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PlanetScale pros and cons

Vendor: PlanetScale
4.2 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

PlanetScale improves productivity and saves costs significantly.
It provides ease of access and control over database changes using local terminal commands.
The ability to lock database changes prevents developers from making disruptive modifications.
Branching features enhance the developer experience by allowing changes to be managed in separate branches.
Deploying changes using various strategies improves overall project management and organization.

CONS

Users noted the removal of the free tier, which limits accessibility for startups and hobby developers.
Concerns were raised regarding performance lag due to the distance between the database and servers.
PlanetScale does not support running analytical queries, which was a drawback for some users.
Initial deployment issues led users to seek solutions through forums.
Problems were encountered when integrating PlanetScale with Firebase and social login authentication systems like Next.js and NextAuth.js.
 

PlanetScale Pros review quotes

Shrikant S - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at RanceLab
Jun 4, 2026
PlanetScale positively impacts my organization by greatly improving productivity and saving significant costs.
Maiko Gabriel Kinzel Engelke - PeerSpot reviewer
Full Stack Developer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
May 28, 2026
In my opinion, one of the best features PlanetScale offers is the ability to lock all changes to the database, so no particular developer can do changes that could break things for others.
Neeraj Sameer Allu - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder at Tuft
Jul 11, 2024
The branching feature is also good for developer experience.
Find out what your peers are saying about PlanetScale, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Citus Data and others in Relational Databases Tools. Updated: May 2026.
900,051 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Arpita Bahedia - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at Bit & Binary
Feb 12, 2025
One feature I appreciate about PlanetScale is its ability to handle migrations and commands without the need to run them manually in the database.
AS
Evelyn Partners at DTS Executive - EC
Jul 29, 2024
I like the solution's developer experience. When you deploy changes to the database in the portal, you can use different deployment strategies and see how things work. You can put changes into different branches, like deployment and staging. This is built into the product, allowing you to navigate changes through different branches.
Janis Karasa - PeerSpot reviewer
Freelance Web Developer at Self Employed
Jul 24, 2024
The database is accessible 24/7, ensuring my project runs smoothly without interruptions.
Himash Careem - PeerSpot reviewer
Intermediate Software Engineer at Xelleron Pty
Jul 25, 2024
The solution is beginner-friendly. Like any new platform, it can be a bit confusing at first. But after spending about an hour with it, you can get a clear idea of what everything is for. It's not very confusing; I think they've improved it recently.
Sai Kaustubh - PeerSpot reviewer
Member of Technical Staff - 2 at Aquera Labs
Jul 31, 2024
I did not face any downtime when using the product.
 

PlanetScale Cons review quotes

Shrikant S - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at RanceLab
Jun 4, 2026
Regarding needed improvements, I wish PlanetScale would have a free tier so that startups could try it and then opt in for a paid feature.
Maiko Gabriel Kinzel Engelke - PeerSpot reviewer
Full Stack Developer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
May 28, 2026
Recently we started noticing that because of the distance between the database and the server and our particular field, there may be some lagging and that may not be acceptable.
Neeraj Sameer Allu - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder at Tuft
Jul 11, 2024
The main thing I didn't like about PlanetScale was that we couldn't run analytical queries on it.
Find out what your peers are saying about PlanetScale, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Citus Data and others in Relational Databases Tools. Updated: May 2026.
900,051 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Arpita Bahedia - PeerSpot reviewer
Software Engineer at Bit & Binary
Feb 12, 2025
I would like PlanetScale to have a feature where the database can be accessed in the cloud with a link, allowing for a more user-friendly interface compared to the terminal.
AS
Evelyn Partners at DTS Executive - EC
Jul 29, 2024
I used PlanetScale for hobby projects, so my perspective differs from someone using it commercially. Unfortunately, they've removed the free tier in recent months and pivoted to a business-to-business model. This is sad for hobby developers like me because it's a great product, but I understand they have costs to cover.
Janis Karasa - PeerSpot reviewer
Freelance Web Developer at Self Employed
Jul 24, 2024
We encountered some initial issues during the product deployment, which required me to search for solutions on forums.
Himash Careem - PeerSpot reviewer
Intermediate Software Engineer at Xelleron Pty
Jul 25, 2024
When I tried to integrate the solution with Firebase for authentication, I faced some interruptions. Also, when using it with Next.js and NextAuth.js for Google and social logins, I had some troubles.
Sai Kaustubh - PeerSpot reviewer
Member of Technical Staff - 2 at Aquera Labs
Jul 31, 2024
I am not sure, but I think recently, the tool removed the free version.