PostgreSQL vs PlanetScale for Solo Developers

Quick Comparison

PostgreSQL Overview

PostgreSQL is the gold standard for open-source relational databases. You get JSONB support, full-text search, array columns, CTEs, window functions, materialized views, and an extension ecosystem that turns it into a Swiss Army knife. Every serious backend framework defaults to Postgres for good reason.

Managed Postgres options are everywhere. Supabase gives you a free database with an API layer. Neon offers serverless Postgres that scales to zero. Railway and Render include one-click setup. You are never locked into a single provider, and the open-source nature means your skills transfer everywhere.

For a solo developer, Postgres handles everything from a hobby project to a production SaaS without switching databases. The investment in learning it pays dividends across every project you build.

PlanetScale Overview

PlanetScale is a serverless MySQL platform built on Vitess, the same technology that scaled YouTube's database. Its headline feature is database branching, similar to git branches, that lets you test schema changes in isolation before merging them into production. Schema changes apply with zero downtime and no table locking.

PlanetScale used to have a generous free tier that made it popular with solo developers. That changed in early 2024 when they removed the free tier entirely. The cheapest plan is now $39/mo (Scaler), which is a significant cost for a solo developer who has free Postgres options available.

The developer experience is genuinely good. The dashboard is clean, branching workflows are intuitive, and the CLI tools work well. If you are committed to MySQL and need zero-downtime migrations, PlanetScale delivers on its promises.

Key Differences

Cost is the elephant in the room. PostgreSQL is free. Supabase offers free managed Postgres. Neon offers free serverless Postgres. PlanetScale starts at $39/mo with no free option. For a solo developer running side projects or validating ideas, $39/mo per database adds up quickly. This alone makes the decision clear for many developers.

PostgreSQL vs. MySQL under the hood. PlanetScale runs MySQL, not Postgres. This means you lose Postgres features like JSONB, full-text search, array types, and the rich extension ecosystem. MySQL is capable, but feature-for-feature, Postgres offers more tools for a solo developer.

No foreign keys by default. PlanetScale's Vitess foundation does not support foreign key constraints by default. You handle referential integrity in your application code instead of at the database level. For a solo developer, this means more bugs slip through that a standard Postgres setup would catch automatically.

Database branching is genuinely innovative. PlanetScale's branching model lets you create a branch, make schema changes, test them, then merge to production without downtime. This is a real workflow improvement over traditional migration tools. But for most solo developers, running migrate on a small database takes seconds and does not justify the cost premium.

Scalability that you probably do not need. PlanetScale is built on Vitess, which handles YouTube-scale traffic. This is impressive engineering. But a solo developer with a few thousand users does not need horizontal sharding. A $5/mo Postgres instance handles that workload comfortably.

When to Choose PostgreSQL

• You want a free, feature-rich relational database
• You need JSONB, full-text search, or PostGIS extensions
• You want maximum flexibility in hosting providers
• You are building with Django, Rails, or any framework that prefers Postgres
• You want foreign key constraints enforced at the database level

When to Choose PlanetScale

• You are committed to MySQL and need zero-downtime schema migrations
• Your application is large enough that schema changes on production tables are risky
• You want database branching for collaborative development
• You have the budget for $39+/mo for database hosting
• You are already deep in the MySQL ecosystem

The Verdict

PostgreSQL wins this comparison for solo developers, and it is not close. The 9/10 vs 6/10 rating gap reflects three realities: Postgres is free while PlanetScale starts at $39/mo, Postgres has richer features than the MySQL engine PlanetScale runs, and PlanetScale's standout features (branching, Vitess scaling) solve problems that solo developers rarely face.

PlanetScale is a well-built product that solves real problems for teams managing large MySQL databases. But for a solo developer building projects, validated Postgres options like Supabase and Neon deliver more value at zero cost. Save the $39/mo for something that actually moves your project forward.