PlanetScale — Managed MySQL (Vitess) and Postgres cloud databases with branching workflows and zero-downtime schema changes, starting at $5/month with no free tier.
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PlanetScale in 20 seconds
Best for: teams needing a managed, horizontally-scalable MySQL or Postgres database with branching workflows
Pricing: Starts at $5/month for single-node Postgres; HA Postgres from $15/month; Vitess (MySQL-compatible) from $39/month. No free tier.
- PlanetScale offers both Vitess (MySQL-compatible) and PostgreSQL as managed cloud databases on AWS and GCP.
- Pricing starts at $5/month for a single-node, non-HA Postgres database.
- PlanetScale removed its free Hobby tier in April 2024.
- Database branching lets developers create copy-on-write schema/data branches for testing migrations.
- PlanetScale holds a 4.0-star rating from 1 review on Capterra.
Limitations: No free tier since April 2024.; Pricing scales into thousands of dollars per month for HA metal tiers with meaningful storage.; Vitess sharding concepts add operational complexity versus a plain managed Postgres.
Top alternatives: Neon, Supabase, Amazon RDS, CockroachDB, TiDB Cloud — full list
What is PlanetScale?
PlanetScale is a managed database platform that runs both Vitess (a MySQL-compatible, horizontally-shardable database originally built at YouTube) and PostgreSQL as fully-managed cloud services on AWS and GCP. Its signature feature is database branching: developers can create copy-on-write branches of a production database's schema and data, make and test schema changes on a branch, and merge them back without downtime — a workflow modeled on Git branching applied to database migrations. PlanetScale also offers read replicas for scaling read traffic, automated backups, point-in-time recovery (Postgres), connection pooling, Query Insights for monitoring slow queries, and private networking via AWS PrivateLink or GCP Private Service Connect. The Vitess product line adds horizontal sharding automation and a global edge network for read-heavy, multi-region workloads, while the Postgres product line adds curated extensions like pg_cron and TimescaleDB. PlanetScale removed its previously-free Hobby tier in April 2024, making every deployment — including small side projects — a paid database starting at $5/month.
PlanetScale is a managed cloud database service offering both Vitess (horizontally-shardable, MySQL-compatible) and PostgreSQL databases on AWS and GCP, built around database branching and non-blocking schema changes. Pricing starts at $5/month for a single-node, non-HA Postgres development database, $15/month for a 3-node high-availability Postgres cluster, and $39/month for the smallest Vitess (MySQL-compatible) cluster, scaling into thousands of dollars per month for metal, high-storage tiers. PlanetScale eliminated its free Hobby tier in April 2024, a widely-criticized move that pushed small and side projects onto paid plans. It holds a 4.0-star rating from 1 review on Capterra.
Standout feature: Database branching — copy-on-write schema and data branches for testing migrations — paired with non-blocking, zero-downtime schema changes on both its Postgres and Vitess (MySQL-compatible) offerings.
Biggest weakness: PlanetScale eliminated its free Hobby tier in April 2024, a widely-criticized move that pushed small and side projects onto paid plans starting at a $5/month minimum, with production-grade high-availability tiers starting significantly higher and metal tiers running into the thousands per month.
Pros
- Database branching lets developers test schema migrations on an isolated copy before merging to production.
- Zero-downtime, non-blocking schema changes on both the Vitess and Postgres product lines.
- Offers both a MySQL-compatible (Vitess) and a native Postgres option under one platform.
- Multi-cloud support across AWS and GCP with multi-region deployment options.
Cons
- No free tier since April 2024; every database, including tiny side projects, costs at least $5/month.
- Pricing scales into thousands of dollars per month for high-availability metal tiers with meaningful storage.
- Vitess-specific concepts like sharding add operational complexity compared to a plain managed Postgres instance.
PlanetScale pricing
From $5/mo · verified from the vendor's pricing page
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Postgres, single-node (non-HA) | $5/mo | Smallest single-node Postgres development database (PS-5, arm64/x86-64); no high-availability replication. |
| Postgres, 3-node (HA) | $15/mo | Smallest high-availability Postgres cluster: 1 primary plus 2 replicas across 3 availability zones. |
| Vitess (MySQL-compatible), non-metal | $39/mo | Smallest 3-node Vitess cluster (1 primary + 2 replicas) for horizontally-scalable, MySQL-compatible workloads. |
What reviewers say
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