Neon vs PlanetScale(2026)
Neon is better for teams that need scale-to-zero (no idle cost). PlanetScale is the stronger choice if non-blocking schema changes. Neon is freemium (from $19/month) and PlanetScale is paid (from $39/month).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
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Neon
Neon is a serverless PostgreSQL database with branching, autoscaling, and a generous free tier.
Starting at $19/month
Visit NeonPlanetScale
PlanetScale is a MySQL-compatible serverless database with branching workflows for schema changes.
Starting at $39/month
Visit PlanetScaleHow Do Neon and PlanetScale Compare on Features?
| Feature | Neon | PlanetScale |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | paid |
| Starting price | $19/month | $39/month |
| Serverless PostgreSQL | ✓ | — |
| Database branching | ✓ | ✓ |
| Autoscaling | ✓ | — |
| Connection pooling | ✓ | — |
| Point-in-time restore | ✓ | — |
| MySQL-compatible | — | ✓ |
| Non-blocking schema changes | — | ✓ |
| Query insights | — | ✓ |
| Replication | — | ✓ |
Neon Pros and Cons vs PlanetScale
N
Neon
+Scale-to-zero (no idle cost)
+Database branching for dev/test
+Fast cold starts
+Great DX
−No non-Postgres support
−Relatively new
−Connection limits on free tier
P
PlanetScale
+Non-blocking schema changes
+MySQL compatibility
+Excellent performance
−Removed free tier in 2024
−No foreign key constraints
−MySQL only
Should You Use Neon or PlanetScale?
Choose Neon if…
- •Scale-to-zero (no idle cost)
- •Database branching for dev/test
- •Fast cold starts
Choose PlanetScale if…
- •Non-blocking schema changes
- •MySQL compatibility
- •Excellent performance