Product details — Relational Databases

PlanetScale

This page is a decision brief, not a review. It explains when PlanetScale tends to fit, where it usually struggles, and how costs behave as your needs change. This page covers PlanetScale in isolation; side-by-side comparisons live on separate pages.

Jump to costs & limits

✓

Last Verified: Jan 2026

Based on official sources linked below.

Quick signals

Complexity

Medium

MySQL-compatible workflow with a serverless operating model; validate limits, branching model, and operational expectations for production.

Common upgrade trigger

Need MySQL relational core with modern developer workflows

When it gets expensive

Validate production constraints and cost drivers early

What this product actually is

Serverless MySQL platform (Vitess-based) evaluated when teams want MySQL compatibility plus modern workflows and horizontal scaling patterns.

Pricing behavior (not a price list)

These points describe when users typically pay more, what actions trigger upgrades, and the mechanics of how costs escalate.

Actions that trigger upgrades

Need MySQL relational core with modern developer workflows
Need scaling patterns that outgrow simple managed MySQL assumptions
Need a platform workflow that keeps developer iteration fast as schema and environments grow

When costs usually spike

Validate production constraints and cost drivers early
Switching costs exist if data model and workflow become coupled
Have an explicit exit plan if requirements later force a different operating model
Compatibility choice (MySQL vs Postgres) tends to be the biggest long-term constraint

Plans and variants (structural only)

Grouped by type to show structure, not to rank or recommend specific SKUs.

Plans

Compute + storage - primary drivers - Pricing usually scales with compute size, storage, and traffic patterns.
High availability - replicas/backups - Reliability features add cost but reduce operational risk.
Governance - migrations/ops - Performance tuning and migration ownership remain your responsibility.
Official pricing: https://planetscale.com/pricing

Costs & limitations

Common limits

Not Postgres; ecosystem and features differ from Postgres-centric stacks
Operational constraints and limits must be validated
Migration and data model decisions still carry switching costs
Platform coupling can create switching cost if you adopt platform-specific workflows deeply
You must validate production constraints early to avoid rework later
Not a fit if your stack is deeply Postgres-centric and you need Postgres compatibility

What breaks first

Choosing MySQL compatibility when your org is actually Postgres-centric (mismatch costs later)
Production constraints that weren’t validated early (limits, operational expectations)
Cost predictability once usage grows without guardrails
Migration complexity if you delay an exit plan until requirements force a move
Workflow coupling that increases switching cost over time

Fit assessment

Good fit if…

Teams that want MySQL compatibility with modern workflows
Teams prioritizing serverless operating model for relational workloads

Poor fit if…

Your stack is deeply Postgres-centric
You need hyperscaler-native ecosystem alignment for enterprise governance

Trade-offs

Every design choice has a cost. Here are the explicit trade-offs:

Serverless workflows → constraints to validate
MySQL ecosystem → different trade-offs than Postgres
Modern platform DX → potential coupling and switching cost
Scaling path → requires fit validation for your workload

Common alternatives people evaluate next

These are common “next shortlists” — same tier, step-down, step-sideways, or step-up — with a quick reason why.

Neon — Step-sideways / serverless Postgres

Compared when choosing MySQL compatibility vs Postgres compatibility for a serverless/dev-first workflow.
Amazon Aurora (Postgres) — Step-up / cloud flagship managed Postgres

Shortlisted when teams prefer cloud-flagship managed Postgres and deeper hyperscaler ecosystem alignment.
Supabase Database — Step-sideways / platform Postgres

Considered when teams want Postgres plus integrated platform tooling to ship faster, and MySQL compatibility is not a requirement.

Sources & verification

Pricing and behavioral information comes from public documentation and structured research. When information is incomplete or volatile, we prefer to say so rather than guess.