# MariaDB vs PlanetScale

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** PlanetScale

| Attribute | MariaDB | PlanetScale |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 49.9 (42% (low)) | 65.7 (70% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 8,358 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A widely deployed open source database that evolved from MySQL while maintaining compatibility, offering advanced SQL capabilities, native vector search, pluggable storage engines, and multi-primary clustering for production workloads. It is indexed under Relational Databases.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"What is MariaDB?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"MariaDB is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the GPL-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"Is MariaDB free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"MariaDB supports Windows and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"What platforms does MariaDB support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. MariaDB can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"Can MariaDB be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 14 integrations for MariaDB, including MariaDB Connector/C, MariaDB Connector/Node.js, MariaDB Connector/ODBC, MariaDB Connector/J, MariaDB Connector/Python, MariaDB Connector/R2DBC, MySqlConnector for ADO.NET and ADO.NET Driver for MySQL, plus 6 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"What does MariaDB integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for MariaDB. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as MariaDB not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://mariadb.org/privacy-policy","question":"What security certifications does MariaDB have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Yes. MariaDB is published under the GPL-2.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server","question":"Is MariaDB open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"PlanetScale is a database platform providing MySQL and PostgreSQL databases with horizontal scaling capabilities powered by Vitess clustering technology. It is indexed under Relational Databases.","source":"https://planetscale.com","question":"What is PlanetScale?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"PlanetScale is a paid product; published pricing starts at $5 per month. There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://planetscale.com/blog/amazon-aurora-pricing-the-many-surprising-costs-of-running-an-aurora-database","question":"How much does PlanetScale cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"PlanetScale supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://planetscale.com/blog/amazon-aurora-pricing-the-many-surprising-costs-of-running-an-aurora-database","question":"What platforms does PlanetScale support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for PlanetScale, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://planetscale.com/blog/amazon-aurora-pricing-the-many-surprising-costs-of-running-an-aurora-database","question":"Can PlanetScale be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for PlanetScale, including Vantage, Netlify, Debezium, Cursor and Codex. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://planetscale.com","question":"What does PlanetScale integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR for PlanetScale. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as PlanetScale not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://planetscale.com/blog/amazon-aurora-pricing-the-many-surprising-costs-of-running-an-aurora-database","question":"What security certifications does PlanetScale have?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"PlanetScale is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://planetscale.com/blog/amazon-aurora-pricing-the-many-surprising-costs-of-running-an-aurora-database","question":"Where is PlanetScale available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A widely deployed open source database that evolved from MySQL while maintaining compatibility, offering advanced SQL capabilities, native vector search, pluggable storage engines, and multi-primary clustering for production workloads. | PlanetScale provides managed cloud database services optimized for performance and reliability. It offers sharded versions of MySQL and PostgreSQL that support horizontal scaling, zero-downtime operations including schema changes, automatic failover, and connection pooling. |
| features.capabilities | `{"sql_model":"full_sql","consistency":"tunable","geo_spatial":"native","replication":"sync","extensibility":true,"json_document":true,"license_class":"copyleft","horizontal_scale":"distributed_native","acid_transactions":"full","automatic_failover":true,"wire_compatibility":"mysql"}` | `{"sql_model":"full_sql","data_model":"relational","deployment":"managed","sql_support":true,"extensibility":true,"license_class":"proprietary","managed_cloud":true,"full_text_search":true,"horizontal_scale":"sharded","automatic_failover":true,"horizontal_scaling":true}` |
| integrations.count | 17 | 3 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"MariaDB Connector/C"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/Node.js"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/ODBC"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/J"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/Python"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/R2DBC"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/C++"},{"name":"MySqlConnector for ADO.NET"},{"name":"ADO.NET Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"ODBC Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"JDBC Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"Node.js Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"C++ Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"C Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"C API for MySQL"},{"name":"PyMySQL"},{"name":"mysql-python"}]` | `[{"name":"Vantage"},{"name":"Netlify","native":true,"category":"deployment","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Debezium","native":false,"category":"data_integration","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Cursor","native":true,"category":"development_tools","direction":"outbound"},{"name":"Codex","native":true},{"name":"Terraform","native":true,"category":"infrastructure","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Prometheus","native":true,"category":"monitoring","direction":"outbound"}]` |
| language.primary | C++ | - |
| license.spdx | GPL-2.0 | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://mariadb.org","retrievedAt":"2026-09-10T21:05:20.008Z"}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Postgres","summary":"From $5/month","features":["High availability","Automatic failover across three availability zones"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Fully managed PostgreSQL cluster","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"Private connection traffic (PrivateLink/PSC)","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.01,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $5/month. Private connection traffic $0.01/GB.","currency":"USD","sourceUrl":"https://planetscale.com/changelog/updated-pricing-for-postgres-private-traffic","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T12:36:46.926Z","startingPrice":{"amount":5,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | no |
| pricing.model | open_source | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":5,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-13.0.2","date":"2026-09-15T15:55:36Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-13.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-13.1.1","date":"2026-09-15T15:56:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"mariadb-13.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-12.3.3","date":"2026-08-24T22:31:19Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-12.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.8.9","date":"2026-08-24T22:30:45Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.8.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.4.13","date":"2026-08-24T22:30:23Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.4.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.11.19","date":"2026-08-24T22:27:58Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.11.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.6.28","date":"2026-08-13T18:00:31Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.6.28"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-13.0.1","date":"2026-05-29T19:32:21Z","type":"prerelease","version":"mariadb-13.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-12.3.2","date":"2026-05-28T19:32:07Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-12.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.8.8","date":"2026-05-27T18:25:31Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.8.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.4.12","date":"2026-05-27T18:24:55Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.4.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.6.27","date":"2026-05-27T18:23:42Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.6.27"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.11.18","date":"2026-05-27T18:24:20Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.11.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.8.7b","date":"2026-05-18T16:20:36Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.8.7b"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.4.11b","date":"2026-05-18T16:19:48Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.4.11b"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.6.26","date":"2026-05-18T16:17:25Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.6.26"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.11.17","date":"2026-05-18T16:18:44Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.11.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-12.2.2","date":"2026-02-12T19:39:07Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-12.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-12.3.1","date":"2026-02-12T19:39:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"mariadb-12.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.8.6","date":"2026-02-04T22:03:31Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.8.6"}]` | - |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.99 |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.certifications | - | `[{"name":"PCI Data Security Standard","level":"Level 1 Service Provider","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 4.7 | - |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=openinfradev%2Fmariadb&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (Relational Databases)

| Capability | MariaDB | PlanetScale |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| SQL model | Full SQL | Full SQL |
| **Transactions** |  |  |
| ACID transactions | Full | - |
| Highest isolation level | - | - |
| **Consistency** |  |  |
| Consistency | Tunable | - |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Horizontal scale | Natively distributed | Sharded |
| **Replication** |  |  |
| Replication | Sync | - |
| **Availability** |  |  |
| Automatic failover / HA | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | - | Managed |
| Serverless / scale-to-zero | - | - |
| **Compatibility** |  |  |
| Wire compatibility | MySQL protocol | - |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Extensions / plugins / UDFs | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Copyleft | Proprietary |
| **Data types** |  |  |
| JSON / document support | ✓ | - |
| Geo / spatial | Native | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:10:38.155Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*
