PlanetScale
MySQL-compatible serverless database built on Vitess. Branching, non-blocking schema changes, and horizontal sharding. Reintroduced a hobby tier in 2025.
PlanetScale is a managed MySQL platform built on Vitess, the same sharding layer YouTube uses. The headline features are non-blocking schema changes (deploy requests), database branching, and horizontal scale via Vitess shards. After removing its free tier in 2024 and triggering a migration wave, PlanetScale brought back a hobby tier and now competes hard with Neon. Best fit for MySQL-native teams that need true horizontal scale and zero-downtime schema changes.
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MySQL-compatible serverless database built on Vitess. Branching, non-blocking schema changes, and horizontal sharding. Reintroduced a hobby tier in 2025.
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