Does PlanetScale have a free tier?

No — PlanetScale has no free tier.

PlanetScale

A managed MySQL platform built on Vitess for horizontal sharding and non-blocking schema changes, aimed at high-scale production workloads (also offers Postgres).

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PlanetScale is a managed database platform built around Vitess, the MySQL scaling and sharding system originally developed at YouTube, and it added a managed Postgres offering that reached general availability in 2025. Its defining feature is a Git-like branching workflow: schema changes are made on isolated branches and merged through deploy requests that apply online without locking tables. Databases can run on locally-attached NVMe SSDs (PlanetScale Metal) for high, predictable I/O performance.

Key features

Database branching with deploy requests for online, non-blocking schema changes
Managed MySQL (via Vitess) and managed Postgres engines
Horizontal sharding through Vitess for large-scale MySQL workloads
PlanetScale Metal: locally-attached NVMe SSD storage with very high I/O throughput
Connection pooling and automated failover across availability zones for high availability
Read replicas, multi-region read-only regions, and zero-downtime database imports

Specs

Category	Managed database
Engine	MySQL (Vitess) / PostgreSQL
Pricing model	tiered
Free tier	No
Regions	multi-region
Self-hostable	No
Open source	No

Last reviewed 2026-07-16 — see our methodology. Specs, pricing and free tiers change often, so confirm current details on the provider before deciding.

Pros & cons

Our editorial assessment — not vendor-stated facts.

Pros

Branch-and-deploy-request workflow makes schema migrations reviewable, reversible, and safe to apply online
Proven horizontal scalability through Vitess, the system used to run some of the largest MySQL deployments
Strong, consistent I/O performance from NVMe-backed Metal instances
Supports both MySQL and Postgres, so teams aren't locked to a single engine

Cons

No free tier: the free Hobby plan was removed in April 2024 and has not returned, though a low-cost paid single-node option was introduced in late 2025
Metered storage, egress, and backup charges layered on top of per-cluster compute make total cost harder to predict
Proprietary proxy, branching, and operator layers create some degree of vendor lock-in
The Postgres engine is newer and less battle-tested than the long-established Vitess/MySQL product

Pricing

Usage-based and priced per cluster. You choose a compute SKU as either a single-node (non-HA) or 3-node high-availability cluster, then pay metered charges for storage, egress, and backups on top (Metal SKUs bundle a fixed storage allotment). There is no free tier, but single-node paid databases start at a low monthly minimum.

Who should use PlanetScale?

Teams that want a production-grade, scalable MySQL or Postgres database and value a safe, branch-based schema-change workflow, especially those anticipating high growth or eventual horizontal sharding. Less suited to those who specifically need a permanently free option, since there is no free tier.

Frequently asked questions

Does PlanetScale have a free tier?: No — PlanetScale has no free tier.
How much does PlanetScale cost?: Usage-based and priced per cluster. You choose a compute SKU as either a single-node (non-HA) or 3-node high-availability cluster, then pay metered charges for storage, egress, and backups on top (Metal SKUs bundle a fixed storage allotment). There is no free tier, but single-node paid databases start at a low monthly minimum.
Who should use PlanetScale?: Teams that want a production-grade, scalable MySQL or Postgres database and value a safe, branch-based schema-change workflow, especially those anticipating high growth or eventual horizontal sharding. Less suited to those who specifically need a permanently free option, since there is no free tier.