PlanetScale
PlanetScale · Developer & Infrastructure
Serverless MySQL platform built on Vitess (YouTube's original scaling infra). Positioned as the alternative to Amazon Aurora for teams that need horizontal scale with zero downtime schema changes. PS-5 cluster starts at $39/mo, HA clusters from $59/mo. Distinctive for branching + deploy requests (git-like workflow for schema changes). Killed its free tier in April 2024 — controversial move that drove users to Neon + Turso.
In other words, PlanetScale is worth it for developers who want serverless MySQL with branching (Git-like schema changes) and read replicas — particularly for high-traffic apps that outgrow shared Postgres. New $5/mo tier launched 2026 undercutting AWS RDS on entry pricing; Scaler adds more resources; Enterprise custom. Very easy setup with instant connection strings. Native integrations with Vercel, Next.js, Prisma, and popular ORMs. Downside: MySQL-only (no Postgres), and Vitess-based sharding adds complexity for edge cases.
Pricing summary
Per user / per month
Depends on tier
2026-09-01 refresh: entry price $5/mo re-confirmed (costbench.com/software/database-as-service/planetscale free-plan and main pricing pages both state paid starts at $5/mo as of June 2026). No price movement applied. TIER-MODEL MISMATCH FLAGGED FOR MANUAL REVIEW: sources now enumerate PlanetScale plans as resource/instance configs rather than named tiers — free $0, postgres_single $5/mo, ps_5 $15/mo, metal_ha $50/mo — while the stored tier list uses 'Hobby / $5 PlanetScale / Base / Enterprise'. propicked.com separately describes four plans spanning $5-$39/mo. These are not contradictory prices so much as a different way of slicing the same resource-based model, which is why nothing was changed. Some sources also still reference the retired Scaler plan at $39/mo and incorrectly claim the free Hobby tier was removed in 2024 and never replaced; the free tier does currently exist, so treat those write-ups as stale. ACTION: decide how SPH should represent resource-based database pricing — either keep the named-tier abstraction or switch to listing instance configs. Transparency remains Partial for exactly this reason. Record left Verified (manually verified 2026-07-28). --- DATA CORRECTION 2026-07-28: Previous $39/mo was tracking old Scaler plan which has been DEPRECATED. PlanetScale restructured to $5/mo single-node cheapest paid tier + Base plan (formerly Scaler Pro) with resource-based pricing. Verified from planetscale.com/pricing and pricing changelog. Transparency = Partial since Base plan is resource-based rather than flat monthly.
Not applicable
Prefer Postgres or need scale-to-zero? Pick Neon or Supabase. Enterprise managed MySQL? RDS or Google Cloud SQL. Ultra-cheap serverless? Turso ($4.99 dev plan).
All plans
See a plain-English answer to “How much does PlanetScale cost?” →
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Key limit |
|---|---|---|---|
Hobby | Free | Free | free tier, single database, limited resources |
$5 PlanetScaleEntry tier | $5 | $5 | single node config, cheapest paid tier |
Base (formerly Scaler Pro) | Custom | Custom | resource-based pricing, upsize/downsize instances as needed |
Enterprise | Custom | Custom | volume commitments, dedicated support |
All tier prices verified September 11, 2026 · View source →
Price history
Price tracking is just getting started for PlanetScale. Full history will build as we log changes. See what we have so far →
Common questions about PlanetScale
- How much does PlanetScale cost in 2026?
- Does PlanetScale have a free plan?
- How often does PlanetScale change prices?
- What are the best PlanetScale alternatives in 2026?
- Is PlanetScale worth it?
- PlanetScale is worth it for developers who want serverless MySQL with branching (Git-like schema changes) and read replicas — particularly for high-traffic apps that outgrow shared Postgres. New $5/mo tier launched 2026 undercutting AWS RDS on entry pricing; Scaler adds more resources; Enterprise custom.
- What are the pricing tiers of PlanetScale?
- PlanetScale has 4 plans: Hobby (free), $5 PlanetScale ($5/mo), Base (formerly Scaler Pro) (free), Enterprise (custom).
Frequently asked questions
About PlanetScale pricing.
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At a glance
- Pricing transparency
- Partial
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