Serverless MySQL database platform built on Vitess, with Git-like database branching.
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PlanetScale vs Supabase
Comparing PlanetScale and Supabase to help you pick the right Databases & Backend Frameworks for your needs.
| Feature | PlanetScale | Supabase |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Editorial rating | ★ 4.2 / 5 | ★ 4.4 / 5 |
| Starting price | $0/month | $0 |
| Community votes | 15 | 689 |
PlanetScale Pros & Cons
- Database branching workflow makes schema changes meaningfully safer than typical migration scripts run directly against production
- Built on Vitess, technology proven at YouTube's massive operational scale before being made available as a managed product
- Non-blocking schema changes mean migrations can be applied without locking tables and causing application downtime, a common pain point with traditional MySQL migrations
- Serverless architecture removes the operational burden of manually managing database server capacity and scaling
- Free Hobby tier provides genuine, usable functionality for smaller projects and prototyping without requiring payment
- MySQL-only, with no PostgreSQL support, unlike Supabase's or Neon's Postgres-based approach, which matters for teams with an existing Postgres-specific workflow or feature dependency
- Free Hobby tier storage limits (5GB) are modest and will be quickly outgrown by genuine production workloads
- Database branching workflow, while powerful, requires some adjustment for teams used to traditional migration script-based deployment processes
- Pricing at higher usage tiers can become a meaningful cost consideration for data-intensive applications relative to self-managed database alternatives
Supabase Pros & Cons
- Built on standard PostgreSQL, avoiding the vendor lock-in of proprietary NoSQL databases
- Fully open-source and self-hostable, not just a hosted-only product
- Auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs save significant backend boilerplate
- Built-in authentication, storage, and real-time subscriptions cover most app backend needs in one platform
- Generous free tier suitable for side projects and early-stage products
- Per-project pricing on Pro can get expensive for developers running many small projects
- Some advanced Postgres features require more SQL knowledge than a fully abstracted NoSQL service
- Real-time and edge function tooling is less mature than longer-established competitors
- Self-hosting requires meaningful DevOps capability to manage updates and scaling
- Dashboard and tooling occasionally lag behind API feature releases
Verdict: PlanetScale vs Supabase
PlanetScale and Supabase both serve the Databases & Backend Frameworks category well, but suit different priorities. Supabase carries the stronger editorial rating (4.4 / 5), Based on community engagement, Supabase is currently the more widely adopted choice (689 votes), but the better fit ultimately depends on your specific pricing, platform, and feature requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which is cheaper, PlanetScale or Supabase?
- PlanetScale and Supabase use a similar pricing model (both freemium), so the cheaper choice depends on which specific plan tier and feature set you need rather than the base pricing model.
- Is PlanetScale or Supabase rated higher?
- Supabase has the higher editorial rating at 4.4 out of 5, compared to PlanetScale's 4.2 out of 5. This is Kreemhunt's own staff rating, not a public user aggregate — review the pros and cons below for specifics that matter to your use case.
- Which platforms do PlanetScale and Supabase support?
- PlanetScale is available on Web. Supabase is available on Web. Both tools cover a similar range of platforms.
- Can I switch from PlanetScale to Supabase (or vice versa)?
- Most databases & backend frameworks tools, including PlanetScale and Supabase, support data export in standard formats, making migration possible though rarely fully automatic. Expect to manually verify that custom configurations, integrations, and historical data transfer correctly, and budget time for the team to adjust to workflow differences between the two products.
- Should I choose PlanetScale or Supabase?
- PlanetScale and Supabase both serve the Databases & Backend Frameworks category well, but suit different priorities. Supabase carries the stronger editorial rating (4.4 / 5), Based on community engagement, Supabase is currently the more widely adopted choice (689 votes), but the better fit ultimately depends on your specific pricing, platform, and feature requirements.