What is the difference between PlanetScale and Neon?

PlanetScale is best for Teams running MySQL at scale who need safe schema migrations, while Neon is best for Developers who want serverless Postgres with branching and scale-to-zero. PlanetScale starts at $39/mo and Neon starts at $19/mo.

Is PlanetScale or Neon cheaper?

PlanetScale starts at $39/mo. Neon starts at $19/mo with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to PlanetScale?

Yes, Neon offers a free tier (Free tier with 0.5 GB storage and 190 compute hours).

PlanetScale vs Neon

PlanetScale is Serverless MySQL platform with branching, non-blocking schema changes, and unlimited scalability, while Neon is Serverless Postgres with autoscaling, branching, and a generous free tier for modern applications. Neon comes in cheaper, but price alone does not tell the full story. PlanetScale is built for teams running mysql at scale who need safe schema migrations, whereas Neon targets developers who want serverless postgres with branching and scale-to-zero.

At a glance

	PlanetScale	Neon
Best for	Teams running MySQL at scale who need safe schema migrations	Developers who want serverless Postgres with branching and scale-to-zero
Starting price	$39/mo	$19/mo
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Auto-scaling	✓	—
Autoscaling	—	✓
Branching	—	✓
Database Branching	✓	—
Query Insights	✓	—
Scale-to-Zero	—	✓
Schema Migrations	✓	—
Serverless Postgres	—	✓

PlanetScale

Strengths

Git-like branching for safe schema changes
Non-blocking schema migrations with zero downtime
Built on Vitess for proven horizontal scalability
Excellent developer experience and CLI tools

Weaknesses

No free tier — minimum $39/month commitment
No foreign key constraint support by default
MySQL only — no Postgres option
Vendor lock-in with proprietary branching features

Try PlanetScale → Full review

Neon

Strengths

Scale-to-zero means no cost when database is idle
Database branching for development and preview environments
Fully compatible Postgres with extensions support
Generous free tier for development and small projects

Weaknesses

Cold starts when scaling from zero can add latency
Relatively young platform compared to managed Postgres competitors
Connection pooling needed for serverless frameworks
Limited regions compared to larger cloud providers

Try Neon → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: PlanetScale starts at $39/mo. Neon starts at $19/mo. Neon is the more affordable option.

Feature gaps: PlanetScale offers Auto-scaling, Database Branching and Query Insights that Neon lacks. Neon brings Autoscaling, Branching and Scale-to-Zero that PlanetScale does not have.

Team fit: PlanetScale is geared toward small teams teams, while Neon is aimed at any size teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Neon is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. PlanetScale is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: PlanetScale's biggest strengths are: git-like branching for safe schema changes. non-blocking schema migrations with zero downtime. Neon's biggest strengths are: scale-to-zero means no cost when database is idle. database branching for development and preview environments.

Watch out for: With PlanetScale, users commonly note that no free tier — minimum $39/month commitment. With Neon, the main complaint is that cold starts when scaling from zero can add latency.

Choose PlanetScale if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams running mysql at scale who need safe schema migrations
You specifically need Auto-scaling and Database Branching
You care about non-blocking schema migrations with zero downtime
Your team size fits the small teams profile PlanetScale is designed for

Choose Neon if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: developers who want serverless postgres with branching and scale-to-zero
You want to save on per-user costs — Neon is $20.00/user/mo cheaper
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Autoscaling and Branching
You care about database branching for development and preview environments