Vendor Observatory

Revealed Preference

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Home/Database
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Database

Postgres, serverless DBs, vector search, branching

Each prompt simulates a real developer scenario asking AI coding assistants to recommend a database vendor. Below: which vendors were recommended, how well they addressed constraints, and the reasoning behind each recommendation.

Top Vendor

neon

6 of 14 recommendations

Responses

65

across 6 prompts

Constraint Coverage

39%

25 constraints tracked

Platforms Tested

claude_codecodex_cli

Vendor Leaderboard

#VendorRecommendationsShare
1neon6
43%
2upstash4
29%
3turso2
14%
4supabase2
14%

Prompt Breakdown

Serverless Postgres with Connection Pooling

Multi-tenant SaaS hitting 'too many clients' during traffic spikes on Vercel serverless

db-01
11 responses
Top: neon
Pain point: connection storms — too many clients already
Stack:aws rds postgresnextjs 14prismavercel
Asked about:neonsupabaseaurora-serverlesscockroachdb
Existing StackCompliance/SecurityWorkload DefinedFramework-SpecificCompatibilityStarts from PainConstraint-LedWorkload-LedAI/Vector/Embeddings
✓ serverless compatible✓ pgvector required✓ eu data residency✓ pitr backups
claude_codeImplementedneon

Neon wins:**

claude_codeImplementedneon

Neon wins:**

claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Neon wins for your stack:**

Gotchas: **CockroachDB** — most significant issues: - No `pgvector` — disqualified for your use case - No `SERIAL` sequences behave differently (uses unique_rowid) - `FOR UPDATE` / `SELECT ... SKIP LOCKED` sem...

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Neon wins for your stack:**

Gotchas: **CockroachDB** — most significant issues: - No `pgvector` — disqualified for your use case - No `SERIAL` sequences behave differently (uses unique_rowid) - `FOR UPDATE` / `SELECT ... SKIP LOCKED` sem...

claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
codex_cliImplementedneon
codex_cliImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Prisma Migrate should use a direct connection when a pooler is in front. ([prisma.io](https://www.prisma.io/docs/guides/performance-and-optimization/connection-management/configure-pg-bouncer?utm_source=openai))

codex_cliImplementedneon

Database Branching for Preview Environments

Preview builds step on each other's migrations and break staging with shared Supabase instance

db-02
10 responses
Top: neon
Pain point: preview builds step on each other's migrations, break staging
Stack:supabasevercelnextjsdrizzle
Asked about:supabaseneonplanetscale
Existing StackWorkload DefinedFramework-SpecificCompatibilityStarts from PainWorkload-LedExisting Vendor
✓ branch per pr✓ real postgres✗ staging prod separation✓ pitr
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

NOT the alternatives? - **Supabase**: No native branching; creating projects per PR is slow (3-5 min) and expensive - **PlanetScale**: MySQL-only, so you lose Postgres features (RLS, extensions) - **Render/Railway**: No branching, would need full DB ...

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

NOT the alternatives? - **Supabase**: No native branching; creating projects per PR is slow (3-5 min) and expensive - **PlanetScale**: MySQL-only, so you lose Postgres features (RLS, extensions) - **Render/Railway**: No branching, would need full DB ...

claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
codex_cliImplementedNo primary vendor identified
codex_cliImplementedneon
codex_cliImplementedneon

Realtime Subscriptions for Collaborative Editor

Polling every 2s for comments/presence is laggy and expensive in a Notion-like app

db-03
11 responses
Top: supabase
Pain point: polling every 2s — laggy and expensive
Stack:postgresnextjsreactyjs
Asked about:supabaseconvexfirebaseappwrite
Existing StackCompliance/SecurityWorkload DefinedFramework-SpecificCompatibilityStarts from PainConstraint-LedWorkload-Led
✗ realtime websockets✗ multi tenant rls✓ audit logs✓ us data residency✗ sql data model
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Gotchas: Requires Postgres expertise

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Gotchas: Requires Postgres expertise

claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
codex_cliRecommendedsupabase

You’re SQL‑centric, need RLS-like isolation, auditability, and want to avoid a wholesale data model rewrite. Supabase keeps Postgres while adding realtime channels and presence. It also supports US-only regions. ([supabase.com](https://supabase.com/d...

codex_cliRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
codex_cliRecommendedNo primary vendor identified

