Drizzle vs PlanetScale for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

Drizzle Overview

Drizzle ORM is a lightweight TypeScript query builder that mirrors SQL syntax. Define your schema in TypeScript, write queries that look like the SQL they produce, and get compile-time type checking on everything. The runtime is tiny, migrations are handled by drizzle-kit, and you bring your own database.

For solo developers, Drizzle is appealing because it does not try to do too much. It is a thin layer between your application code and your database. You get the ergonomics of an ORM with the transparency of raw SQL. When something goes wrong, you can read the generated query and understand exactly what happened.

Drizzle supports Postgres, MySQL, and SQLite. You choose where to host your database, and Drizzle adapts to whichever driver you use.

PlanetScale Overview

PlanetScale is a serverless MySQL platform built on Vitess, the same technology that powers YouTube's database infrastructure. It was designed for teams that need to scale MySQL without managing the complexity themselves. You get branching (like git branches for your database schema), non-blocking schema changes, and connection handling that works well in serverless environments.

For solo developers, PlanetScale used to be attractive because of its free tier. That is gone now. The entry price is $39 per month on the Scaler plan, which includes 10 GB storage and 1 billion row reads per month. That is not cheap for a solo project that is not generating revenue yet.

The branching workflow is the standout feature. You create a branch, apply schema changes, test them, then merge back to production with zero downtime. No locking, no maintenance windows. For a solo developer who deploys frequently, this is genuinely useful.

Head-to-Head Comparison

When to Pick Drizzle

Pick Drizzle when you want a type-safe ORM and you have already chosen your database provider. Maybe you are on Neon for Postgres, Turso for SQLite, or even PlanetScale for MySQL. Drizzle sits on top of whatever you pick and gives you type-checked queries.

It is also the right choice when budget matters. Drizzle is free and open source. You only pay for the database host, and there are many affordable options out there. Combine Drizzle with Neon's free tier or a $5 Postgres instance on Railway and you have a solid setup for zero to minimal cost.

Choose Drizzle if you want the flexibility to change database providers later without rewriting your ORM layer. Moving from one Postgres host to another requires changing a connection string, not your query code.

When to Pick PlanetScale

Pick PlanetScale when you specifically want MySQL and you value the branching workflow. If you make frequent schema changes and you are tired of writing migration scripts or worrying about locking tables during deployments, PlanetScale's branch-and-merge model is genuinely better than traditional migrations.

It also makes sense when you are building something that might need to scale horizontally. Vitess sharding is built into the platform. Most solo projects will never need it, but knowing the runway is there provides peace of mind.

Choose PlanetScale if you are already invested in the MySQL ecosystem and you want a managed platform where connection pooling, read replicas, and schema management are handled for you.

The Verdict

Drizzle and PlanetScale are not direct competitors. Drizzle is an ORM. PlanetScale is a database host. You can use them together, and many developers do, pairing Drizzle's MySQL driver with a PlanetScale database.

If the question is whether to use Drizzle with PlanetScale versus using PlanetScale's raw query interface, Drizzle wins easily for type safety and developer experience.

If the question is whether to use PlanetScale at all, that depends on your budget. At $39 per month with no free tier, PlanetScale is a hard sell for solo developers who are not generating revenue yet. You can get a managed Postgres database on Neon or Supabase for free and use Drizzle on top. PlanetScale only makes sense once you are committed to MySQL and willing to pay for the branching workflow and scalability features.

For most solo developers starting out, Drizzle with a free-tier Postgres provider is the more practical path. Add PlanetScale when your project earns enough to justify the cost and you specifically need what it offers.