PlanetScale

What it is for

PlanetScale is a branching database desk: you run a production cluster, open a development branch, and Base starts at $5/month for a single-node Postgres (or from $30/month for a PS-10 Vitess/Neki HA SKU in AWS us-east-1). Use it when the job is a cluster you start at $5 / $30, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is the official PlanetScale Cluster configuration screen (speedydb / production, Parameters tab, PgBouncer) from the docs still — not a pricing card. The Parameters form itself is ops of a cluster. There is no free Hobby plan.

Key features

• Production branches — an HA cluster (primary + replicas) you keep up (Cluster still; plans Production branches). One production branch included. Extra production branches bill at the SKU you pick. The cover Parameters / Storage / PgBouncer tabs are ops of this.
• Development branches — a short-lived branch you throw away (plans Development branches; Understanding Database Branching). Not HA. Vitess includes hours_in_month × 2 (1,440 hours on a 30-day month); overage ~$0.014/hour. Postgres / Neki PS-DEV is $5/month per branch.
• Query Insights — 7-day query history on every Base cluster (plans Query Insights retention). A report, not a branch. Retention is SKU of Base, not a fifth cluster size.
• Backups — automated every 12 hours, plus user-scheduled extras at $0.023/GB-month (plans User-scheduled backups). A snapshot, not a branch. Default backup disk is not counted against the 10 GB include.
• Base / Enterprise — self-serve clusters, or Managed / single-tenant in your cloud (plans Enterprise). A tenancy, not a branch. SSO is a $199/month add-on on Base. CLI / web console are install / ops.

Vitess / Neki / Postgres and Metal vs network-attached storage are engines and disks of the same desk, not extra features. Sharding sits on the engine. There is no printed free plan.

Who it's for

Best fit: app teams who will start Base at $5/month (single-node Postgres) or $30/month (PS-10 arm64 HA in us-east-1) while they open a first Cluster configuration screen, then add $5 PS-DEV branches or extra production SKUs when they need a deploy-request workflow.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from planetscale.com/pricing.md (AWS us-east-1 snapshot generated 2026-10-22T23:22:59Z) and planetscale.com/docs/planetscale-plans. SKU dollars vary by region — do not copy us-east-1 into another region.

• No free plan. “All databases require a paid subscription starting with our Base plan.”
• Base — self-serve. Vitess, Neki, and Postgres. 10 GB included on network-attached storage. Query Insights 7 days. 1 production branch included. Concurrent connections unmetered. Standard support. BAAs included.
• Postgres single-node — starting at $5/month (no replicas).
• Example HA SKUs (pricing.md, AWS us-east-1, Neki standard 3-node, arm64) — PS-10 $30 (extra replica $10); PS-20 $50; PS-40 $83. The plans page’s worked example uses Vitess PS-40 $99 + two PS-20 $59 = $217/month.
• Development branches — Vitess: 1,440 hours included / 30-day month, then ~$0.014/hour ($10 / hours_in_month). Postgres / Neki: $5/month per PS-DEV.
• Storage overage — extra GB $0.50/instance-month; HA production $1.50/GB (1 primary + 2 replicas).
• Add-ons — SSO $199/month. User-scheduled backup storage $0.023/GB-month. Business support extra (see Support page).
• Size cap — cluster sizes capped at PS-160 / M-320 until a paid invoice of at least $100.
• Enterprise — Single-tenant or PlanetScale Managed (your AWS/GCP/Azure). Custom. Confirm the live quote — do not invent an Enterprise dollar.

Confirm checkout; taxes follow your location.

Limitations / costs

• There is no $0 Hobby card. The cheapest printed start is $5 single-node Postgres or a $30 PS-10 HA SKU in us-east-1.
• A second production branch is another SKU, not a free clone. The $217 example is three clusters.
• SSO is $199/month on Base. That is an add-on, not Enterprise-only folklore.
• A cluster desk, not a $0 Postgres. For a free-tier serverless Postgres see Neon. For a multi-model $0 instance see SurrealDB.

Alternatives

• Neon — serverless Postgres with a free tier when you will not pay PlanetScale’s Base floor.
• SurrealDB — a $0/hour first Cloud instance when you want SurrealQL, not MySQL/Postgres SKUs.
• Convex — reactive backend functions when you do not want a managed SQL cluster.

Official tutorial

Official PlanetScale channel video: Understanding Database Branching and Deploy Requests (oEmbed author: PlanetScale). First-party branching walkthrough; the Cluster configuration still is the cover.

Written path: planetscale.com/pricing.md plus the Cluster configuration still.

Website

https://planetscale.com

Repository

https://github.com/planetscale/cli

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is the official PlanetScale Cluster configuration screen from the docs still. Dollars checked on planetscale.com/pricing.md and /docs/planetscale-plans (no free plan; Postgres single-node from $5; PS-10 arm64 $30; SSO $199/mo; PS-DEV Postgres $5/mo). Tutorial oEmbed author: PlanetScale.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.