Softwr

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Brex vs PlanetScale

Brex logo

Brex

Accounting & Finance

The financial stack for growing businesses

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Database & Data Management

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Brex the free Essentials tier is limited to two legal entities; PlanetScale eBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • They diverge on capability: Brex covers Corporate cards, PlanetScale covers Database Branching.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Brex and PlanetScale actually diverge.

Attributes where Brex and PlanetScale differ
AttributeBrexPlanetScale
Starting price$29/month$15/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidCloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)
CategoryAccounting & FinanceDatabase & Data Management
Founded20172018

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Brex

  • Corporate cards
  • Business accounts
  • Expense management
  • Bill pay
  • Travel
  • QuickBooks
  • NetSuite
  • Xero

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.

Brex

  • Corporate cards with spend controls for startupsnot PlanetScale
  • Expense management and reimbursementsnot PlanetScale
  • Travel booking inside the spend platformnot PlanetScale
  • Bill pay and accounting system syncnot PlanetScale
  • Multi-entity spend management on the paid tiersnot PlanetScale

PlanetScale

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

Where each one falls short

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

Brex

  • The free Essentials tier is limited to two legal entities
  • Premium is $12 per user per month, so cost scales with headcount using the card
  • Enterprise and Smart Card pricing is not published
  • Eligibility criteria are not stated anywhere on the pricing page, which matters for a product that extends credit

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

Brex

$29/month
  • EssentialsFree
    • Corporate cards
    • Expense management
    • Bill pay
  • Premium$12/month
    • Advanced controls
    • Custom approvals
    • Travel booking

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Brex if

  • You need corporate cards.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want business accounts.
Brex 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 Brex or PlanetScale better?
Neither clearly leads. Brex 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, Brex or PlanetScale?
Brex starts at $29/month and PlanetScale at $15/month.
Does Brex or PlanetScale run on more platforms?
Brex runs on Web, Ios, Android. PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
What is Brex best used for?
Brex is most often used for corporate cards with spend controls for startups, expense management and reimbursements, travel booking inside the spend platform, bill pay and accounting system sync. Of those, corporate cards with spend controls for startups and expense management and reimbursements are not what PlanetScale is typically brought in for.
What can Brex do that PlanetScale cannot?
Brex covers Corporate cards, Business accounts, Expense management, Bill pay. PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Both handle Web support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Brex

More on PlanetScale

Keep looking

Other head to heads