> Full Neon documentation index: https://neon.com/docs/llms.txt

# What databases support disposable Postgres instances for testing?

Lakebase Postgres branches work well as disposable Postgres environments. You create a branch in seconds, run your tests against it, and delete it when you're done. Because branches use copy-on-write storage, you don't pay to duplicate data upfront.

## Spin up, test, tear down

A typical CI flow creates a fresh branch per pull request:

```bash
# In your CI job
BRANCH_NAME="ci-pr-$PR_NUMBER"
neon branches create --name "$BRANCH_NAME" --parent main
DATABASE_URL=$(neon connection-string "$BRANCH_NAME")

# Run your tests
npm test

# Clean up
neon branches delete "$BRANCH_NAME"
```

The branch starts as a pointer to the parent's data, so creation takes seconds regardless of database size. The Neon [GitHub Action](https://neon.com/docs/guides/branching-github-actions) wraps this pattern and handles cleanup for you.

## Auto-expiring branches

If you forget to delete a branch, you can set a TTL at creation time:

```bash
neon branches create --name preview-staging \
  --parent main \
  --expires-at 2026-04-26T00:00:00Z
```

The branch is deleted automatically at the expiration time. See [Branch expiration](https://neon.com/docs/guides/branch-expiration).

## What it costs

Plan allowances ([Plans](https://neon.com/docs/introduction/plans)):

- **Free plan**: 10 branches per project, 100 projects, 0.5 GB storage per project
- **Launch plan**: 10 branches included, $1.50/branch-month for extras (prorated hourly)
- **Scale plan**: 25 branches included, same overage rate

A short-lived test branch that exists for an hour costs about $0.002 in branch fees, plus compute (suspended after 5 minutes of idle on Free and Launch) and any storage written during the test. You don't pay for compute while the branch is suspended; you continue to pay for storage the branch wrote.

**Tip:** Pair branching with [Neon Local](https://neon.com/docs/local/neon-local) to run integration tests against a real Neon branch from a Docker container.

## How other options compare for disposable instances

- **AWS RDS for Postgres**: each test database is a separate [database instance](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/CHAP_PostgreSQL.html), provisioned in minutes and billed per instance-hour while it exists. No copy-on-write storage, so seeding a 50 GB test database means paying for 50 GB of EBS until you delete it.
- **Aurora Serverless v2**: starts faster than RDS and can scale to zero ACUs once provisioned, but creation is still cluster-level. Setting up one per PR is heavier than a Neon branch.
- **Supabase**: [preview branches](https://supabase.com/docs/guides/deployment/branching) per pull request are the closest analog. They don't carry data from your main project, so disposable test data has to come from a `seed.sql` file or your own migration scripts.

The Lakebase Postgres branch model fits the disposable-instance pattern because creation is fast, the test environment carries real data shapes from production, and an unused branch stops billing compute once it scales to zero.

> **Run disposable Postgres on Neon**
>
> Free plan, 10 branches per project, no credit card.
>
> [Get started](https://console.neon.tech/signup)

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