PlanetScale vs PocketBase
A detailed comparison to help you choose between PlanetScale and PocketBase.
PlanetScale Serverless MySQL with database branching | PocketBase Open-source backend with built-in database and real-time APIs | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.4 (357 reviews) | 4.5 (188 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | free |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free |
| Best for | Teams running MySQL at scale who need schema migrations without downtime | Solo developers and small teams building web/mobile apps who want self-hosted backend simplicity without Firebase costs or vendor dependencies. |
| 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 optionbackups includedeu datacenterus datacenterapi access | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit PlanetScale → | Visit PocketBase → | |
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
PocketBase
Pros
- + Deploy as single executable with zero external dependencies
- + Generate REST and real-time APIs automatically from database schema
- + Manage data and users through built-in admin dashboard
- + Self-hosted and open-source—full control over data and infrastructure
Cons
- - SQLite backend limits horizontal scaling for high-concurrency applications
- - Smaller community and ecosystem compared to Firebase or Supabase
- - Self-hosting requires basic DevOps knowledge for production deployments
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