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Databases · head to head

PlanetScale vs Soketi

PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Databases

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit PlanetScaleFull review
Soketi logo

Soketi

Developer Tools

Self-hosted, Pusher-compatible WebSockets server with a stalled maintenance record

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit SoketiFull review

The short version

  • PlanetScale is a MySQL-compatible serverless database platform.
  • Soketi is free; PlanetScale starts at $15/mo.
  • Only PlanetScale lists database Branching; only Soketi lists pusher protocol compatibility.
  • Where PlanetScale falls short: pricing varies significantly across 17+ AWS and GCP regions.
  • Where Soketi falls short: there is no commercial support to buy, so a production incident at three in the morning is entirely your problem with no escalation path.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PlanetScale and Soketi actually diverge.

Attributes where PlanetScale and Soketi differ
AttributePlanetScaleSoketi
Pricing modelUsage-basedOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

Not yet recorded: founded for Soketi.

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 Soketi

  • Pusher protocol compatibility
  • Presence and private channels
  • Horizontal scaling
  • App management backends
  • Webhooks
  • Prometheus metrics

What people use each for

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

PlanetScale

  • MySQL-compatible applications requiring horizontal scalingnot Soketi
  • PostgreSQL deployments with custom cluster configurationsnot Soketi
  • Multi-region database deployments on AWS or GCPnot Soketi
  • Applications requiring transparent sharding via Vitessnot Soketi

Soketi

  • A Laravel application that already uses Echo and wants to stop paying a hosted realtime providernot PlanetScale
  • Realtime notifications or presence indicators where data must not leave your own infrastructure for compliance reasonsnot PlanetScale
  • A local or CI environment that needs a Pusher-compatible server without hitting a paid accountnot PlanetScale
  • A high-connection-count application where hosted per-connection pricing has become the largest line in the infrastructure billnot PlanetScale

Where each one falls short

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

PlanetScale

  • Pricing varies significantly across 17+ AWS and GCP regions
  • Additional costs for EBS storage beyond base tier, backup storage, and egress
  • Dedicated PgBouncer and replicas incur separate charges
  • Metal tier pricing increases sharply with larger configurations

Soketi

  • Maintenance has effectively stalled: the maintainer has said time is severely limited, releases are infrequent, and the community has been discussing whether the project is abandoned, which means security fixes may not arrive
  • Dependency drift on Node and uWebSockets.js will eventually force you to fork or migrate, and that cost is unbudgeted at the point you adopt it
  • There is no commercial support to buy, so a production incident at three in the morning is entirely your problem with no escalation path
  • Scaling beyond a single node needs Redis and careful configuration, and getting presence channels correct across nodes is a genuine source of subtle bugs
  • It implements the Pusher protocol rather than tracking it, so any protocol feature Pusher adds later will not appear, and the compatibility guarantee slowly decays

Pricing, plan by plan

PlanetScale

Free
  • Postgres EBS Single-Node (ARM64 PS-5)$5/mo
    • 512 MiB RAM
    • Single-node configuration
    • EBS storage included
  • Postgres EBS HA (ARM64 PS-5)$15/mo
    • 512 MiB RAM
    • 3-node high-availability setup
    • 1 primary + 2 replicas
  • Postgres Metal (M-10)$50/mo
    • 1/8 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM
    • 3-node HA configuration
    • 10 GiB NVMe storage included
  • Vitess Non-Metal 3-Node$39/mo
    • Sharding-capable database
    • x86-64 architecture
    • 3-node configuration

Soketi

Free
  • SoketiFree
    • MIT licensed
    • Unlimited connections subject to your own hardware
    • No vendor billing

Which should you pick?

Choose PlanetScale if

  • You need database branching.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want non-blocking schema changes.
PlanetScale review

Choose Soketi if

  • You need pusher protocol compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want presence and private channels.
Soketi review

Questions people ask

Is PlanetScale or Soketi better?
Neither clearly leads. PlanetScale starts at Free and Soketi at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PlanetScale or Soketi?
PlanetScale starts at Free and Soketi at Free.
Does PlanetScale or Soketi run on more platforms?
PlanetScale runs on Web. Soketi runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use PlanetScale for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PlanetScale best used for?
PlanetScale is most often used for mysql-compatible applications requiring horizontal scaling, postgresql deployments with custom cluster configurations, multi-region database deployments on aws or gcp, applications requiring transparent sharding via vitess. Of those, mysql-compatible applications requiring horizontal scaling and postgresql deployments with custom cluster configurations are not what Soketi is typically brought in for.
What can PlanetScale do that Soketi cannot?
PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Soketi covers Pusher protocol compatibility, Presence and private channels, Horizontal scaling, App management backends.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PlanetScale: How much does a PlanetScale Postgres database cost per month?

PlanetScale Postgres pricing starts at $5/month for single-node ARM64 configurations with 512 MiB RAM and $15/month for the same specs in high-availability mode with 1 primary and 2 replicas. Metal tier starts at $50/month for M-10 configuration (1/8 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM). Exact pricing depends on cluster size, node architecture (ARM64 vs x86-64), storage configuration, and selected AWS/GCP region.

Source
Soketi: Is Soketi still maintained?

Barely. The maintainer has stated that available time is very limited and releases have been sparse; treat it as community-maintained.

PlanetScale: Is there a free tier for PlanetScale?

PlanetScale offers a free tier for development and testing workloads. After free tier limits are reached, usage-based pricing applies starting at $5/month for the smallest Postgres single-node configuration, with costs scaling based on cluster size, compute, storage, and additional features like dedicated PgBouncer or replicas.

Source
Soketi: Do I need to change my client code?

No. Pusher client SDKs and Laravel Echo work by changing the host, port and credentials.

PlanetScale: What is the difference between PlanetScale ARM64 and x86-64 pricing?

ARM64 instances cost significantly less than x86-64 equivalents. For example, a Postgres EBS HA cluster with 512 MiB RAM costs $15/month on ARM64 but $39/month on x86-64. This pricing difference extends across all cluster sizes, with larger x86-64 configurations reaching up to $5,599/month compared to ARM64 alternatives.

Source
Soketi: What does it cost?

Nothing in licence fees. It is MIT licensed; you pay for the server it runs on.

PlanetScale: What is included in a PlanetScale cluster price versus additional costs?

The advertised cluster price covers the base compute and configured storage. Additional charges apply for EBS storage beyond the base allocation, backup storage, data egress, optional dedicated PgBouncer connections, and replicas beyond the base high-availability configuration. Regional pricing varies across 17+ AWS and GCP zones.

Source
Soketi: What are people moving to?

Laravel Reverb for Laravel applications, and Sockudo, a Rust reimplementation, for others.

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