Consider it for
Teams choosing managed Postgres or a specific sharded database architecture.
Databases · Written evaluation
PlanetScale
Managed database options spanning Postgres and horizontally sharded architectures.
Plan at a glance
Plans & sources ↓View recorded access & costs
Postgres single node · From $5/month for single-node Postgres · Not the high-availability or sharded architecture price. Development/low-traffic single-node Postgres. Official source ↗
Limits to check
The $5 starting price is single-node Postgres, not a high-availability or Vitess cluster quote. Resource configuration and add-ons change the bill.
Official sources read 9 October 2026. The evaluation below is editorial judgement based on documentation; no hands-on product test was performed.
Research scope & testing evidence
Our evaluation
PlanetScale deserves a deliberate engine and topology decision before any price comparison. The current offering includes ordinary Postgres as well as sharded systems, so the old shorthand of a single MySQL product is incomplete. A small application may reasonably evaluate the single-node Postgres starting point, while a production requirement for replicas or horizontal sharding is a different architecture and bill. I would identify the actual availability target, migration path and query workload before selecting a cluster. A low starting price cannot stand in for a high-availability estimate. The platform is more compelling when managed operations or scaling requirements solve a specific engineering problem; choosing sophisticated sharding without that need adds concepts and operational decisions that a simple application may never benefit from.
Fit and limits
Fit and limits
Check before committing
The $5 starting price is single-node Postgres, not a high-availability or Vitess cluster quote. Resource configuration and add-ons change the bill.
What the documentation confirms
What the documentation confirms
- Current offerings distinguish ordinary Postgres, sharded Postgres/Neki and MySQL-compatible Vitess.
- Single-node Postgres starts at $5/month; high-availability topology is different.
- Compute, topology, storage, network and add-ons affect resource-based pricing.
Selected official documents read 9 October 2026. Access can depend on plan, region and account.
Price and billing scope
| Plan or charge | Observed price | Billing, allowance and limits |
|---|---|---|
| Postgres single node | From $5/month for single-node Postgres | Not the high-availability or sharded architecture price. Development/low-traffic single-node Postgres. Official source ↗ |
| Postgres Metal | From $50/month for Postgres Metal | Starting configuration; selected resources determine the total. Postgres with local NVMe storage. Official source ↗ |
| HA, Neki and Vitess configurations | Use the cluster/resource calculator | No universal amount; high availability uses a primary plus replicas. Topology, compute, storage, backup/network and add-ons govern pricing. Official source ↗ |
These are selected published charges, not a complete account bill. Check eligibility, tax, add-ons and the price shown for your account before paying.
Recorded editorial criteria
Recorded editorial criteria
These are the previously recorded editorial opinions used in the directory. They have no individually recorded assessment date and were not rescored during this documentation refresh. They are not product-test results.
| Functionality | 9/10 |
|---|---|
| Pricing value | 4/10 |
| Ease of use | 8/10 |
| Reliability | 8/10 |
| Founder fit | 4/10 |
Try one complete task
Choose the required database engine, import a sanitized sample, run representative queries and a schema migration, then quote the topology that meets your availability and backup requirements.
Create a trial worksheet →Compare requirements
Edited by Clinton Feyisitan · Evidence policy · Suggest a correction