Comparison

PlanetScale vs PostgreSQL

No clear leader: PlanetScale (65.7) and PostgreSQL (61.3) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
PlanetScale66
PostgreSQL61
Score
vioscaleAI score
PlanetScale66 / 100medium · 70%
PostgreSQL61 / 100medium · 60%
Pricing
Free tier
PlanetScale✗
PostgreSQL✓
Model
PlanetScalecommercial
PostgreSQLopen_source
Price level
PlanetScalelow
PostgreSQLfree
Starting price
PlanetScale$5
PostgreSQL–
Transparent
PlanetScale✗
PostgreSQL–
Integrations
Count
PlanetScale3
PostgreSQL6
Security
Certifications
PostgreSQL–
Disclosure policy
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL✓
Gdpr
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL–
Hipaa
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL–
Pci
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL–
Scorecard
PlanetScale–
PostgreSQL6.1
Soc2
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL–
Reliability
Sla pct
PlanetScale99.99
PostgreSQL–
Status page
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL–
Adoption
Dependent repos
PlanetScale–
PostgreSQL0
Github stars
PlanetScale–
PostgreSQL22,285
Stackoverflow questions
PlanetScale–
PostgreSQL170,000
Activity
Commits last 30d
PlanetScale–
PostgreSQL100
Release
Cadence days
PlanetScale–
PostgreSQL90
License
Spdx
PlanetScale–
PostgreSQLPostgreSQL
Language
Primary
PlanetScale–
PostgreSQLC
Market
Content
Faq
PlanetScale7 items
PostgreSQL8 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for relational databases. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Core
SQL model
PlanetScaleFull SQL
PostgreSQLFull SQL
Transactions
ACID transactions
PlanetScale-
PostgreSQLFull
Highest isolation level
PlanetScale-
PostgreSQL-
Consistency
Consistency
PlanetScale-
PostgreSQL-
Scale
Horizontal scale
PlanetScaleSharded
PostgreSQLRead replicas
Replication
Replication
PlanetScale-
PostgreSQL-
Availability
Automatic failover / HA
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL✓
Deployment
Deployment
PlanetScaleManaged
PostgreSQLSelf-hosted
Serverless / scale-to-zero
PlanetScale-
PostgreSQL✗
Compatibility
Wire compatibility
PlanetScale-
PostgreSQL-
Extensibility
Extensions / plugins / UDFs
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL✓
Licensing
Licence class
PlanetScaleProprietary
PostgreSQLPermissive OSS
Data types
JSON / document support
PlanetScale-
PostgreSQL✓
Geo / spatial
PlanetScale-
PostgreSQLExtension

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

PlanetScale

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.

Independently observed

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is an open source relational database with over 35 years of active development. It supports transactions, user-defined functions, and a broad subset of SQL, widely used for data storage and retrieval in applications ranging from small projects to enterprise deployments.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

PlanetScale

from $5/moSubscription

From $5/month. Private connection traffic $0.01/GB.

  • PostgresFrom $5/month
    • High availability
    • Automatic failover across three availability zones
as of verify ↗

PostgreSQL

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL✗
macOS
PlanetScale✗
PostgreSQL✓
Windows
PlanetScale✗
PostgreSQL✓
Linux
PlanetScale✗
PostgreSQL✓
CLI
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL✗
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
PlanetScale✓
PostgreSQL✓
Self-hosted
PlanetScale✗
PostgreSQL✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

PlanetScale

7 total
  • Vantage
  • Netlify
  • Debezium
  • Cursor
  • Codex
  • Terraform
  • Prometheus
Independently observed

PostgreSQL

10 total
  • CloudNativePG
  • Kubernetes
  • Patroni
  • pgAdmin
  • pgVector
  • PostGIS
  • pgAudit
  • Spock
  • Cilium
  • Submariner
Independently observed
Still deciding?

PlanetScale or PostgreSQL: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.