PlanetScale vs Neon
Verdict
PlanetScale wins for MySQL scale and branching. Neon wins for Postgres compatibility and serverless cold start.
| Dimension | PlanetScale | Neon |
|---|---|---|
| Database | MySQL (Vitess) | PostgreSQL (serverless) |
| Branching | Industry-leading schema branching | Instant copy-on-write branches |
| Scale | ✓ Proven at massive scale (Vitess) | Auto-scaling compute |
| Free tier | No free tier ($39/mo start) | ✓ Free (500MB, 10 compute hours) |
| Cold start | ✓ None (always-on) | 200-500ms after idle |
| Best for | MySQL teams scaling fast | Postgres teams wanting serverless |