemas from Neon and restore them into your Powabase project in a single transaction, because the Postgres URL is a transaction-mode pooler. Try the restore on a copy first. Auth users and stored files move separately.

Yes. Point it at our hosted MCP server, https://mcp.powabase.ai/mcp. It signs in with OAuth, and from there the agent can run SQL, manage auth users and storage, and create and run knowledge bases, agents, and workflows. You can also install the Powabase Agent Skill with npx skills add powabase-ai/agent-skills.

Sources

  1. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/architecture: Each Powabase project gets its own Postgres database and service pods.
  2. https://github.com/powabase-ai/powabase: Powabase runs GoTrue, PostgREST, Storage, and Realtime on Postgres with pgvector, and is Apache-2.0 as a single-project Docker Compose stack that includes the AI service.
  3. https://neon.com/docs/introduction/architecture-overview: Neon's Lakebase Postgres architecture separates compute from durable storage.
  4. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/knowledge-bases-indexing: Indexing runs automatically when a source is added; five indexing strategies; embeddings in pgvector with a BM25 index; vector, full-text, hybrid, and tree search; optional cross-encoder reranking.
  5. https://neon.com/docs/ai/lakebase-search: Lakebase Search adds vector (lakebase_ann), BM25 keyword (lakebase_bm25), and hybrid search to Neon through two Postgres extensions built on pgvector types; developed by Databricks.
  6. https://neon.com/docs/auth/overview: Managed Better Auth is Neon's managed authentication service, built on Better Auth.
  7. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/rls-model: Powabase uses Postgres Row Level Security with the project's GoTrue JWTs through PostgREST.
  8. https://neon.com/docs/data-api/overview: The Neon Data API is PostgREST-compatible and respects Row Level Security policies.
  9. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/storage-model: Powabase Storage organizes files into public or private buckets.
  10. https://neon.com/docs/storage/overview: Neon Object Storage is S3-compatible and branches with your database.
  11. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/realtime: Powabase Realtime: Broadcast, Presence, and Postgres Changes channels over WebSockets.
  12. https://neon.com/docs/compute/functions/overview: Neon Functions host APIs, AI agents, WebSocket and SSE servers, and webhook handlers; Function Triggers invoke them on a cron schedule or an object upload.
  13. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/sources-extraction: Powabase extracts PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and images (via OCR).
  14. https://neon.com/docs/ai/lakebase-search-get-started: The Lakebase Search guide inserts documents with embeddings you generate with your own provider (it uses an OpenAI key) and queries them with SQL.
  15. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/agents-tools: Powabase agents: ReAct loop, eight built-in tools, custom HTTP tools, MCP servers, sessions, hooks, and human approval.
  16. https://neon.com/docs/compute/functions/agents: Neon Functions run streaming, tool-calling agents you write, with the Neon AI Gateway for model calls.
  17. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/orchestrations-concept: Powabase orchestrations: supervisor, sequential, and parallel strategies.
  18. https://docs.powabase.ai/concepts/workflows-concept: Powabase workflows: block graphs with API, webhook, and schedule (interval or cron) triggers, plus a copilot.
  19. https://powabase.ai/integrations/: The hosted Powabase MCP server at mcp.powabase.ai/mcp signs in with OAuth; the agent can run SQL, manage auth users and storage, and create and run knowledge bases, agents, orchestrations, and workflows.
  20. https://neon.com/docs/ai/neon-mcp-server: The Neon MCP Server supports OAuth and API key auth and lets assistants manage projects, run queries, and make schema changes.
  21. https://neon.com/docs/import/migrate-from-postgres: Neon documents moving Postgres data with pg_dump and pg_restore.
  22. https://docs.powabase.ai/guides/connection-pooling: All external Postgres connections to Powabase go through PgBouncer in transaction mode, hence restoring a dump in a single transaction.