PlanetScale vs Amazon RDS for MySQL: pricing
Managed MySQL · snapshot captured June 2026
On entry cost, PlanetScale has the lower entry cost (~$39/mo vs ~$52/mo). PlanetScale uses fixed monthly cluster tiers (vitess) and Amazon RDS for MySQL uses instance-hour + separate storage. Their representative entry tiers are ~$39/mo (PS-10 (smallest realistic production cluster)) and ~$52/mo (db.t3.medium (2 vCPU / 4 GiB)). For scale, at the top tier we list, PlanetScale ($50/mo) is below Amazon RDS for MySQL ($125/mo). Prices are a June-2026 snapshot; verify on the linked vendor pricing page before relying on them.
Data as of June 2026.
PlanetScale vs Amazon RDS for MySQL side by side
| Factor | PlanetScale | Amazon RDS for MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | MySQL | MySQL |
| Vendor | PlanetScale | Amazon Web Services |
| Pricing model | Fixed monthly cluster tiers (Vitess) | Instance-hour + separate storage |
| Representative tier | PS-10 (smallest realistic production cluster) | db.t3.medium (2 vCPU / 4 GiB) |
| Est. entry / month | ~$39/mo | ~$52/mo |
| Free tier? | No | Yes |
| Free tier detail | None. PlanetScale removed its free Hobby tier in April 2024 and has not reinstated it. | 12-month AWS Free Tier: 750 hours/month of db.t3.micro Single-AZ + 20 GB storage for new accounts. |
| Storage / extras | Storage included on Metal NVMe tiers; metered on EBS-backed tiers. | General Purpose gp3 SSD storage billed separately at about $0.115/GB-month; backups and data transfer extra. |
| Region note | US regions; MySQL delivered via Vitess clusters (PS-* and Metal tiers). | US East (N. Virginia), us-east-1, on-demand Single-AZ. |
Sources: PlanetScale pricing · Amazon Web Services pricing.
Cheaper for small vs cheaper for scale
Small / starting out: Amazon RDS for MySQL wins — it has a free tier. On a flat entry tier, PlanetScale has the lower entry cost (~$39/mo vs ~$52/mo).
At scale: at the top tier we list, PlanetScale ($50/mo) is below Amazon RDS for MySQL ($125/mo). Remember that PlanetScale is provisioned while Amazon RDS for MySQL is provisioned, which flips the answer depending on whether your traffic is steady or spiky.
Verdict
On entry cost alone, PlanetScale has the lower entry cost (~$39/mo vs ~$52/mo). But price is only part of the story: PlanetScale (vitess-based horizontal sharding and non-blocking schema changes) versus Amazon RDS for MySQL (deep aws integration (iam, vpc, cloudwatch, read replicas)). Read each full breakdown — PlanetScale and Amazon RDS for MySQL — and model your real workload in the estimator.
Frequently asked questions
Is PlanetScale or Amazon RDS for MySQL cheaper?
On entry cost, PlanetScale has the lower entry cost (~$39/mo vs ~$52/mo). And at the top tier we list, PlanetScale ($50/mo) is below Amazon RDS for MySQL ($125/mo). The right answer depends on your workload size and traffic pattern — PlanetScale uses fixed monthly cluster tiers (vitess) and Amazon RDS for MySQL uses instance-hour + separate storage. snapshot captured June 2026.
PlanetScale vs Amazon RDS for MySQL: which for a small project?
For a small project, lean to whichever has a usable free tier and the lower entry price. PlanetScale has no real free tier. Amazon RDS for MySQL: 12-month AWS Free Tier: 750 hours/month of db.t3.micro Single-AZ + 20 GB storage for new accounts.
PlanetScale vs Amazon RDS for MySQL: which scales better on cost?
At scale, at the top tier we list, PlanetScale ($50/mo) is below Amazon RDS for MySQL ($125/mo). Usage-based offerings (serverless) can be cheaper for spiky or low-duty workloads but more expensive for steady high throughput; provisioned/instance pricing is the opposite. Model your real traffic before deciding.
What is the pricing model for PlanetScale and Amazon RDS for MySQL?
PlanetScale: Fixed monthly cluster tiers (Vitess). Amazon RDS for MySQL: Instance-hour + separate storage. Prices are a June-2026 snapshot; verify on the linked vendor pricing page before relying on them.
More comparisons
Last updated: 2026-06-20