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PlanetScale
What PlanetScale is
PlanetScale is a paid relational database platform for managed Vitess, Neki, and PostgreSQL clusters. Vitess provides horizontal sharding for MySQL-compatible workloads, while Neki provides horizontal sharding for Postgres. Database branching separates schema and data workflows across these systems. PlanetScale describes high availability with one primary and two replicas distributed across three availability zones, plus automated failover. Operations include connection pooling, Query Insights, automated and custom backups, multi-region support, read replicas, and point-in-time recovery. Integrations include Fivetran, Airbyte, Hightouch, Datadog, Vantage, Debezium, Prometheus, and pganalyze, depending on database type. Security documentation covers encryption, TLS 1.3, and optional private connectivity. Plans start at $5 a month for a Postgres single node, with a 50.00 USD monthly Postgres Metal plan and custom Enterprise pricing. There is no free plan.
Who it suits
It suits teams running relational OLTP databases that need branching, sharding, high availability, or managed operations. Enterprise is positioned for organizations needing migration or sharding help, faster support, single tenancy, or deployment in their own cloud account.
What it does well
- Horizontal sharding for MySQL-compatible and Postgres workloads
- Branching isolates database schema and data workflows
- High availability with automated failover
- Built-in pooling, backups, and Query Insights
- Web, API, Linux, macOS, and Windows access
What to know first
- No free plan
- OLTP focus may not suit OLAP workloads
- Enterprise pricing requires contacting PlanetScale
- Postgres Metal starts at $50 a month
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Base — PlanetScale Postgres single node | Starting at $5/month; pay month to month based on resource usage. · Development and low-traffic workloads | $5 a month |
| Base — PlanetScale Postgres Metal | Starting at $50/month; pay month to month based on resource usage. · Local NVMe storage; high-performance workloads | $50 a month |
| Base — Vitess, Neki, and other configurations | Resource-based, pay month to month; price depends on configuration and usage. · Compute · topology · storage · backups · network egress · add-ons | On request |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing; contact PlanetScale. · Business support included · Enterprise support option · single-tenant or bring-your-own-cloud deployment options | On request |
As planetscale.com lists them, read 4 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
PlanetScale combines managed relational databases with sharding, branching, and high-availability architecture. Its paid plans target development, production, and enterprise database operations, but OLAP users may need another approach.
Facts from PlanetScale's own pages
- CLI
- The pscale CLI can manage databases, branches, deploy requests, and authenticated PlanetScale API calls, and is available for macOS, Linux, and Windows. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Company
- PlanetScale was founded in 2018 by the co-creators and maintainers of the Vitess open-source project. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Compliance
- PlanetScale states SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 2 Type 2+ HIPAA reporting is available; PCI DSS 4.0 Level 1 Service Provider compliance applies to PlanetScale Managed with required controls enabled. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Database operations
- Features include built-in connection pooling, Query Insights, automated and custom backups, and multi-region support. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Developer workflows
- The platform provides database branching and schema/data isolation workflows across Vitess, Neki, and Postgres. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2018 · planetscale.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States · planetscale.com, 28 Sept 2026
- Integrations
- The site lists Fivetran, Airbyte, Hightouch, Datadog, Vantage, and Debezium integrations for Vitess, and Prometheus, Datadog, and pganalyze monitoring integrations for Postgres. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Notable limitation
- PlanetScale says its platform is an OLTP database and may not be the best solution for OLAP workloads. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Product
- PlanetScale is a relational database platform offering managed Vitess, Neki, and PostgreSQL clusters. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Reliability
- High-availability architecture uses one primary and two replicas across three availability zones with automated failover. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Scaling
- Vitess supports horizontal sharding for MySQL-compatible workloads, while Neki provides horizontal sharding for Postgres. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Security
- PlanetScale documents encryption at rest and in transit, TLS 1.3 for API and dashboard communications, and optional private connectivity through AWS PrivateLink or GCP Private Service Connect. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- Enterprise plans include business-level support, and customers can optionally purchase Enterprise support with direct Slack access to support engineers. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
- Who it is for
- The Base plan is available without a contract or sales interaction, while Enterprise is positioned for organizations needing migration or sharding help, faster support, single tenancy, or deployment in their own cloud account. · planetscale.com, 4 Oct 2026
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