PlanetScale vs CockroachDB
Side-by-side — pricing, strengths, tradeoffs, and fit.
PlanetScale
MySQL-compatible serverless database that scales without limits
CockroachDB
The most resilient distributed SQL database
At a glance
Open Source
● Established·From $5/mo
Open SourceFree Tier
● Established·From Freemium
Overview
One-liner
One-liner
MySQL-compatible serverless database that scales without limits
One-liner
The most resilient distributed SQL database
Maturity
Maturity
EstablishedMaturity
EstablishedOpen source
Open source
✓ YesOpen source
✓ YesPricing
Free tier
Free tier
✕ NoneFree tier
✓ AvailableStarts at
Starts at
$5/mo
Starts at
Freemium
Model
Model
Usage-based
Model
Hybrid
Enterprise
Enterprise
✕ NoneEnterprise
✕ NoneBest for
✓ Best for
Growth-stage startups and scale-ups who need MySQL compatibility with horizontal scaling and zero-downtime schema changes
Enterprise teams running high-traffic applications that have outgrown single-node MySQL
Agency and consultant teams managing multiple production databases who need reliable branching workflows
✓ Best for
Applications requiring global distribution, high availability, and strong consistency with PostgreSQL compatibility
Not ideal for
✕ Not for
Hobby developers or solo developers on a tight budget since the free tier was removed
Teams requiring Postgres instead of MySQL
✕ Not for
Simple single-region apps or workloads where a standard Postgres instance is sufficient
Strengths
↑ Strengths
MySQL-compatible
Vitess-powered sharding
Non-blocking schema migrations
Database branching
↑ Strengths
Distributed SQL
PostgreSQL wire protocol
Auto-sharding
Multi-region
Weaknesses
↓ Weaknesses
—
↓ Weaknesses
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