CockroachDB vs PlanetScale comparison

Cockroach and PlanetScale are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. Cockroach is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.4, while PlanetScale is ranked #16 with an average rating of 8.2. Cockroach holds a 4.1% mindshare in SQL, compared to PlanetScale’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 84% of Cockroach users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of PlanetScale users who would recommend it.

CockroachDB

Read 13 CockroachDB reviews

2,165 Views
2,013 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

PlanetScale

Read 6 PlanetScale reviews

199 Views
199 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

CockroachDB

PlanetScale

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

CockroachDB and PlanetScale compete in the distributed database space. CockroachDB appears to have the upper hand in global data distribution and strong consistency, making it suitable for robust infrastructure needs, while PlanetScale's emphasis on developer ease makes it popular for rapid deployment.

Features: CockroachDB provides auto-healing capabilities, a distributed SQL model for seamless scaling, and geo-partitioning for data residency solutions. PlanetScale offers schema change workflows, branching capabilities for development flexibility, and integration ease with tools like Prisma.

Room for Improvement: CockroachDB could enhance its user interface and simplify tuning processes for better developer usability. In contrast, PlanetScale might improve by offering more in-depth analytical features, expanding its documentation clarity, and providing more comprehensive enterprise-level options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: CockroachDB offers a traditional deployment method with detailed documentation and enterprise-level support, suitable for mission-critical applications. PlanetScale emphasizes cloud-first deployments with an intuitive developer experience and smooth integration.

Pricing and ROI: CockroachDB's pricing includes free tiers, suitable for initial implementations, but enterprise-level demands could increase costs. PlanetScale's pricing structure appeals to smaller teams with a focus on speed, providing better ROI for developer-centric projects.

To learn more, read our detailed CockroachDB vs. PlanetScale Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

CockroachDB vs. PlanetScale

September 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

CockroachDB

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

10th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

PlanetScale

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

16th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of CockroachDB is 4.1%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PlanetScale is 0.3%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
CockroachDB	4.1%
PlanetScale	0.3%
Other	95.6%

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

Antonio Tringali

Software Engineer at a consultancy with self employed

Open source with extensive documentation and a University for training

I am a freelancer. A client of mine wanted a solution that would allow them to scale yet not abandon the familiar PostgreSQL front-end (and rewrite a part of their source code). Scalability aside, CockroachDB is a fine way forward from PostgreSQL and is not changing the client source code part of the system. If you are lucky and you do not use newer features from recent versions of PostgreSQL or PostgreSQL extensions, it's fine. There are nice-to-have features for big organizations like regional tables. At the moment, my client simply does not use these. However, the serverless offer from CockroachDB is reacting well as data grows.

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Arpita Bahedia

Software Engineer at Bit & Binary

Database management becomes seamless with automatic command execution

One feature I appreciate about PlanetScale is its ability to handle migrations and commands without the need to run them manually in the database. I can enter commands locally, connect with the database, and the changes will automatically be applied to the server, making debugging easier. Additionally, I use PlanetScale with Prisma, and it integrates well for my needs.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"CockroachDB is highly reliable."

"The availability and the easy to use feature is the most valuable. The documentation is also good."

"The tool's most valuable feature is node syncing, which takes only 0.54 milliseconds."

"The best feature of CockroachDB is the ability to keep the nodes in different locations."

"The most valuable features of the solution are its resiliency features and the geo-partitioning capabilities."

"The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported."

"The initial setup and deployment are simple."

"I use CockroachDB to test big data samples and to create the best structure for databases. We have four users and required 10 people for deployment and maintenance."

More CockroachDB pros

"The branching feature is also good for developer experience."

"I like the solution's developer experience. When you deploy changes to the database in the portal, you can use different deployment strategies and see how things work. You can put changes into different branches, like deployment and staging. This is built into the product, allowing you to navigate changes through different branches."

"The solution is beginner-friendly. Like any new platform, it can be a bit confusing at first. But after spending about an hour with it, you can get a clear idea of what everything is for. It's not very confusing; I think they've improved it recently."

"I did not face any downtime when using the product."

"The database is accessible 24/7, ensuring my project runs smoothly without interruptions."

Cons

"Cockroach does not support all types of protocols. I need to improve it myself to support a CouchDB on my network."

"We are looking for more features to support distributed high availability and geo-partitioning."

"The platform could be more extensible."

"I think the engine itself could be improved. If you miss a partition key, it should be able to be modeled. This is where AI could be really helpful. For example, if a user is from Australia, the system should know to look for their data there first instead of searching in the US or another continent."

"I would like CockroachDB to have more compatibility with PostgreSQL, especially with the connection string and technical integrations."

"The closer they can make CockroachDB to being completely compatible with Postgres, the better. It's almost compatible, but not completely. If it was, it would be nice to just be able to use Postgres libraries without any fiddling."

"CockroachDB needs to improve store processes."

