PlanetScale vs Neon vs Supabase Database (2026)
Three serverless databases for modern applications. PlanetScale: MySQL with horizontal scaling. Neon: PostgreSQL with branching. Supabase: PostgreSQL with a full backend platform. Here's how to choose.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | PlanetScale | Neon | Supabase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | MySQL (Vitess) | PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL |
| Branching | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Scale to zero | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Horizontal scaling | ✅ (Vitess sharding) | ❌ | ❌ |
| Auth | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Built-in |
| Storage | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Built-in |
| Real-time | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Built-in |
| Edge functions | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ Built-in |
| Edge driver | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Free tier | 5GB, 1B row reads | 0.5GB, 5 compute hrs | 500MB, 50K requests |
| Self-hostable | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
PlanetScale: MySQL at Scale
Strengths
Vitess under the hood. PlanetScale runs on Vitess — the same technology that powers YouTube's databases. Horizontal sharding, online schema changes, and MySQL compatibility.
Non-blocking schema changes. Change your database schema without locking tables or causing downtime. PlanetScale applies schema changes gradually in the background.
Database branching. Create branches for development, testing, and CI. Each branch has its own schema. Merge schema changes through deploy requests (like pull requests for your database).
Horizontal scaling. Shard data across multiple nodes transparently. Most databases scale vertically (bigger server). PlanetScale scales horizontally (more servers).
Generous free tier. 5GB storage, 1 billion row reads/month, 10 million row writes/month. More reads than most projects need.
Weaknesses
- MySQL, not PostgreSQL. If your team prefers PostgreSQL (increasingly the default), PlanetScale isn't the fit.
- No foreign keys (enforced). Vitess doesn't support foreign key constraints. Referential integrity is application-side. Controversial but by design.
- No full-text search. Need external search (Meilisearch, Algolia) for text search.
- Not a full platform. Database only. No auth, storage, or real-time. Bring your own for everything else.
Pricing
| Plan | Storage | Reads | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | 5GB | 1B rows/mo | $0 |
| Scaler | 10GB | 100B rows/mo | $29/mo |
| Scaler Pro | 100GB | Custom | $99/mo+ |
Best For
High-read workloads. Applications needing horizontal scaling. MySQL shops. Projects where non-blocking schema changes are critical.
Neon: Serverless PostgreSQL
Strengths
PostgreSQL with branching. Full PostgreSQL with instant database branching for development, testing, and preview environments. Branches are copy-on-write — even large databases branch in milliseconds.
Scale to zero. Database sleeps when idle, wakes in ~500ms. Development and staging databases cost nothing when not in use.
Serverless driver. Access PostgreSQL over HTTP from edge functions:
import { neon } from '@neondatabase/serverless';
const sql = neon(process.env.DATABASE_URL);
const users = await sql`SELECT * FROM users WHERE active = true`;
Autoscaling. Compute scales automatically based on query load. No manual instance resizing.
Full PostgreSQL. Extensions (pgvector, PostGIS), JSON, full-text search, views, stored procedures — everything PostgreSQL offers.
Weaknesses
- Cold starts. ~500ms for the first query after idle. Set minimum compute to prevent.
- Compute limits. Max 8 vCPU per endpoint.
- Database only. No auth, storage, or real-time. Pair with Clerk, Uploadthing, etc.
- Younger platform. Less track record than PlanetScale or Supabase.
Pricing
| Plan | Storage | Compute | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0.5GB | 5 hrs/mo | $0 |
| Launch | 10GB | 300 hrs/mo | $19/mo |
| Scale | 50GB | 750 hrs/mo | $69/mo |
Best For
Serverless PostgreSQL applications. Projects needing database branching. Edge-deployed apps. Development environments (scale-to-zero savings).
Supabase: The Full Backend
Strengths
Complete platform. Database + Auth + Storage + Real-time + Edge Functions. One platform replaces 5 services.
PostgreSQL with superpowers. Full PostgreSQL + Row Level Security + real-time subscriptions + PostgREST (auto-generated REST API from your schema).
Auth built-in. Email/password, social login, magic links, phone auth. Pre-built UI components. No separate auth service needed.
Storage built-in. File storage with access control via RLS policies. Image transformations. CDN delivery.
Open source. Self-host the entire Supabase stack. No vendor lock-in for the database layer.
Dashboard. Visual table editor, SQL editor, auth management, storage browser — manage everything from the browser.
Weaknesses
- No branching. No database branching for development. Use separate projects or pg_dump for environment isolation.
- No scale to zero. Database runs 24/7 on paid plans. Free tier pauses after 1 week of inactivity.
- Not serverless pricing. Fixed plan pricing, not usage-based. You pay whether you use it or not.
- Real-time limitations. Connection limits on real-time subscriptions. Not as robust as dedicated real-time platforms for high-scale use.
- Jack of all trades. Each individual feature is good but not best-in-class. Auth < Clerk. Database < Neon. Real-time < Convex.
Pricing
| Plan | Database | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 500MB | $0 |
| Pro | 8GB | $25/mo |
| Team | 100GB | $599/mo |
Best For
Full-stack applications wanting one platform. Rapid prototyping. Teams wanting to avoid managing multiple services. Open-source advocates.
Decision Matrix
| If You Need... | Choose |
|---|---|
| MySQL | PlanetScale |
| PostgreSQL (pure) | Neon |
| Full backend platform | Supabase |
| Database branching | PlanetScale or Neon |
| Scale to zero | PlanetScale or Neon |
| Horizontal scaling | PlanetScale |
| Built-in auth | Supabase |
| Real-time | Supabase |
| Edge access | All three |
| Self-hosting | Supabase |
| Cheapest dev environment | Neon (scale to zero) |
| Open source | Supabase |
FAQ
Which is best for a SaaS?
Supabase if you want one platform (database + auth + storage). Neon if you want best-in-class PostgreSQL and will use separate services for auth/storage. PlanetScale if you need MySQL or horizontal scaling.
Can I migrate between them?
PlanetScale → Neon/Supabase: MySQL to PostgreSQL migration (moderate effort, schema differences). Neon ↔ Supabase: Both PostgreSQL, pg_dump/restore works. Relatively easy.
Which has the best free tier?
PlanetScale: most reads (1B/month). Neon: most flexible (scale-to-zero). Supabase: most features (auth + storage + DB included).
Do I need branching?
For teams: yes, it transforms the development workflow. For solo developers: nice but not essential. Database branching is most valuable when multiple developers need isolated database environments.
Bottom Line
PlanetScale for MySQL workloads needing horizontal scaling. Non-blocking schema changes and Vitess's proven infrastructure.
Neon for serverless PostgreSQL with branching. Best for development workflows and edge-deployed applications.
Supabase for a complete backend platform. One service for database, auth, storage, and real-time. The fastest path from zero to full-stack.