planetscale.html

PlanetScale

MySQL-compatible serverless DB built on Vitess. Reintroduced free tier in 2024 after a controversial removal.

VISIT PLANETSCALE

Quick facts

  • CategoryMySQL
  • EngineMySQL
  • PricingPaid
  • LicenseProprietary
  • Created2018
  • GitHub starsclosed
  • PostgresNo
  • Edge-readyNo

What it is

PlanetScale is the serverless MySQL database built on Vitess (the YouTube-scale sharding system). Schema branching, deploy requests, no foreign keys (Vitess constraint). Removed the free tier in 2024 sparking criticism, then reintroduced a developer tier in 2025. Mature and well-engineered but the pricing and trajectory have been turbulent.

Best for

  • MySQL-compatible workloads needing horizontal scale
  • Teams used to Vitess sharding patterns
  • Apps with schema migrations as a deployment primitive

When not to pick it

Skip PlanetScale for greenfield projects in 2026 unless you specifically need MySQL — Postgres options (Neon, Supabase) are stronger. Skip if the recent pricing volatility makes you nervous.

My take

PlanetScale's engineering is excellent but the trajectory has been bumpy. For new projects, Postgres serverless options usually win; for existing PlanetScale deployments at scale, the migration cost is real.

Links

Compare PlanetScale side-by-side

PlanetScale vs Neon → PlanetScale vs Supabase →

Similar tools you should also consider

Neon

Serverless Postgres with branching, scale-to-zero, and a deep separation of compute and storage.

Read the take →

Supabase

Postgres-based platform: database, auth, storage, edge functions, realtime, vectors. Open source.

Read the take →

If PlanetScale is your pick — the next conversation is short

The 30-min call is where your database choice becomes a real architecture, a migration plan if you are switching, and a price range you can take to your stakeholders. Describe your stack, your scale, your data shape. I tell you whether PlanetScale is genuinely your fit.