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Cassandra vs PlanetScale

Cassandra logo

Cassandra

Software

Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Software

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cassandra has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Cassandra no support for joins across tables; PlanetScale eBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • They diverge on capability: Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, PlanetScale covers Database Branching.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cassandra and PlanetScale actually diverge.

Attributes where Cassandra and PlanetScale differ
AttributeCassandraPlanetScale
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, KubernetesCloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)
Founded20082018

Identical on both: 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 Cassandra

  • Linear Scalability
  • Fault Tolerance
  • Multi-datacenter Replication
  • Tunable Consistency
  • CQL Query Language
  • Distributed Architecture
  • No Single Point of Failure
  • DataStax

Only in PlanetScale

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

What people use each for

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

Cassandra

  • Real-time applicationsnot PlanetScale
  • Content managementnot PlanetScale
  • User profilesnot PlanetScale
  • Mobile backendsnot PlanetScale
  • Cachingnot PlanetScale

PlanetScale

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

Where each one falls short

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

Cassandra

  • No support for joins across tables
  • No ACID transactions across multiple rows
  • Data model must be designed around query patterns upfront, making schema evolution difficult
  • Partition key misconfigurations can cause uneven data distribution and hotspots that degrade performance

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

Cassandra

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cassandra if

  • You need linear scalability.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want fault tolerance.
Cassandra 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 Cassandra or PlanetScale better?
Neither clearly leads. Cassandra starts at Free and PlanetScale at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cassandra or PlanetScale?
Cassandra has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cassandra and $15/month for PlanetScale.
Does Cassandra or PlanetScale run on more platforms?
Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes. PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
Can I use Cassandra for free?
Yes. Cassandra has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PlanetScale starts at $15/month.
What is Cassandra best used for?
Cassandra is most often used for real-time applications, content management, user profiles, mobile backends. Of those, real-time applications and content management are not what PlanetScale is typically brought in for.
What can Cassandra do that PlanetScale cannot?
Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency. PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cassandra: Does Cassandra support joins between tables?

No. Cassandra does not support joins or foreign keys. The data model requires denormalization, meaning data must be duplicated across tables to support different query patterns.

Source
Cassandra: Does Cassandra offer ACID transactions?

No. Cassandra provides only row-level atomicity and isolation, not full ACID transactions across multiple rows or tables. It uses lightweight transactions via Paxos for per-row compare-and-set operations.

Source
Cassandra: What programming languages can connect to Cassandra?

Cassandra supports official drivers for multiple languages including Python, Java, Node.js, and Go, allowing applications to communicate via the native Cassandra protocol.

Source
Cassandra: Can I deploy Cassandra in the cloud?

Yes. Cassandra can run on any cloud platform (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) via Docker, virtual machines, or managed services like DataStax Astra DB, which provides a fully managed DBaaS option.

Source
Cassandra: Does Cassandra have a free option?

The open source Apache Cassandra is free. DataStax also offers Astra DB with a free tier providing up to 25GB storage and 25 million read/write operations per month.

Source
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