Can I open-source Neon?
YES · mature open-source replacementYes. Coolify (57k stars), Dokploy (36k stars), Dokku (30k stars) are mature open-source replacements for Neon — self-host with real ops work and stop paying.
People still pay for Neon because hosting products sell an operations team and failure-domain diversity, not merely a deploy button. The recurring cost buys patching, certificates, isolation, secrets, builds, deploys, logs, metrics, backups, capacity, incidents, and security response, not just the visible interface.
xserverless Postgres architecture, branching, autoscaling, storage, and operational expertise
xglobal edge network
xmanaged databases
xautoscaling
xDDoS protection, support, and compliance
These projects already replace it, free.
CCoolifyRun one Postgres database on your server with a web console, scheduled backups, restore jobs, and honest ops responsibility.open source↗DDokployDeploy Postgres, schedule backups, and restore it from the same self-hosted control plane.open source↗DDokkuMinimal Heroku-like PaaS powered by Docker: git push to deploy on a single VPS with buildpacksopen source↗What each one is, in full: Coolify · Dokploy · Dokku
all 3 open-source alternatives to Neon →· no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
Neon pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0 | $0 | 100 projects; 100 CU-hours/project/month; 0.5 GB storage/project; 5 GB egress/month; up to 2 CU; 6-hour/1 GB instant restore. |
| launch | $0 | — | No minimum; compute $0.106/CU-hour; storage $0.35/GB-month; up to 16 CU; 100 projects and 10 branches/project. |
| scale | $0 | — | No minimum; compute $0.222/CU-hour; storage $0.35/GB-month; up to 56 CU; 1,000 projects and 25 branches/project; 99.95% SLA; 30-day restore. |
free tier100 projects, 100 CU-hours/project/month, 0.5 GB/project, 5 GB egress/month, up to 2 CU, and 6-hour/1 GB instant restore
billingmonthly usage billing with no minimum on Launch or Scale; no annual self-serve plan
hidden costsBranches cost $0.002/branch-hour; instant-restore storage is $0.20/GB-month and snapshots are $0.09/GB-month. Compute, storage, transfer and branch history all meter separately.
price historyLaunch compute per CU-hour: $0.14 → $0.106 (2025-11) · Scale compute per CU-hour: $0.26 → $0.222 (2025-11)
verified 2026-08-14 · source ↗
Can I open-source Neon?
Yes. Coolify replaces Neon today — self-host it on your own server or machine with no subscription. The full list of open-source alternatives is on this page.
How much does Neon cost?
Neon's pricing is usage-based or varies by plan · Typical Launch monthly tier before usage..
What do I lose by replacing Neon?
Honestly: serverless Postgres architecture, branching, autoscaling, storage, and operational expertise; global edge network; managed databases; autoscaling; DDoS protection, support, and compliance. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Neon?
Yes: Coolify (Run one Postgres database on your server with a web console, scheduled backups, restore jobs, and honest ops responsibility.) Dokploy (Deploy Postgres, schedule backups, and restore it from the same self-hosted control plane.) Dokku (Minimal Heroku-like PaaS powered by Docker: git push to deploy on a single VPS with buildpacks) All 3 curated open-source alternatives are at caniopensourceit.online/neon/alternatives.