PlanetScale vs Railway 2026: Database vs Full-Stack
PlanetScale specializes in MySQL database hosting with branching and built-in scaling for $29-$500/month, while Railway offers a broader platform-as-a-service for deploying apps, databases, and services starting at $5/month with pay-as-you-go pricing. PlanetScale is database-focused; Railway is application-focused.
PlanetScale
MySQL-focused database platform with git-like branching and Vitess scaling
Teams building MySQL applications who want sophisticated branching workflows, need Vitess scaling, or use Prisma as their ORM
Railway
Full-stack platform-as-a-service for deploying apps, databases, and services with pay-as-you-go pricing
Developers and small teams wanting to deploy full applications (app + database) with flexible pricing and multi-database support
Quick Answer
AI SummaryPlanetScale specializes in MySQL database hosting with branching and built-in scaling for $29-$500/month, while Railway offers a broader platform-as-a-service for deploying apps, databases, and services starting at $5/month with pay-as-you-go pricing. PlanetScale is database-focused; Railway is application-focused.
Our Verdict
AI-assistedChoose PlanetScale if you need a specialized MySQL database with sophisticated branching for development workflows, Prisma integration, and don't mind a higher minimum cost. Choose Railway if you want an all-in-one platform to host your entire application stack (frontend, backend, databases) with flexible pay-as-you-go pricing and multi-database support.
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Choose PlanetScale if
Teams building MySQL applications who want sophisticated branching workflows, need Vitess scaling, or use Prisma as their ORM
Choose Railway if
Best pickDevelopers and small teams wanting to deploy full applications (app + database) with flexible pricing and multi-database support
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Key Differences at a Glance
- Primary Focus:MySQL database platform vs Full application deployment platform
- Minimum Monthly Cost:✓ Railway wins($5 (pay-as-you-go) vs $29 (Hobby plan))
- Database Engine Support:✓ Railway wins(PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis vs MySQL 8.0 only)
Key Facts & Figures
66 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | PlanetScale | Railway | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost (10GB, 100K requests)(USD) | $39-99 | — | — |
| Maximum Storage per Database(TB) | 1 TB | — | — |
| Concurrent Connections(connections) | 10,000+ with pooling | — | — |
| Community Size (Stack Overflow Tags)(questions) | 2.5 thousand | — | — |
| Free Tier Storage(million vectors) | 5GB | 5GB shared | |
| Minimum Production Tier Cost(USD/month) | $29 | — | — |
| Annual npm Downloads (Drivers)(millions) | 2.1M | — | — |
| Pro Tier Starting Price(USD/month) | $29 | — | — |
| Max Single Database Size(TB) | 1000+ TB (unlimited via sharding) | — | — |
| Free Tier Storage Capacity(GB) | 5 GB | — | — |
| Free Tier Monthly Read Requests(requests) | 10,000,000 | — | — |
| Startup Plan Monthly Cost(USD) | $39 | — | — |
| Global Edge Replication Locations(locations) | 3+ regions | — | — |
| Maximum Database Size (Pro Plan)(GB) | 1,000+ GB (1TB+) | — | — |
| Standard Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.99% | — | — |
| Setup Time to Production(minutes) | 10-15 minutes | — | — |
| Free Tier Query Limit(queries/day) | 1,000,000 | — | — |
| Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.95% | — | — |
| Free Tier Storage Limit(GB) | 5GB | — | — |
| Minimum Production Cost(USD/month) | $29 | — | — |
| Regions Supported per Cluster(count) | 1 | — | — |
| Maximum Concurrent Connections(connections) | 10,000+ | 2,000-5,000 | |
| Supported Databases(count) | 1 (MySQL) | 5+ (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, ElasticSearch) | |
| Scaling Response Time(milliseconds) | <100ms | 30-60 seconds | |
| Git Platform Integrations(platforms) | 1 (GitHub only) | 3+ (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) | |
| Minimum Monthly Cost (Beyond Free)(USD) | $29 | $5 | |
| Production Cost (100GB Storage, 1 Month)(USD) | $50 | — | — |
| Connection Pooling Cost(USD/month) | $20+ add-on | — | — |
| Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) | 200-500ms | 2-5 seconds | |
| Maximum Recommended Storage(TB) | 100+ TB | — | — |
| PostgreSQL Compatibility(percentage) | 0% (MySQL only) | — | — |
| MySQL Compatibility(percentage) | MySQL 8.0 fully compatible | — | — |
| Base Monthly Cost (Serverless)(USD) | $0 (pay-per-use from $0.01/hour) | — | — |
| Typical Monthly Cost (1M reads)(USD) | $8-15 (read-based) | — | — |
| Read Latency (Single Region)(milliseconds) | 1-3ms p99 | — | — |
| Starting Paid Plan Cost(USD/month) | $39/month | — | — |
| Starting Price (Lowest Tier)(USD/month) | $29/month (Hobby) | $5/month (pay-as-you-go) | |
| Storage Limit (Entry Tier)(GB) | 10GB (Hobby plan) | 20GB (standard) | |
| Automatic Backup Retention(days) | 30 days (all plans) | 7 days (free), 30 days (paid) | |
| Maximum Database Size (Pro Tier)(GB) | 100GB (Pro plan at $99/mo) | Unlimited (custom pricing) | — |
| Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) | $1 | $1 | |
| Pro Plan Base Cost(USD/month) | $20 | $20 | |
| Managed Postgres Starting Price(USD/month) | $38 | $38 | |
| Years Since Launch(years) | 4 | 4 | |
| Free Tier Allowance(USD/month) | $5 credit | $5 credit | |
| Pro Plan Cost(USD/month per user/base) | $5-20 | $5-20 | |
| Database Integrations(count) | 10+ via Docker | 10+ via Docker | |
| Cold Start Time (Function)(milliseconds) | 200-500ms | 200-500ms | |
| Free Tier Monthly Bandwidth(GB) | 100 GB | 100 GB | |
| Starting Pro Plan Price(USD/month) | $5 | $5 | |
| Global Edge Locations(locations) | 8 | 8 | |
| Database Storage (Free Tier)(GB) | 5 GB (PostgreSQL) | 5 GB (PostgreSQL) | |
| Compute Regions Available(regions) | 8 | 8 | |
| Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) | $5/month | $5/month | |
| Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent) | 99.9% | 99.9% | |
| Supported Languages/Runtimes(count) | 15+ | 15+ | |
| Add-on Marketplace Integrations(count) | 50+ | 50+ | |
| Platform Operational History(years) | 5 years | 5 years | |
| Free Tier or Trial(USD credit) | $5/month recurring | $5/month recurring | |
| Database Provisioning Cost (PostgreSQL Starter)(USD/month) | Included | Included | |
| Free Tier Monthly Credit(USD) | $5 | $5 | |
| Edge Network Coverage(cities) | ~50 regions | ~50 regions | |
| Average Cold Start Time(seconds) | 2-5 | 2-5 | |
| Supported Backend Languages(count) | 6+ (Node, Python, Go, Ruby, Java, Rust) | 6+ (Node, Python, Go, Ruby, Java, Rust) | |
| Starter Plan Pricing(USD/month) | Free (with $5 credit) | Free (with $5 credit) | |
| Team Collaboration Plan(USD/month) | $12/month | $12/month |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
- MySQL database platformPrimary FocusFull application deployment platform
- $29 (Hobby plan)Minimum Monthly Cost$5 (pay-as-you-go)(winner)
- MySQL 8.0 onlyDatabase Engine SupportPostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis(winner)
- Native git-like branching with automatic preview databases(winner)Git Branching/EnvironmentsEnvironment variables and deployment configs
- Database-only (requires external hosting)Application HostingFull app hosting with auto-scaling(winner)
- 10GB (Hobby tier)Maximum Storage (Hobby/Starter)20GB (standard)(winner)
- 30 days (all plans)(winner)Backup Retention Days7 days (free tier)
- Primary Focus
PlanetScale
MySQL database platform
Railway
Full application deployment platform
- Minimum Monthly Cost
PlanetScale
$29 (Hobby plan)
Railway
$5 (pay-as-you-go)(winner)
- Database Engine Support
PlanetScale
MySQL 8.0 only
Railway
PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis(winner)
- Git Branching/Environments
PlanetScale
Native git-like branching with automatic preview databases(winner)
Railway
Environment variables and deployment configs
- Application Hosting
PlanetScale
Database-only (requires external hosting)
Railway
Full app hosting with auto-scaling(winner)
- Maximum Storage (Hobby/Starter)
PlanetScale
10GB (Hobby tier)
Railway
20GB (standard)(winner)
- Backup Retention Days
PlanetScale
30 days (all plans)(winner)
Railway
7 days (free tier)
Full Comparison
| Attribute | PlanetScale | Railway |
|---|---|---|
| Setup Time(minutes) | 5-10 minutes | — |
| Monthly Cost (10GB, 100K requests)(USD) | $39-99 | — |
| Free Tier Storage Limit(GB) | 5GB | — |
| Minimum Monthly Cost (Beyond Free)(USD) | $29 | $5(winner) |
