PlanetScale vs Neon
Introduction
PlanetScale and Neon represent a new generation of database platforms built for modern development workflows. Both offer serverless MySQL (PlanetScale) and PostgreSQL (Neon) with features like branching, instant cloning, and scale-to-zero. They eliminate traditional database management while providing developer-friendly features that integrate with modern CI/CD and version control practices.
Database Technology
PlanetScale: Serverless MySQL
PlanetScale is built on MySQL-compatible Vitess, the same technology that powers YouTube's database infrastructure.
**Key characteristics:**
* MySQL-compatible (most MySQL tools and ORMs work)
* Vitess-based for horizontal scaling
* Strong consistency with distributed transactions
* VNode-based sharding for large datasets
-- PlanetScale: standard MySQL syntax
CREATE TABLE users (
id BIGINT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
email VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
name VARCHAR(100),
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
UNIQUE KEY idx_email (email)
);
-- PlanetScale-specific: no foreign key constraints
-- (Vitess does not enforce FKs across shards)
**Limitation:** No foreign key constraints (Vitess limitation). Joins work within the same shard but are limited across shards.
Neon: Serverless PostgreSQL
Neon is built on PostgreSQL with a custom storage engine that separates compute from storage.
**Key characteristics:**
* Full PostgreSQL compatibility (all PG features work)
* Bottomless storage with page-level tiering
* Instant branching using copy-on-write
* Autoscaling from 0.25 to 16 vCPU
-- Neon: full PostgreSQL with all features
CREATE TABLE users (
id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
email TEXT NOT NULL UNIQUE,
name TEXT,
created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);
CREATE TABLE posts (
id UUID PRIMARY KEY DEFAULT gen_random_uuid(),
author_id UUID REFERENCES users(id),
title TEXT NOT NULL,
body TEXT,
created_at TIMESTAMPTZ DEFAULT NOW()
);
-- Full PostgreSQL features work: JSONB, full-text search, GIS
CREATE INDEX idx_posts_search ON posts USING GIN(to_tsvector('english', title || ' ' || COALESCE(body, '')));
**Strengths:** Full PostgreSQL compatibility including foreign keys, JSONB, full-text search, PostGIS, and all PostgreSQL extensions.
Database Branching
Branching is the killer feature of both platforms, modeled after Git.
How It Works
# PlanetScale CLI
pscale branch create myapp add-billing-feature
pscale branch promote myapp add-billing-feature
# Neon CLI (neonctl)
neonctl branches create --parent myapp --name add-billing-feature
**PlanetScale branches:**
* Branches are full read-write copies of the data
* Schema changes are made on branches, then deployed via deploy requests
* Deploy requests show schema diff, handle migrations, and auto-resolve conflicts
**Neon branches:**
* Branches use copy-on-write at the page level — nearly instant and storage-efficient
* Logical replication between branches is supported
* Time-travel: connect to any point in time within the retention window (like `git checkout` for databases)
Serverless Capabilities
| Feature | PlanetScale | Neon |
|---------|-------------|------|
| Scale-to-zero | Yes (after inactivity) | Yes (after 5-60 min) |
| Cold start | ~1-2 seconds | ~1-3 seconds |
| Max storage | 500GB (scalable) | 200GB (scalable) |
| Max connections | 25-250 (plan dependent) | 100-500 (plan dependent) |
| Compute scaling | Vertical (plan based) | Auto (0.25-16 vCPU) |
| Regions | 50+ regions | 10+ regions |
Pricing
| Plan | PlanetScale | Neon |
|------|-------------|------|
| Free tier | 1GB storage, 100M row reads/month | 0.5GB storage, 100 compute hours |
| Paid starter | ~$39/month | ~$19/month |
| Pro | ~$129/month | ~$69/month |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom |
Neon is generally more affordable at lower tiers. PlanetScale's pricing scales with row reads, which can be unpredictable for high-traffic applications.
Developer Experience
**PlanetScale** offers:
* Web console with schema visualization
* `pscale` CLI with shell integration
* Deploy request workflow (like GitHub PRs)
* VSCode extension
* Connection pooling via PlanetScale Boost
**Neon** offers:
* Web console with SQL editor
* `neonctl` CLI
* Connection pooling via PgBouncer (built-in)
* Vercel, Netlify, and Cloudflare integration
* Drizzle Studio integration
Ecosystem Compatibility
**PlanetScale** works with MySQL-compatible ORMs:
* Prisma (MySQL adapter)
* Drizzle (MySQL adapter)
* TypeORM
* Knex
* Raw `mysql2` driver
**Neon** works with PostgreSQL-compatible ORMs:
* Prisma (PostgreSQL adapter)
* Drizzle (PostgreSQL adapter)
* TypeORM
* Kysely
* Raw `pg` driver
* Supabase SDK
When to Choose What
**Choose PlanetScale when:**
* Your team is more familiar with MySQL
* You want the deploy-request workflow for database schema changes
* You need horizontal read scaling with Vitess
* Your application uses MySQL-compatible tools
**Choose Neon when:**
* You want full PostgreSQL compatibility (foreign keys, extensions)
* You need PostgreSQL-specific features (JSONB, full-text search, PostGIS)
* You want more predictable pricing
* You value time-travel queries and instant branching
* You're deploying on Vercel or Edge Functions
Conclusion
PlanetScale and Neon both solve the same fundamental problem — making databases as developer-friendly as the rest of the modern toolchain — but they serve different database ecosystems. If MySQL is your database of choice, PlanetScale's Vitess-based architecture provides scalability with a familiar workflow. If PostgreSQL is your preference, Neon offers full PG compatibility with innovative branching and autoscaling features. In 2026, Neon's PostgreSQL-based approach has broader ecosystem support and more affordable pricing, making it the default choice for new projects.