Database & Data Management · head to head
PlanetScale vs Cassandra
PlanetScale
Database & Data Management
The MySQL-compatible serverless database
- From
- $15/month
- Rated
- -
Cassandra
Database & Data Management
Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Cassandra 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; Cassandra no support for joins across tables
- They diverge on capability: PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Cassandra covers Linear Scalability.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which PlanetScale and Cassandra actually diverge.
| Attribute | PlanetScale | Cassandra |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $15/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | Unknown |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure) | Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes |
| Founded | 2018 | 2008 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Database & Data Management).
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 Cassandra
- Linear Scalability
- Fault Tolerance
- Multi-datacenter Replication
- Tunable Consistency
- CQL Query Language
- Distributed Architecture
- No Single Point of Failure
- DataStax
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 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
Cassandra
- Real-time applicationsnot PlanetScale
- Content managementnot PlanetScale
- User profilesnot PlanetScale
- Mobile backendsnot PlanetScale
- Cachingnot 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
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
Pricing, plan by plan
PlanetScale
$15/monthNo published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.
Cassandra
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.
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.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is PlanetScale or Cassandra better?
- Neither clearly leads. PlanetScale starts at $15/month and Cassandra at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, PlanetScale or Cassandra?
- Cassandra has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for PlanetScale and Free for Cassandra.
- Does PlanetScale or Cassandra run on more platforms?
- PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure). Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
- 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 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 Cassandra is typically brought in for.
- What can PlanetScale do that Cassandra cannot?
- PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency.
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.
SourceCassandra: 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.
SourceCassandra: 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.
SourceCassandra: 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.
SourceCassandra: 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