Comparison
instancez vs Supabase vs Neon
Three backends for apps built by developers and their agents. Here's how they differ on the day-to-day developer experience, how open they are, what the platform covers, and what you pay.
Facts checked , with sources linked.
Short version: instancez keeps the Supabase API, defines the whole backend in one reviewable file, self-hosts as one binary and has flat pricing. It does not support Realtime or phone/SMS login yet, and built-in OAuth covers Google, GitHub and Apple.
At a glance
| instancez | Supabase | Neon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer experience | |||
| Client library | @supabase/supabase-js, unchanged | @supabase/supabase-js | Neon's own SDK (@neondatabase/neon-js) |
| Schema | One declarative instancez.yaml, diffed and applied on deploy | SQL migrations from the CLI; declarative schemas available | SQL or ORM migrations (e.g. Drizzle); neon.ts declares services |
| Local development | inz dev --embedded-pg: one binary, no Docker | supabase start: the full stack in Docker | Neon Local proxies to a cloud branch; neon dev runs functions |
| AI agents (MCP) | Hosted MCP server that edits instancez.yaml and deploys it | Official hosted MCP server | Official hosted MCP server |
| Preview environments | Not supported | Branching, billed per branch-hour | Copy-on-write branches, including auth data and storage |
| Open source | |||
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 and MIT, per component | Storage engine and SDKs Apache-2.0; hosted services not published |
| Self-hosting | The same binary we host, plus your Postgres | Community-supported Docker stack of 11 services, one project | Managed cloud only |
| Platform | |||
| Auth | Password, magic link, OTP, anonymous, TOTP MFA, Google and GitHub | All of that plus phone/SMS and 19 OAuth providers | Managed Better Auth |
| Functions | JavaScript on Node.js | Edge Functions on a Deno runtime | Node.js functions |
| Storage | Local disk or S3, with RLS and signed URLs | Storage with RLS and image transforms | S3-compatible, branches with the data |
| Realtime | Not supported yet | Included | Not in the backend lineup |
| Plans | |||
| Free plan | 1 app, 2 GB database, 10 GB files | 2 projects, 500 MB database, 1 GB files | 100 projects, 0.5 GB each |
| When idle | Never paused | Free projects pause after a week | Compute scales to zero after 5 minutes |
| Paid entry | $20/mo flat, extra projects $8/mo | From $25/mo, about $10/mo compute per extra project | Usage-based: $0.106 to $0.222 per compute-hour plus $0.35/GB-month |
| Hosted regions | AWS us-east-1 | Multiple | 4 AWS regions |
Developer experience
The client. instancez is wire-compatible with @supabase/supabase-js. Queries,
filters, embedded selects, RPC, auth and storage calls written for Supabase work against an instancez URL and
key. Neon's Data API follows PostgREST conventions but is reached through Neon's own SDK, with a Supabase-style
auth adapter inside it (docs).
The schema. On instancez, tables, RLS, auth settings, buckets and functions live in one
instancez.yaml. It's diffed against the live database and only the change is applied, so every
edit, yours or your agent's, is one readable diff. Supabase uses SQL migration files from its CLI, with
declarative schemas as an option. On Neon, neon.ts declares services while the schema itself is SQL
or ORM migrations (docs).
Local development. inz dev --embedded-pg runs the whole backend from one binary
with no Docker. supabase start runs Supabase's full stack in Docker
(docs). Neon Local is a Docker proxy to a cloud branch rather than a
local database (docs).
Agents. All three have an official hosted MCP server
(Supabase, Neon). On instancez the agent works on
the same instancez.yaml you review, so there's no gap between what it did and what you can read.
Preview environments. This is where Neon leads: every branch gets its own copy of the database, auth data and storage (docs). Supabase offers branching on paid plans. instancez doesn't have branching yet.
Open source and self-hosting
instancez is Apache-2.0, and the binary you self-host is the same one we run for hosted customers. Point it at
your Postgres with inz serve --migrate and you have the full API, auth, storage and functions.
Supabase's components are Apache-2.0 or MIT. Self-hosting is community-supported: an 11-service Docker Compose stack that runs a single project, without the hosted branching, managed backups or point-in-time recovery (docs).
Neon's storage engine and SDKs are Apache-2.0, but there's no official way to self-host the platform; it's a managed cloud. More detail in self-hosting Supabase vs one binary.
Platform features
Supabase covers the most ground: Realtime, phone/SMS login and 19 OAuth providers. instancez handles password, magic link, OTP, anonymous and TOTP MFA sign-in with Google and GitHub, and runs functions on Node.js, so Deno Edge Functions need porting. Neon's backend pairs Postgres with managed Better Auth, Node.js functions, S3-compatible storage and an AI gateway (changelog).
Plans and pricing
instancez Pro is $20/mo with one project, 10 GB of database, 100 GB of files and 250 GB of traffic; extra projects are $8/mo, and nothing pauses when idle. Supabase Pro starts at $25/mo and covers one Micro instance; each extra project needs its own compute, about $10/mo, and free projects pause after a week (pricing). Neon bills compute by the hour and storage by the GB-month, with compute scaling to zero after five minutes idle (pricing).
Three small always-on projects come to $36/mo on instancez and roughly $45/mo on Supabase before usage. On Neon it depends on how many hours each project's compute runs.
What instancez doesn't do yet
- Realtime and websockets.
- Phone/SMS login. Built-in OAuth providers are Google, GitHub and Apple.
- Image resizing beyond JPEG and PNG (no WebP or AVIF).
- Functions run on Node.js, not Deno.
Moving from Supabase
The migration tool runs a free compatibility check, then copies your schema, RLS policies, users with their passwords, rows, foreign keys and storage files. A community clinic moved an 8 GB Supabase instance and was back online in under an hour. See what moves and what doesn't.