PlanetScale vs Railway — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
PlanetScale and Railway both start at $5/mo on their entry tier.
See price history: PlanetScale · Railway
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.
- PlanetScale (Unknown model) — PlanetScale bills on a fixed plan from $5/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
- Railway (Hybrid) — Railway is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $5/mo plus metered usage on top (Usage credits). Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
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.
Modern PaaS positioned as the alternative to Heroku for developers who want git-push-to-deploy simplicity plus per-resource billing. Distinctive for its usage-based pricing (compute per GB-hour, RAM per GB-hour) versus flat dyno pricing at Heroku. Free trial credits give hobby projects room; production apps typically $20-$500/mo. YC-backed, popular with indie hackers and Series A/B startups.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | PlanetScale monthly | PlanetScale annual | Railway monthly | Railway annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Hobby / Free Trial | Free | Free | Free | — |
| Entry paid | $5 PlanetScale / Hobby | $5 | $5 | $5 | — |
| Pro / power | — / Pro | — | — | $20 | — |
| 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
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.
Railway is worth it if… developers building side projects or small production apps who want Heroku-style ease with modern pricing — deploy any GitHub repo in one click, scale to serverless functions. Hobby covers indie dev use; Pro adds team features and higher limits.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose PlanetScale over Railway if…
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.
Choose Railway if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (from $5/mo).
- You match the profile Railway is built for: developers building side projects or small production apps who want Heroku-style ease with modern pricing — deploy any GitHub repo in one click, scale to serverless functions.
- You need a general-purpose developer & infrastructure option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| PlanetScale | Railway | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $5/mo | $5/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | — | Hybrid |
| Verification | Checked October 3, 2026 | Pricing under review |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified October 3, 2026. Tracked daily.
Frequently asked questions
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Common questions about PlanetScale and Railway
- 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?
- How much does Railway cost in 2026?
- Does Railway have a free plan?
- How often does Railway change prices?
- What are the best Railway alternatives in 2026?