Migrate from Vercel Postgres to Layerbase
Vercel Postgres was Neon underneath, and every store moved to Neon in December 2024. Paste the connection string your project already carries and we copy the schema and data to a managed Layerbase Postgres in one read-once pass. Your app stays on Vercel: the only thing that changes is an environment variable.
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Why switch
Why teams leave Vercel Postgres
Off the compute-hour meter
What your project holds today is a Neon database billed by CU-hour and GB-month through the Marketplace. A Layerbase Postgres is $0 on the Free tier, then $5/mo Solo or $15/mo Pro, and the number does not move when traffic does.
Keep the driver you have
Layerbase Postgres speaks the same HTTP protocol as @neondatabase/serverless, so @vercel/postgres, the Neon serverless driver, and Drizzle neon-http keep working from Vercel Functions and the Edge runtime. Swap POSTGRES_URL and redeploy; no code change.
One connection string is all it takes
Paste POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING from your project, or the plain POSTGRES_URL: a -pooler host is switched to the direct endpoint automatically. No API keys, no discovery step, nothing written back.
Branching, backups, and a console
Copy-on-write branches for previews, daily backups, TLS by default, a web SQL console, and the rest of the engine catalog on the same account for when the app needs a Redis next to its Postgres.
How it works
Four steps, one pass
- 1
Create a free account or sign in
Sign in with Google or GitHub. No credit card is needed to start, and the migration wizard opens with this platform already selected.
- 2
Paste your connection string
Vercel Postgres was moved to Neon in December 2024, so the string you need is the Neon one your project already carries. In your Vercel project open Storage, then the Postgres resource, and copy POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING from its environment variables (POSTGRES_URL works too: we switch a -pooler host to the direct endpoint for you). The connection string from the Neon console for the same project is the same thing.
- 3
Pick what to migrate and name it
Choose what to bring over, give the new Layerbase database a name, and start the migration. Progress streams live in the dashboard.
- 4
We copy it in one pass
The migration reads from Vercel Postgres once and never writes to it. Credentials are used for the copy and never stored. When it finishes, you land in your new database with a live TLS connection string.
FAQ
Common Vercel Postgres migration questions
Is Vercel Postgres still available?
No. Vercel's own docs say Vercel Postgres is no longer available, that existing databases were automatically moved to Neon in December 2024, and that new projects should install a Postgres integration from the Marketplace. The database you have is a Neon database with Vercel-named environment variables.
Where do I find my connection string?
In your Vercel project open Storage, select the Postgres resource, and read its environment variables: POSTGRES_URL_NON_POOLING is the direct string and POSTGRES_URL is the pooled one. Either works here. The same string is on the project dashboard in the Neon console.
Do I have to stop using @vercel/postgres?
Not to migrate. The package still works against a Layerbase connection string because we implement the same HTTP query protocol, so the cutover is an environment variable. Vercel no longer maintains it, though, so when you next touch that code, @neondatabase/serverless or a standard pg client is the better long-term home. Only interactive transactions over WebSocket are not covered; sql.transaction() batches work.
Will my Neon database be modified?
No. The migration is read-once: we connect, copy the schema and data, and disconnect. Nothing is written back and the database keeps serving traffic throughout. There is no ongoing sync, so plan a cutover rather than running both.
What does it cost?
Postgres is on the Layerbase Free tier, so you can migrate and compare without a credit card. Paid plans start at $5 a month when you need more databases or resources.
Ready to leave Vercel Postgres?
Sign in, and the migration wizard opens with Vercel Postgres already selected. Your source is read once and never modified, so there is nothing to undo if you change your mind.