Serverless Cache Layer with Rate Limiting

P95 latency ~900ms at peak — recomputing expensive queries (leaderboards, feeds) on every request

db-04
11 responses
Top: upstash
Pain point: P95 ~900ms at peak — recomputing expensive queries
Stack:nextjsvercelpostgresredis semantics
Asked about:upstash
Existing StackCompliance/SecurityWorkload DefinedFramework-SpecificCompatibilityStarts from PainConstraint-LedWorkload-LedExisting Vendor
✓ serverless compatible✓ edge compatible✗ no pii in cache✓ predictable cost✗ redis api compat
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Upstash Redis is the best fit:

Gotchas: Viable but less proven |

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Upstash Redis is the best fit:

Gotchas: Viable but less proven |

claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedupstash
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Upstash wins for this stack

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Upstash wins for this stack

claude_codeImplementedupstash
codex_cliImplementedNo primary vendor identified

it fits: - Serverless‑friendly HTTP client, works from Vercel Functions and Edge

codex_cliImplementedupstash

Upstash fits your constraints**

codex_cliImplementedupstash

Offline-First Embedded Database with Sync

Custom REST sync loses user updates when they go offline for hours, conflict resolution is painful

db-05
11 responses
Top: turso
Pain point: conflict resolution painful, users lose updates offline
Stack:sqlitereact nativeexpocustom rest sync
Asked about:tursoelectricsqlpglite
Existing StackCompliance/SecurityWorkload DefinedFramework-SpecificCompatibilityStarts from PainConstraint-LedWorkload-LedAI/Vector/Embeddings
✗ offline first✓ embedded sql✓ conflict resolution✓ encryption at rest✗ hipaa adjacent✓ edge compute
claude_codeImplementedturso

Not ElectricSQL?

Gotchas: (PGlite doesn't support RN) | ✅ (native SQLite) |

claude_codeImplementedturso

Not ElectricSQL?

Gotchas: (PGlite doesn't support RN) | ✅ (native SQLite) |

claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Trade-offs: you want (optimistic locking, event sourcing, etc.)

Gotchas: via connectors | | Price transparency | Usage-based | OSS + hosting | Enterprise contract | Enterprise contract |

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

PowerSync wins for your exact requirements:**

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

PowerSync wins for your exact requirements:**

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Trade-offs: you want (optimistic locking, event sourcing, etc.)

Gotchas: via connectors | | Price transparency | Usage-based | OSS + hosting | Enterprise contract | Enterprise contract |

codex_cliRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
codex_cliRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
codex_cliRecommendedNo primary vendor identified

B2B Backend-as-a-Service with RLS and Auth

Outgrowing Firebase — need Postgres/RLS/SQL tooling for multi-tenant B2B with SOC 2 requirements

db-06
11 responses
Top: supabase
Pain point: Firebase lacks Postgres/RLS/SQL tooling for B2B needs
Stack:firebasenextjs
Asked about:supabasefirebase
Existing StackCompliance/SecurityWorkload DefinedFramework-SpecificCompatibilityStarts from PainConstraint-LedWorkload-LedExisting Vendor
✓ soc2✓ eu data residency✗ staging prod separation✓ escape hatch✗ multi tenant rls✓ audit logs
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified

Supabase for your use case

claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified

Supabase for your use case

claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeRecommendedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Supabase over alternatives:**

claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified
claude_codeImplementedNo primary vendor identified

Supabase over alternatives:**

codex_cliImplementedNo primary vendor identified
codex_cliImplementedsupabase

clean separation, independent keys, and least surprise for SOC 2 evidence

codex_cliImplementedNo primary vendor identified

it’s also Postgres‑based with Auth (magic links + OAuth) and realtime GraphQL subscriptions (via Hasura). Great if your team is GraphQL‑first. ([nhost.io](https://nhost.io/?utm_source=openai))

Gotchas: RLS is enforced for realtime Postgres Changes; only rows the user can read are delivered. ([supabase.com](https://supabase.com/docs/guides/realtime/authorization?utm_source=openai))

Constraint Coverage

edge compatible9/1182%
conflict resolution9/1182%
encryption at rest9/1182%
soc29/1182%
escape hatch9/1182%
serverless compatible16/2273%
eu data residency16/2273%
pgvector required7/1164%
pitr backups7/1164%
edge compute7/1164%
pitr6/1060%
audit logs12/2255%
branch per pr3/1030%
real postgres3/1030%
us data residency2/1118%
predictable cost2/1118%
embedded sql1/119%
staging prod separation0/210%
realtime websockets0/110%
multi tenant rls0/220%
sql data model0/110%
no pii in cache0/110%
redis api compat0/110%
offline first0/110%
hipaa adjacent0/110%