PlanetScale

The world's fastest cloud databases — Vitess-powered MySQL and Postgres with branching and online schema changes.

What is PlanetScale?

PlanetScale is a managed database platform focused on performance and scale, built by the team behind Vitess — the technology that scales MySQL at YouTube, Slack, and GitHub. Alongside its Vitess-powered MySQL offering, PlanetScale now also hosts Postgres, including PlanetScale Metal, which runs databases on locally attached NVMe drives for dramatic speed gains over network-storage rivals. Its developer workflow is a signature: database branching, non-blocking schema changes through deploy requests, and query insights make schema migrations feel like code review instead of a 3 a.m. risk. Horizontal sharding lets a single logical database grow to massive scale. PlanetScale dropped its free tier in 2024 to prioritize reliability for paying customers, so it now targets production workloads where performance justifies the spend.

Key Features

Vitess-powered MySQL with horizontal sharding at massive scale

Managed Postgres, including Metal on local NVMe storage

Database branching with deploy requests for safe schema changes

Non-blocking schema migrations with automatic revert

Query-level insights for performance debugging

Use Cases

Scaling MySQL beyond a single instance with sharding
Running performance-critical Postgres on NVMe Metal instances
Schema change workflows with review and safe rollback
Consolidating high-traffic production databases on one platform

How to Use PlanetScale

1Create a database and choose MySQL (Vitess) or Postgres
2Connect using standard drivers and connection strings
3Create branches for schema changes and open deploy requests
4Merge changes online with zero downtime and monitor insights

Best For

Companies with serious production database trafficTeams scaling MySQL who don't want to operate Vitess themselvesEngineering orgs that want safer schema-change workflows

FAQ

Does PlanetScale have a free plan?

No. PlanetScale removed its free tier in 2024. Plans are usage-based, with entry-level production databases starting around $39/month.

Does PlanetScale support Postgres?

Yes. In addition to its Vitess-based MySQL product, PlanetScale offers managed Postgres, including Metal instances on local NVMe drives for maximum performance.

PlanetScale vs Neon — which should I choose?

Neon offers serverless Postgres with scale-to-zero and a free tier, ideal for variable workloads and side projects. PlanetScale targets sustained production traffic where raw performance and sharding matter more than scale-to-zero economics.

Looking for PlanetScale alternatives?

Compare 2 hand-picked alternatives by pricing, free plans, and open-source availability.

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Compare PlanetScale side by side

In-depth, editor-written comparisons with a clear verdict.

PlanetScale vs Neon

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