Softwr

Software · head to head

Airbase vs PlanetScale

Airbase logo

Airbase

Software

The first all-in-one spend management platform

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Software

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Airbase airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.; PlanetScale eBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • They diverge on capability: Airbase covers Corporate cards, PlanetScale covers Database Branching.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Airbase and PlanetScale actually diverge.

Attributes where Airbase and PlanetScale differ
AttributeAirbasePlanetScale
Starting price$29/month$15/month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidCloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)
Founded20172018

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Airbase

  • Corporate cards
  • Bill payments
  • Expense management
  • Procurement
  • Approvals
  • NetSuite
  • Sage Intacct
  • QuickBooks

Only in PlanetScale

  • Database Branching
  • Non-blocking Schema Changes
  • Insights
  • Horizontal Scaling
  • Connection Pooling
  • Query Caching
  • Automatic Backups
  • Global Replication

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Airbase

  • Spend managementnot PlanetScale
  • Expense reportingnot PlanetScale
  • Vendor paymentsnot PlanetScale

PlanetScale

  • MySQL database hosting with automatic failover and replicationnot Airbase
  • Vitess-based sharding for horizontal scaling across large datasetsnot Airbase
  • Cloud provider flexibility across AWS, GCP, Azure with 60+ regionsnot Airbase
  • Cost-effective database clusters using ARM64 architecture optionsnot Airbase

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Airbase

  • Airbase was acquired by Paylocity; its pricing page now redirects to paylocity.com/pricing and the product is marketed as 'Airbase, a Paylocity Company' within Paylocity's HCM platform rather than as a standalone product.

PlanetScale

  • EBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • EBS Non-HA single-node option lacks redundancy and automatic failover
  • Pricing varies by cloud provider and region, requiring queries for specific rates
  • ARM64 architecture only available on EBS tier, not Metal deployments

Pricing, plan by plan

Airbase

$29/month
  • StandardFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense reports
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$10/month
    • Advanced approvals
    • NetSuite sync
    • Procurement
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom workflows
    • API access
    • Dedicated support

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Airbase if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want bill payments.
Airbase review

Choose PlanetScale if

  • You need database branching.
  • You work on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
  • You also want non-blocking schema changes.
PlanetScale review

Questions people ask

Is Airbase or PlanetScale better?
Neither clearly leads. Airbase starts at $29/month and PlanetScale at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Airbase or PlanetScale?
Airbase starts at $29/month and PlanetScale at $15/month.
Does Airbase or PlanetScale run on more platforms?
Airbase runs on Web, Ios, Android. PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
What is Airbase best used for?
Airbase is most often used for spend management, expense reporting, vendor payments. Of those, spend management and expense reporting are not what PlanetScale is typically brought in for.
What can Airbase do that PlanetScale cannot?
Airbase covers Corporate cards, Bill payments, Expense management, Procurement. PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Both handle Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Airbase

More on PlanetScale

Keep looking

Other head to heads