Softwr

Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

DigitalOcean vs PlanetScale

DigitalOcean logo

DigitalOcean

Cloud & Infrastructure

The developer cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Database & Data Management

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only DigitalOcean has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: DigitalOcean data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances; PlanetScale eBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead
  • They diverge on capability: DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), PlanetScale covers Database Branching.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DigitalOcean and PlanetScale actually diverge.

Attributes where DigitalOcean and PlanetScale differ
AttributeDigitalOceanPlanetScale
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend)Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureDatabase & Data Management
Founded20112018

Identical on both: 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 DigitalOcean

  • Droplets (VPS)
  • Managed Kubernetes
  • App Platform
  • Managed Databases
  • Spaces (Object Storage)
  • Floating IPs
  • Load Balancers
  • Firewalls

Only in PlanetScale

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

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

DigitalOcean

  • Developers seeking affordable VPS starting at $4/month for small applicationsnot PlanetScale
  • Teams deploying containerised workloads with Kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster costnot PlanetScale
  • Data scientists and ML engineers requiring NVIDIA GPU access at $1.91/GPU/hour (committed)not PlanetScale

PlanetScale

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

Where each one falls short

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

DigitalOcean

  • Data transfer overage charged at $0.01 per GiB beyond included allowances
  • Free tier includes only 3 static sites; additional static sites require paid upgrade
  • Container registry free tier capped at 500 MiB storage; exceeding requires paid tier
  • Functions free tier allows 90,000 GiB-seconds monthly; overages billed on usage basis
  • GPU Droplets require minimum monthly commitment for lower hourly rates; on-demand significantly more expensive

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

DigitalOcean

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the DigitalOcean review.

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.

Which should you pick?

Choose DigitalOcean if

  • You need droplets (vps).
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend).
  • You also want managed kubernetes.
DigitalOcean 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 DigitalOcean or PlanetScale better?
Neither clearly leads. DigitalOcean 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, DigitalOcean or PlanetScale?
DigitalOcean has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for DigitalOcean and $15/month for PlanetScale.
Does DigitalOcean or PlanetScale run on more platforms?
DigitalOcean runs on Linux, Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure backend). PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
Can I use DigitalOcean for free?
Yes. DigitalOcean has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PlanetScale starts at $15/month.
What is DigitalOcean best used for?
DigitalOcean is most often used for developers seeking affordable vps starting at $4/month for small applications, teams deploying containerised workloads with kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster cost, data scientists and ml engineers requiring nvidia gpu access at $1.91/gpu/hour (committed). Of those, developers seeking affordable vps starting at $4/month for small applications and teams deploying containerised workloads with kubernetes starting at $12/month cluster cost are not what PlanetScale is typically brought in for.
What can DigitalOcean do that PlanetScale cannot?
DigitalOcean covers Droplets (VPS), Managed Kubernetes, App Platform, Managed Databases. PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Both handle SOC2, Cloud deployment, Web support.
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