Neon vs PlanetScale (2026)
Serverless Postgres or managed MySQL? Chrome-verified pricing for Neon vs PlanetScale, free tier differences, and which database to pick in 2026.
| Criteria | Neon | PlanetScale |
|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | N/A/10 | N/A/10 |
| Free Tier | 0.5 GB per project (100 projects) | None (removed April 2024) |
| Paid Starts At | ~$15/month (usage-based) | $39/month |
| Best For | Serverless Postgres + branching + auth | MySQL with zero-downtime schema changes |
| Biggest Gotcha | 350ms cold starts on free tier | No free tier, MySQL only |
| DX Rating | 8/10 | 7/10 |
TL;DR
Choose Neon if you want PostgreSQL with a free tier, serverless scaling, branching, and built-in auth. Choose PlanetScale only if you specifically need MySQL with zero-downtime schema changes and horizontal sharding.
Detailed comparison
| Factor | Neon | PlanetScale |
|---|---|---|
| Database engine | PostgreSQL | MySQL (Vitess) |
| Free tier | Yes (0.5 GB, 100 CU-hrs/month) | No (removed April 2024) |
| Entry price | ~$15/month (Launch, usage-based) | $39/month (Scaler, fixed) |
| Database branching | Yes | Yes |
| Zero-downtime schema changes | Standard Postgres migrations | Built-in (killer feature) |
| Foreign keys | Full support | Limited (not on sharded tables) |
| Connection pooling | Built-in (pgBouncer, up to 10K) | Built-in |
| Serverless/edge driver | Yes (works on Cloudflare Workers) | Yes |
| Built-in auth | Yes (Neon Auth, 60K MAU free) | No |
| Vendor status | Acquired by Databricks | Startup, $105M raised, business model uncertainty |
| Compliance | SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, ISO 27001 | SOC 2, HIPAA |
When to choose Neon
- You want PostgreSQL (the default choice for most new projects)
- You need a free tier for development and prototyping
- You want built-in connection pooling, HA, and auth included on every plan
- You’re deploying on edge/serverless runtimes
- You want usage-based pricing that starts near $0
When to choose PlanetScale
- You specifically need MySQL compatibility
- You need zero-downtime schema changes as a first-class feature
- You need horizontal sharding (Vitess-powered)
- You’re migrating an existing MySQL application
Get this comparison in your terminal: npx auxiliar · In Claude Code: claude mcp add auxiliar -- npx auxiliar-mcp