| Production Cost (100GB Storage, 1 Month)(USD) | $50 | — |
| Base Monthly Cost (Serverless)(USD) | $0 (pay-per-use from $0.01/hour) | — |
Show 15 more attributesTypical Monthly Cost (1M reads)(USD) $8-15 (read-based) — Starting Paid Plan Cost(USD/month) $39/month — Starting Price (Lowest Tier)(USD/month) $29/month (Hobby) $5/month (pay-as-you-go) Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) $1 — Pro Plan Base Cost(USD/month) $20 — Free Tier Status Available with trial — Free Tier Allowance(USD/month) $5 credit — Pro Plan Cost(USD/month per user/base) $5-20 — Free Tier Monthly Bandwidth(GB) 100 GB — Starting Pro Plan Price(USD/month) $5 — Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) $5/month — Database Provisioning Cost (PostgreSQL Starter)(USD/month) Included — Free Tier Monthly Credit(USD) $5 — Starter Plan Pricing(USD/month) Free (with $5 credit) — Team Collaboration Plan(USD/month) $12/month — | ||
| Maximum Storage per Database(TB) | 1 TB | — |
| Free Tier Storage(million vectors) | 5GB | 5GB shared |
| Storage Limit (Entry Tier)(GB) | 10GB (Hobby plan) | 20GB (standard)(winner) |
| Maximum Database Size (Pro Tier)(GB) | 100GB (Pro plan at $99/mo) | Unlimited (custom pricing) |
| Auto-Scaling Capability | Automatic, built-in | — |
| Max Single Database Size(TB) | 1000+ TB (unlimited via sharding) | — |
| Horizontal Scaling | Native (Vitess) | — |
| Maximum Database Size (Pro Plan)(GB) | 1,000+ GB (1TB+) | — |
| Horizontal Sharding Support | Native (Vitess-based) | — |
Show 3 more attributesMaximum Recommended Storage(TB) 100+ TB — Max Scalable Storage(GB) Unlimited via sharding — Horizontal Sharding Native (Vitess-based) — | ||
| Database Branching Support | Native Git-like branching | — |
| Concurrent Connections(connections) | 10,000+ with pooling | — |
| Maximum Concurrent Connections(connections) | 10,000+(winner) | 2,000-5,000 |
| Scaling Response Time(milliseconds) | <100ms(winner) | 30-60 seconds |
| Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) | 200-500ms | 2-5 seconds(winner) |
| Read Latency (Single Region)(milliseconds) | 1-3ms p99 | — |
Show 7 more attributesMaximum Database Size(items supported) Unlimited (sharded) — Connection Pooling Built-in with multiplexing Available via configs CDN Coverage(global regions) Regional deployment — Serverless Cold Start(milliseconds) N/A (always-on) — Cold Start Time (Function)(milliseconds) 200-500ms — Edge Network Coverage(cities) ~50 regions — Average Cold Start Time(seconds) 2-5 — | ||
| Community Size (Stack Overflow Tags)(questions) | 2.5 thousand | — |
| Minimum Production Tier Cost(USD/month) | $29 | — |
| Transaction ACID Support | Full with savepoints | — |
| Foreign Key Support | Full support | — |
| Maximum Connections Per Database(connections) | Unlimited | — |
| Query Language Standard | SQL Standard | — |
| Built-in Authentication | No (requires integration) | — |
| Database Branching | Yes (Git-like branching) | — |
| Vector Search (pgvector) | No | — |
| Git Platform Integrations(platforms) | 1 (GitHub only) | 3+ (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)(winner) |
Show 16 more attributesSchema Branching Support Yes (native, git-like) No (manual snapshots) Built-in Application Hosting No (database only) Yes (native runtime) Branching/Preview Environments Paid add-on (Pro plan $29+) — Connection Pooling Cost(USD/month) $20+ add-on — Multi-Region Built-in(boolean) No (manual replication needed) — Transaction Support(consistency level) Full ACID per-shard (cross-shard eventual consistency) — Database Engine MySQL 8.0 compatible — Database Engine Options MySQL 8.0 PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis Git Branching for Databases Native git-like branching with preview databases Environment-based configuration only Application Hosting Included No (database only) Yes (full stack) Git-Push Deployment Yes (modern) — Database Integrations(count) 10+ via Docker — Docker/Container Support(native support) Full native support — Supported Backend Languages(count) 6+ (Node, Python, Go, Ruby, Java, Rust) — Built-in Database Options(count) 4 (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis) — Next.js ISR/Image Optimization Standard deployment — | ||
