# Alternatives to PlanetScale PlanetScale is a managed MySQL and Postgres database platform built on Vitess, with horizontal sharding, database branching, and non-blocking schema changes. PlanetScale ranks #5 of 9 in Managed database hosting, with an Alt Score of 66. It is proprietary and available on the web. 13 of 13 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/planetscale/ Category: Managed database hosting ## Where PlanetScale stands out - **Database engine (MySQL)** — 2 of 9 apps with a verified answer have this - **Edge / global replication** — 4 of 9 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: PlanetScale is aimed at engineering teams running production MySQL or Postgres workloads who need a managed database that scales without them operating the infrastructure themselves. It is used by companies from early-stage startups to large-scale customers like Cash App, Cursor, and Intercom. - **What you get**: A fully-managed relational database platform offering both PlanetScale Postgres and PlanetScale for Vitess (MySQL-compatible, horizontally shardable). Core capabilities include schema and data branching, automated backups with point-in-time recovery, read replicas, built-in connection pooling (PgBouncer), disk autoscaling, query insights, and optional NVMe-backed 'Metal' clusters for high-performance workloads. - **How it works**: You provision a database cluster on Postgres or Vitess/MySQL through the PlanetScale dashboard, CLI, or API, then connect with a standard driver, ORM, or PlanetScale's serverless driver. Development work happens on isolated branches that mirror production schema and data; changes are merged back through deploy requests (Vitess) or promoted branches (Postgres), and billing is usage-based on compute, storage, and egress with no free tier. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-17) - **Pricing model**: Usage-based (verified 2026-07-17) - **Starts at**: $5/month (verified 2026-07-17) - **Platforms**: Web - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-17) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Neon](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/neon.md) | 79 | Apache-2.0 | Web | | 2 | [Turso](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/turso.md) | 72 | MIT | Web | | 3 | [YugabyteDB](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/yugabytedb.md) | 72 | Apache-2.0 | macOS, Linux, Web | | 4 | [Nhost](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/nhost.md) | 68 | MIT | Web | | 5 | [Aiven](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/aiven.md) | 62 | Proprietary platform (manages open-source engines: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, OpenSearch, Valkey, ClickHouse, etc.) | Web | | 6 | [CockroachDB](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/cockroachdb.md) | 62 | CockroachDB Software License (CSL) — proprietary, non-OSI, requires a License Key for production use | Web | | 7 | [Timescale](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/timescale.md) | 62 | Apache License 2.0 (core) + Timescale License (TSL, for features in the tsl/ directory) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web | | 8 | [Xata](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/xata.md) | 55 | Proprietary platform (Xata Cloud); core engine + self-managed OSS plan are Apache-2.0 | Web | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Managed database hosting checklist | PlanetScale | Neon | Turso | YugabyteDB | Nhost | Aiven | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based | Freemium | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Freemium | | Starts at | $5/month | $0.106/CU-hour (Launch plan compute, pay-as-you-go, no monthly minimum) | $5.99/month (Developer plan; $4.99/month billed yearly) | $125 / vCPU / month (Standard tier, YugabyteDB Aeon) | $25 USD/month (Pro plan, cheapest paid tier) | $5/month (Developer plan, PostgreSQL/MySQL) | | License | Proprietary | Apache-2.0 | MIT | Apache-2.0 | MIT | Proprietary platform (manages open-source engines: PostgreSQL, MySQL, Kafka, OpenSearch, Valkey, ClickHouse, etc.) | | Platforms | Web | Web | Web | macOS, Linux, Web | Web | Web | | Database engine (Postgres) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Database engine (MySQL) | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | | Serverless / autoscaling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Partial | Partial | | Database branching | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | Partial | | Free tier | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Connection pooling | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Point-in-time recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Read replicas | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Built-in REST/GraphQL API | No | Partial | Partial | No | Yes | ? | | Built-in auth | No | Partial | No | No | Yes | ? | | Edge / global replication | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | | Open source | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | | Self-hostable | No | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ## Sources Sources for PlanetScale. