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PlanetScale vs TiDB

PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Software

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
TiDB logo

TiDB

Software

Open source distributed HTAP database for elastic scale and real-time analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only TiDB 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; TiDB not 100% MySQL-compatible, requiring verification before migration
  • They diverge on capability: PlanetScale covers Database Branching, TiDB covers MySQL Compatible.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PlanetScale and TiDB actually diverge.

Attributes where PlanetScale and TiDB differ
AttributePlanetScaleTiDB
Starting price$15/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)Cloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Self-managed
Founded20182015

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
  • Connection Pooling
  • Query Caching
  • Automatic Backups
  • Global Replication
  • Prisma

Only in TiDB

  • MySQL Compatible
  • HTAP Workloads
  • Strong Consistency
  • High Availability
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Elastic Scaling
  • MySQL
  • Spark

Both cover

  • Horizontal Scaling
  • 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 TiDB
  • Vitess-based sharding for horizontal scaling across large datasetsnot TiDB
  • Cloud provider flexibility across AWS, GCP, Azure with 60+ regionsnot TiDB
  • Cost-effective database clusters using ARM64 architecture optionsnot TiDB

TiDB

  • 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

TiDB

  • Not 100% MySQL-compatible, requiring verification before migration

Pricing, plan by plan

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.

TiDB

Free
  • ServerlessFree
    • 5GB storage
    • 50M request units
    • Free forever tier
  • Dedicated$250/month
    • Dedicated resources
    • SLA guarantees
    • Enterprise support

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 TiDB if

  • You need mysql compatible.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Self-managed.
  • You also want htap workloads.
TiDB review

Questions people ask

Is PlanetScale or TiDB better?
Neither clearly leads. PlanetScale starts at $15/month and TiDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PlanetScale or TiDB?
TiDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for PlanetScale and Free for TiDB.
Does PlanetScale or TiDB run on more platforms?
PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure). TiDB runs on Cloud, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Self-managed.
Can I use TiDB for free?
Yes. TiDB 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 TiDB is typically brought in for.
What can PlanetScale do that TiDB cannot?
PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Connection Pooling. TiDB covers MySQL Compatible, HTAP Workloads, Strong Consistency, High Availability. Both handle Horizontal Scaling, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

TiDB: Is TiDB MySQL-compatible?

Yes, TiDB speaks the MySQL protocol, so existing MySQL clients, ORMs, and drivers work without modification. However, TiDB is not 100% MySQL-compatible.

Source
TiDB: How does TiDB scale?

TiDB provides automatic horizontal scaling with compute and storage scaling independently. It splits compute (TiDB servers) from storage (TiKV) to allow adding nodes without data replication.

Source
TiDB: Does TiDB support analytics workloads?

Yes, TiDB is an HTAP database with TiFlash columnar engine providing analytics capabilities alongside transactional processing on the same data without separate pipelines.

Source
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