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PlanetScale vs Vagrant

PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Software

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Vagrant logo

Vagrant

Software

Development environments made easy

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Vagrant 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; Vagrant vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • They diverge on capability: PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Vagrant covers Box management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PlanetScale and Vagrant actually diverge.

Attributes where PlanetScale and Vagrant differ
AttributePlanetScaleVagrant
Starting price$15/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionopen-source
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)Linux, Windows, Mac
Founded20182010

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 Vagrant

  • Box management
  • Provider support
  • Multi-machine setups
  • Provisioners
  • Networking
  • Synced folders
  • Snapshots
  • Plugins

Both cover

  • Cloud deployment

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

Vagrant

  • Reproducible local development environments defined in a Vagrantfilenot PlanetScale
  • Provisioning identical VMs across VirtualBox, VMware and Hyper-V for a teamnot PlanetScale
  • Sandboxing multi-machine setups on a developer laptopnot 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

Vagrant

  • Vagrant 2.4.3 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Vagrant to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Vagrant
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published
  • Uses that fall outside the Additional Use Grant require a separately negotiated licence from the licensor

Pricing, plan by plan

PlanetScale

$15/month

No published plan breakdown. See the PlanetScale review.

Vagrant

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Development environment provisioning
    • Multiple providers
    • Provisioner 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 Vagrant if

  • You need box management.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want provider support.
Vagrant review

Questions people ask

Is PlanetScale or Vagrant better?
Neither clearly leads. PlanetScale starts at $15/month and Vagrant at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PlanetScale or Vagrant?
Vagrant has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $15/month for PlanetScale and Free for Vagrant.
Does PlanetScale or Vagrant run on more platforms?
PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure). Vagrant runs on Linux, Windows, Mac.
Can I use Vagrant for free?
Yes. Vagrant 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 Vagrant is typically brought in for.
What can PlanetScale do that Vagrant cannot?
PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Vagrant covers Box management, Provider support, Multi-machine setups, Provisioners. Both handle Cloud deployment.
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