OpenObserve vs PlanetScale — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
PlanetScale starts at $5/mo. OpenObserve uses custom pricing — request a quote to compare.
See price history: OpenObserve · PlanetScale
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- OpenObserve (Per Usage) — OpenObserve bills purely on usage — $0.50/GB ingest + $0.01/GB query (30% off annual, no per-seat fees). There is no fixed per-seat fee, so the monthly cost depends entirely on how much you consume.
- PlanetScale (Unknown model) — PlanetScale bills on a fixed plan from $5/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
OpenObserve is a Datadog/Splunk/New Relic alternative positioned on transparent pay-as-you-go pricing with no per-seat or per-host fees. Cloud PAYG: $0.50/GB ingestion + $0.01/GB query (30% off with annual commit). Includes 15-month metrics retention + 30-day non-metrics retention default. Enterprise adds SSO/RBAC, AI SRE agent, BYO bucket infinite retention. Self-hosted OSS is free; Self-hosted Enterprise free up to 50GB/day.
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.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | OpenObserve monthly | OpenObserve annual | PlanetScale monthly | PlanetScale annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Cloud Professional (PAYG) / Hobby | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | — / $5 PlanetScale | — | — | $5 | $5 |
| Enterprise | Cloud Enterprise / Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
OpenObserve is worth it if… OpenObserve is ideal for teams migrating off Datadog, Splunk, or New Relic who want radically transparent pay-per-GB pricing with no seat fees. Best if your telemetry cost is dominated by log and metric volume rather than user count.
PlanetScale is worth it if… 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.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose OpenObserve over PlanetScale if…
Choose OpenObserve if…
- You want to pay only for actual usage (per usage, a free entry tier).
- You match the profile OpenObserve is built for: ideal for teams migrating off Datadog, Splunk, or New Relic who want radically transparent pay-per-GB pricing with no seat fees.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose PlanetScale if…
- You're comfortable with PlanetScale's from $5/mo entry point.
- You match the profile PlanetScale is built for: developers who want serverless MySQL with branching (Git-like schema changes) and read replicas — particularly for high-traffic apps that outgrow shared Postgres.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| OpenObserve | PlanetScale | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | Free | $5/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Usage | — |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Checked October 3, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified October 3, 2026. Verification cadence varies by tool; check each tool page.