"For multi-region deployment, CockroachDB requires at least three plus replicas across data centers to achieve strong consistency across regions, which increases infrastructure costs including compute, storage, and networking."

More CockroachDB cons

"The main thing I didn't like about PlanetScale was that we couldn't run analytical queries on it."

"I used PlanetScale for hobby projects, so my perspective differs from someone using it commercially. Unfortunately, they've removed the free tier in recent months and pivoted to a business-to-business model. This is sad for hobby developers like me because it's a great product, but I understand they have costs to cover."

"When I tried to integrate the solution with Firebase for authentication, I faced some interruptions. Also, when using it with Next.js and NextAuth.js for Google and social logins, I had some troubles."

"We encountered some initial issues during the product deployment, which required me to search for solutions on forums."

"I am not sure, but I think recently, the tool removed the free version."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is good but can be made cheaper. I would rate the pricing a five out of ten."

"The platform is affordable even for the enterprise version. It provides value for investment in terms of performance."

"I've used CockroachDB at a small scale on the free accounts because we are only testing."

"The solution's pricing is not cheap. However, the good thing is that customers are willing to pay for it if they want it."

"The product's price depends on the user's company and the contract model they enter into with CockroachDB. Depending on the contract model one enters into with CockroachDB, the product may or may not be expensive."

"The solution is expensive for beginners. That's why I wasn't motivated to use it more. But they were already providing many features for free for beginners, which was great."

"Last time, when I wanted to use the tool in a project, I could see it was only paid, so I didn't use the service."

"I am currently using the product's free version, which has been sufficient for my portfolio project."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

32%

Computer Software Company

13%

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Large Enterprise	2

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about CockroachDB?

The subset of SQL that my client is using is completely supported.

See all answers

What needs improvement with CockroachDB?

The platform should provide a UI feature where users have the ability to manage it. The CockroachDB platform should have a chatbot where users can inquire about pricing or seek solutions for querie...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for CockroachDB?

We have been using CockroachDB for the last two years. From 2023, we started working on a product similar to Google Capture. We decided to work with CockroachDB with Hasura. Hasura is a UI for the ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PlanetScale?

I am currently using the product's free version, which has been sufficient for my portfolio project. The paid version ranges from $39 to $1,000, depending on the features and scale required.

See all answers

What needs improvement with PlanetScale?

I would like PlanetScale to have a feature where the database can be accessed in the cloud with a link, allowing for a more user-friendly interface compared to the terminal. This would make it easi...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for PlanetScale?

I have used PlanetScale as it is an advanced version of MySQL. It functions as a platform where MySQL is live, similar to AWS. I use PlanetScale to store data in a live environment where queries ca...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

CockroachDB

September 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

August 2025

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Overview

CockroachDB is a distributed SQL database built on a transactional and strongly-consistent key-value store. It scales horizontally; survives disk, machine, rack, and even datacenter failures with minimal latency disruption and no manual intervention; supports strongly-consistent ACID transactions; and provides a familiar SQL API for structuring, manipulating, and querying data.

CockroachDB is inspired by Google’s Spanner and F1 technologies, and it’s completely open source.

Cockroach

PlanetScale offers seamless database management with features tailored for modern development environments, enabling enhanced project operations through efficient integration and ease of use.

PlanetScale is designed to support modern developer workflows through features like automated connection pooling and constant availability, making it ideal for serverless applications. Its integration with tools like GitHub and Prisma enhances the developer experience, allowing fast setup and effortless database interactions. However, users note challenges with analytical queries due to row-based billing and the absence of foreign key constraints. Integration with platforms such as Firebase and Next.js presents additional hurdles. Recent changes, such as the removal of the free tier, have impacted adoption by hobby developers, highlighting a need for more accessible pricing plans.

What are the most important features of PlanetScale?

Automated Connection Pooling: Optimizes database connections for serverless environments.
Constant Availability: Ensures uninterrupted operations and workflow efficiency.
Developer-Friendly: Integrates seamlessly with GitHub and Prisma for enhanced project management.
Quick Setup: Simplifies setup processes in corporate environments, allowing immediate use.

What benefits should users consider when evaluating PlanetScale?

Uninterrupted Project Operations: Facilitates constant availability for high-performance applications.
Enhanced Developer Experience: Offers intuitive integrations and project management capabilities.
Ease of Integration: Works well with popular tools like Prisma and MySQL for efficient workflows.

PlanetScale finds significant use in hosting databases for portfolios, company websites, and academic projects. Its compatibility with Prisma facilitates seamless MySQL database management online. Users leverage its capabilities for analytical queries and manage data environments effectively. Teams value the platform for specialized tasks such as URL shortening and social media automation, which are crucial in rapidly evolving digital industries.

PlanetScale

Sample Customers

Baidu, Kindred, Tierion, Heroic Labs, Gorgias

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

CockroachDB vs. PlanetScale

September 2025

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