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PlanetScale vs Amazon Aurora

PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Software

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Amazon Aurora logo

Amazon Aurora

Software

MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Amazon Aurora has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PlanetScale eBS High Availability requires 3-node configuration with replication overhead; Amazon Aurora aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services
  • They diverge on capability: PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PlanetScale and Amazon Aurora actually diverge.

Attributes where PlanetScale and Amazon Aurora differ
AttributePlanetScaleAmazon Aurora
Starting price$15/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)AWS Cloud
Founded20182006

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 PlanetScale

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

Only in Amazon Aurora

  • MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible
  • 5x MySQL Performance
  • Auto-scaling Storage
  • Global Database
  • Serverless v2
  • Multi-master
  • Fault Tolerant
  • AWS Lambda

Both cover

  • Web support

What people use each for

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

PlanetScale

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

Amazon Aurora

  • Transaction processingnot PlanetScale
  • Data storagenot PlanetScale
  • Application backendnot PlanetScale
  • Reportingnot PlanetScale
  • Data analyticsnot PlanetScale

Where each one falls short

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

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

Amazon Aurora

  • Aurora requires AWS ecosystem knowledge and integration with other AWS services
  • Pricing can become expensive with high-traffic applications using many read replicas
  • Limited support for non-relational data types compared to NoSQL alternatives

Pricing, plan by plan

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.

Amazon Aurora

Free
  • Serverless v2$0.12/hour
    • Auto-scaling
    • Pay per ACU
    • Instant scaling
  • Provisioned$29/month
    • Dedicated instances
    • Predictable performance
    • Reserved capacity

Which should you pick?

Choose PlanetScale if

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

Choose Amazon Aurora if

  • You need mysql/postgresql compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS Cloud.
  • You also want 5x mysql performance.
Amazon Aurora review

Questions people ask

Is PlanetScale or Amazon Aurora better?
Neither clearly leads. PlanetScale starts at $15/month and Amazon Aurora at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PlanetScale or Amazon Aurora?
Amazon Aurora has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for PlanetScale and Free for Amazon Aurora.
Does PlanetScale or Amazon Aurora run on more platforms?
PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure). Amazon Aurora runs on AWS Cloud.
Can I use Amazon Aurora for free?
Yes. Amazon Aurora has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PlanetScale starts at $15/month.
What is PlanetScale best used for?
PlanetScale is most often used for mysql database hosting with automatic failover and replication, vitess-based sharding for horizontal scaling across large datasets, cloud provider flexibility across aws, gcp, azure with 60+ regions, cost-effective database clusters using arm64 architecture options. Of those, mysql database hosting with automatic failover and replication and vitess-based sharding for horizontal scaling across large datasets are not what Amazon Aurora is typically brought in for.
What can PlanetScale do that Amazon Aurora cannot?
PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Amazon Aurora covers MySQL/PostgreSQL Compatible, 5x MySQL Performance, Auto-scaling Storage, Global Database. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amazon Aurora: Is Amazon Aurora compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL?

Yes, Amazon Aurora offers MySQL and PostgreSQL compatibility with full compatibility to their open-source counterparts, allowing you to migrate existing databases with standard tools.

Source
Amazon Aurora: What uptime SLA does Amazon Aurora provide?

Aurora is designed for up to 99.99% single-region uptime and 99.999% multi-region uptime with automatic failover.

Source
Amazon Aurora: How much does Amazon Aurora cost?

Aurora uses serverless, usage-based pricing where you pay only for consumed capacity. Typical pricing ranges from $50-70 per month for minimal setups to $400-600 per month for small production clusters.

Source
Amazon Aurora: Can Amazon Aurora scale automatically?

Yes, Aurora automatically scales to match workload demands without performance degradation, supporting both read and write scaling.

Source
Amazon Aurora: How many read replicas does Aurora support?

Aurora supports up to 15 low-latency read replicas for distributing read traffic across your application.

Source
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