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Pricing model**: Usage-based — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “Pay as you go — Pay month to month based on the price in the calculator above.” - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Software") that is accessible from this Site or otherwise made available to you to download from this Site is the copyrighted work of PlanetS" — PlanetScale's platform is a proprietary managed SaaS. The underlying Vitess engine it is built on is separately Apache-2.0 open source (see https://planetscale.com/docs/vitess.md: 'Vitess is a battle- - Quote: “Any product (Product), services (“Services”) or software (” - **Starts at**: $5/month — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “PlanetScale Postgres Single node Development and low-traffic production workloads. Starting at $5/month.” - **Platforms**: Web — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Managed cloud database platform accessed via web dashboard, CLI, and API; no native desktop/mobile client. - Quote: “PlanetScale Postgres is a fully-managed PostgreSQL-compatible database that brings you scale, performance, and reliability without sacrificing operational complexity.” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Blog post dated December 15, 2025, confirming ongoing active product development. - Quote: “Today we’re making PlanetScale Metal for Postgres available in smaller sizes and at much lower price points, all the way down to the new M-10 for as little as $50 per month.” - **Database engine (Postgres)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: PlanetScale for Postgres launched in 2025, alongside the original Vitess/MySQL product. - Quote: “PlanetScale Postgres is a fully-managed PostgreSQL-compatible database that brings you scale, performance, and reliability without sacrificing developer experience.” - **Database engine (MySQL)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “PlanetScale databases run on MySQL 8.” - **Serverless / autoscaling**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Storage autoscales automatically; compute is resized on demand rather than scaling to zero. - Quote: “Disk autoscaling automatically increases storage when your database approaches a disk size utilization threshold, preventing storage-related outages without manual intervention.” - **Database branching**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “Branches on PlanetScale Postgres are isolated database deployments that provide you with separate environments for development and testing, as well as restoring from backups.” - **Free tier**: No — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: PlanetScale removed its free 'Hobby' tier in 2024. The current pricing page lists no free plan; the cheapest option is $5/month. - Quote: “PlanetScale Postgres Single node Development and low-traffic production workloads. Starting at $5/month.” - **Connection pooling**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “PgBouncer provides connection pooling for your Postgres database.” - **Point-in-time recovery**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “Point-in-time recovery (PITR) allows you to restore your PlanetScale Postgres database to any specific moment within your backup retention window.” - **Read replicas**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Quote: “A replica is a continuously updated copy of your Postgres database.” - **Built-in REST/GraphQL API**: No — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: PlanetScale's API is a control-plane/management API (branches, deploys, backups) via OpenAPI; it does not expose an auto-generated REST or GraphQL data API for querying rows like Supabase or Hasura. - Quote: “The PlanetScale API does **not** include direct access to the data in the database.” - **Built-in auth**: No — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: PlanetScale's documented feature set (branching, insights, backups, replicas) does not include an end-user authentication/identity service comparable to Supabase Auth or Firebase Auth. - Quote: “With PlanetScale Postgres, you get the power of branching, query insights, automated backups, replicas, and many more powerful database features without the operational complexity.” - **Edge / global replication**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Read-only regions/global replication are currently available for the Vitess (MySQL) engine; PlanetScale's own Postgres-vs-Vitess comparison lists read-only regions as not yet available for Postgres. - Quote: “Replicate your production database across the globe by creating read-only regions in any available PlanetScale region.” - **Open source**: No — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Software") that is accessible from this Site or otherwise made available to you to download from this Site is the copyrighted work of PlanetS" — PlanetScale platform is proprietary; only the underlying Vitess engine is separately open source. - Quote: “Any product (Product), services (“Services”) or software (” - **Self-hostable**: No — (verified 2026-07-17) - Note: Even PlanetScale's bring-your-own-cloud 'PlanetScale Managed' option is operated by PlanetScale, not self-hosted by the customer. - Quote: “This allows us to deploy PlanetScale into an AWS or GCP account that you own and we manage.” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/