| Horizontal Scaling Method | Automatic via Vitess | — |
| Database Engine Type | MySQL 8.0 compatible | — |
| Container Support(native support) | Full Docker/OCI support | — |
| Annual npm Downloads (Drivers)(millions) | 2.1M | — |
| Monthly Row Operations (Free)(millions) | Unlimited | — |
| Pro Tier Starting Price(USD/month) | $29 | — |
| Free Tier Monthly Read Requests(requests) | 10,000,000 | — |
| Startup Plan Monthly Cost(USD) | $39 | — |
| Minimum Production Cost(USD/month) | $29 | — |
| Real-time Subscriptions | No (polling only) | — |
| Auto-generated APIs | Manual setup required | — |
| Native Branching Support | No | — |
| Preview Environments(deployments) | Manual configuration | — |
| Free Tier Storage Capacity(GB) | 5 GB | — |
| Global Edge Replication Locations(locations) | 3+ regions | — |
| Standard Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.99% | — |
| Uptime SLA(percent) | 99.95% | — |
| Automatic Backup Retention(days) | 30 days (all plans)(winner) | 7 days (free), 30 days (paid) |
| Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent) | 99.9% | — |
| Setup Time to Production(minutes) | 10-15 minutes | — |
| Free Tier Query Limit(queries/day) | 1,000,000 | — |
| Open-Source | No (closed source) | — |
| Regions Supported per Cluster(count) | 1 | — |
| Supported Databases(count) | 1 (MySQL) | 5+ (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, ElasticSearch)(winner) |
| Available Extensions/Ecosystem | MySQL-compatible only | — |
| PostgreSQL Compatibility(percentage) | 0% (MySQL only) | — |
| MySQL Compatibility(percentage) | MySQL 8.0 fully compatible | — |
| Free Tier Compute Allowance(hours/month) | Limited to 5GB storage | — |
| Auto-Suspend Idle Databases | No | — |
| Multi-region Support(regions) | Native multi-region replication | — |
| Managed Postgres Starting Price(USD/month) | $38 | — |
| Database Storage (Free Tier)(GB) | 5 GB (PostgreSQL) | — |
| Active Development Status | Active development | — |
| Years Since Launch(years) | 4 | — |
| Credit Card Required for Trial | No | — |
| Free Tier or Trial(USD credit) | $5/month recurring | — |
| Enterprise Security Features(included) | Basic security features | — |
| Global Edge Locations(locations) | 8 | — |
| Compute Regions Available(regions) | 8 | — |
| Supported Languages (via Framework/Docker)(count) | Unlimited (Docker) | — |
| Supported Languages/Runtimes(count) | 15+ | — |
| Add-on Marketplace Integrations(count) | 50+ | — |
| Platform Operational History(years) | 5 years | — |
RailwayShow 15 more attributes
Show 3 more attributes
Show 7 more attributes
Show 16 more attributes
Pros & Cons
10 pros·6 cons across both
PlanetScale
Pros
- Native git branching with automatic preview databases for development
- Built on Vitess technology enabling horizontal scaling without sharding
- Deep Prisma ORM integration with native support
- 30-day automatic backups and PITR on all plans
- Connection pooling and connection multiplexing built-in
Cons
- Minimum $29/month starting cost is relatively high for small projects
- Limited to MySQL only; no PostgreSQL or other database engines
- Requires external hosting for application code (database-only service)
Railway
Pros
- Pay-as-you-go pricing starts at $5/month with no minimum commitment
- Multi-database support: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, and more
- Complete app hosting in one platform: frontend, backend, databases, workers
- Automatic deployments from Git with environment-based configuration
- Integrated monitoring, logging, and metrics dashboard
Cons
- 7-day backup retention on free/starter tier (shorter than PlanetScale)
- Less specialized database features compared to dedicated database platforms
- Database branching/environments less sophisticated than PlanetScale
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
Yes, many developers use PlanetScale for their MySQL database and Railway to host their application code. PlanetScale provides the database with branching features, while Railway handles the app deployment, creating a combined solution that uses both platforms' strengths.
Resources & Learn More
Curated sources to dive deeper
Where to Buy
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Wikipedia
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