Software · head to head
PlanetScale vs Cloudinary
The short version
- Only Cloudinary 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; Cloudinary paid plans jump from a free tier straight to $224 per month, with usage priced on transformations, storage, and bandwidth credits that consume quickly at scale
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which PlanetScale and Cloudinary actually diverge.
| Attribute | PlanetScale | Cloudinary |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $15/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure) | Web |
| Founded | 2018 | Unknown |
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 Cloudinary
Nothing recorded that PlanetScale does not also cover.
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 Cloudinary
- Vitess-based sharding for horizontal scaling across large datasetsnot Cloudinary
- Cloud provider flexibility across AWS, GCP, Azure with 60+ regionsnot Cloudinary
- Cost-effective database clusters using ARM64 architecture optionsnot Cloudinary
Cloudinary
No use cases recorded yet. See the Cloudinary review.
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
Cloudinary
- Paid plans jump from a free tier straight to $224 per month, with usage priced on transformations, storage, and bandwidth credits that consume quickly at scale
Pricing, plan by plan
PlanetScale
$15/monthNo published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.
Cloudinary
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Cloudinary 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.
Questions people ask
- Is PlanetScale or Cloudinary better?
- Neither clearly leads. PlanetScale starts at $15/month and Cloudinary at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, PlanetScale or Cloudinary?
- Cloudinary has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for PlanetScale and Free for Cloudinary.
- Does PlanetScale or Cloudinary run on more platforms?
- PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure). Cloudinary runs on Web.
- Can I use Cloudinary for free?
- Yes. Cloudinary 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 Cloudinary is typically brought in for.
- What can PlanetScale do that Cloudinary cannot?
- PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling.