Hi everyone,
I’m currently starting my first backend project using Go. While I'm comfortable with the language, I have zero experience with DevOps or cloud infrastructure, and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by the options available in 2026.
My main goals for the stack are:
What is the current industry standard for a solo developer? Should I invest the time to learn the "Big" providers immediately, or are platforms like Neon or Supabase considered "production-ready" for long-term growth?
I’d appreciate any advice or personal experiences with these tools. Thanks!
P.S. I’ve checked the FAQ, but I’m specifically curious if using Go changes the recommendation for a managed DB vs. jumping straight into a major cloud provider like AWS.
The user is starting a backend project using Go and seeks advice on choosing a cloud and database stack that offers a good developer experience, is cost-effective, and avoids vendor lock-in. They are considering whether to use major providers like AWS or GCP or platforms like Neon or Supabase. They seek community advice on industry standards and personal experiences.
I'm getting ready to deploy an app soon. It is quite overwhelming. to save on costs, we are containerizing everything so we can run it in an instance (think Amazon ec2) but not be stuck setting up dependencies on a Linux server. this is a lot cheaper than many of the managed offerings on AWS.
I would start with a local, ideally modular(i.e.:containerized) prototype before considering any financial commitments. Your DB choices will boil down to what your project does and what it needs to persist as it runs. Choose the simplest versions of the DB software, per use case. Postgres handles a lot of things and is super extensible, from transactions, data document(think JSON) storage, vector storage(Supabase is built atop Postgres). Majority of pubcloud vendors also have a managed Postgres offering, makes ramping up a bit easier.
See how that works out for you locally, and slowly ramp up to hosted solutions. If you find yourself running thin/going a bit too far into the weeds for your comfort, a managed solution may help. All in all, start small & identify what your Go project needs to get done/saved. This will inform your DB choice more than anything we can suggest. Try not to rush into subscription services unless you're okay w/ spending money from a place of uncertainty
i host my Go backend on Akamai/Linode. it’s cheap. I could move to any linux server provider if i wanted
they provide a bunch of distros otb. but flexible enough to run your own if you want. i use NixOS