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PlanetScale

Database · $39/mo · since 2018

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PlanetScale is a serverless MySQL platform built on Vitess, the same technology that scales YouTube's database. It introduces database branching for safe schema changes, deploy requests for review workflows, and automatic scaling without manual sharding.

PlanetScale removed its free tier in 2024, with plans now starting at $39/month for the Scaler plan. This includes 10GB of storage and 1 billion row reads per month, scaling with usage beyond that.

pros

  • Git-like branching for safe schema changes
  • Non-blocking schema migrations with zero downtime
  • Built on Vitess for proven horizontal scalability
  • Excellent developer experience and CLI tools

cons

  • No free tier — minimum $39/month commitment
  • No foreign key constraint support by default
  • MySQL only — no Postgres option
  • Vendor lock-in with proprietary branching features

top PlanetScale alternatives

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