MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) vs PlanetScale
A detailed comparison to help you choose between MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) and PlanetScale.
MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) In-memory analytics engine for MySQL with real-time query acceleration | PlanetScale Serverless MySQL with database branching | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.3 (404 reviews) | 4.4 (357 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Enterprises running MySQL who need sub-second analytics on live operational data without maintaining separate data warehouses. | Teams running MySQL at scale who need schema migrations without downtime |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | 0 vCPU |
| RAM | — | 0 GB |
| Storage | — | 0 GB |
| Bandwidth | — | 0 TB/mo |
| SLA uptime | — | 99.99% |
| Data-center count | — | 6 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ✓ | |
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | United StatesEuropean Union |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tiermanaged optioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter | free tiermanaged optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapi access |
| Visit MySQL HeatWave (Oracle) → | Visit PlanetScale → | |
MySQL HeatWave (Oracle)
Pros
- + Execute complex analytics queries 1000x faster than disk-based MySQL
- + Eliminate separate data warehouse and ETL pipeline complexity
- + Scale compute and storage independently with managed infrastructure
- + Use existing MySQL knowledge and tooling without retraining
Cons
- - HeatWave cluster pricing adds significant cost beyond base MySQL
- - Requires migration from self-managed MySQL or other databases
- - Lock-in to Oracle Cloud infrastructure for full feature set
PlanetScale
Pros
- + Non-blocking schema changes — no downtime migrations
- + Database branching like git
- + Auto-scales to handle traffic spikes
Cons
- - No foreign keys (Vitess architecture limitation)
- - Read replicas only on higher plans
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