# 8 Best Open Source Alternatives for PlanetScale

Canonical: https://caniforkit.com/planetscale
Last updated: 2026-11-07

Looking for the best open source alternative for PlanetScale? Compare 8 verified free and open source alternatives to PlanetScale (Supabase, TiDB, Neon Postgres) with license details, self-hosting requirements, and practical trade-offs.

## PlanetScale Overview & Subscription Cost
- **Product**: PlanetScale
- **Category**: [databases](https://caniforkit.com/category/databases)
- **Paid Subscription Price**: $25/month per seat
- **1-Seat Annualized Cost**: $300/year
- **5-Person Team Annualized Cost**: $1,500/year
- **10-Person Team Annualized Cost**: $3,000/year
- **Can I Vibe-Code / Rebuild It Myself?**: NO (use a free alternative, save the tokens)
- **Rebuild Verdict**: Instead of paying recurring SaaS fees for PlanetScale or rebuilding it from scratch, deploy one of the 8 battle-tested open-source alternatives like Supabase.

## Verified Free & Open Source Alternatives

| Alternative | Type | License | Runs On | GitHub Stars | Head-to-Head |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Supabase](https://caniforkit.com/fork/supabase) | Open Source | Apache-2.0 | Self-host | ★ 114.6k | [Compare vs PlanetScale](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-supabase) |
| [TiDB](https://caniforkit.com/fork/tidb) | Open Source | Open Source | Local | ★ 40.7k | [Compare vs PlanetScale](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-tidb) |
| [Neon Postgres](https://caniforkit.com/fork/neon-postgres) | Open Source | Open Source | Local | ★ 23.3k | [Compare vs PlanetScale](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-neon-postgres) |
| [Turso](https://caniforkit.com/fork/turso) | Open Source | Open Source | Local | ★ 17.3k | [Compare vs PlanetScale](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-turso) |
| [Instant](https://caniforkit.com/fork/instant) | Open Source | Open Source | Local | ★ 10.6k | [Compare vs PlanetScale](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-instant) |
| [OceanBase](https://caniforkit.com/fork/oceanbase) | Open Source | Open Source | Local | ★ 10.4k | [Compare vs PlanetScale](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-oceanbase) |
| [SlateDB](https://caniforkit.com/fork/slatedb) | Open Source | Open Source | Local | ★ 3.6k | [Compare vs PlanetScale](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-slatedb) |
| [CrateDB](https://caniforkit.com/fork/cratedb) | Open Source | Open Source | Local | ★ 4.5k | [Compare vs PlanetScale](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-cratedb) |

## In-Depth Alternative Profiles

### Supabase
- **Fork Page**: [Supabase Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/supabase)
- **Head-to-Head Comparison**: [PlanetScale vs Supabase](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-supabase)
- **Official Website**: https://supabase.com/
- **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/supabase/supabase
- **License**: Apache-2.0
- **Runs On**: Self-host
- **GitHub Stars**: 114.6k
- **Maintenance Activity**: nov 2026
- **Supported Platforms**: web, self-hosted, cli, self-host, real ops
- **Summary**: Provides a full backend stack built on Postgres: authentication, auto-generated APIs, edge functions, realtime subscriptions, file storage, and vector search.
- **The Catch vs PlanetScale**: Supabase replaces Convex's document/function runtime with PostgreSQL, SQL migrations, row-level security, and separate services, so the application architecture must be rewritten rather than simply moved.
- **Installation**: Hosted Supabase project, or the official Docker Compose stack; `supabase start` runs the local stack
- **Setup**: Self-hosting is not 'just Postgres': the Compose stack needs many secrets and services, plus SMTP, object storage, TLS, backups, observability, and coordinated upgrades.
- **Data Storage**: Relational data, auth records, and platform metadata live in PostgreSQL; Realtime consumes the Postgres replication stream; object data lives in the configured storage backend with metadata in Postgres; edge-function and migration source stays in project files. Supabase Cloud stores and operates the managed copy.

### TiDB
- **Fork Page**: [TiDB Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/tidb)
- **Head-to-Head Comparison**: [PlanetScale vs TiDB](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-tidb)
- **Official Website**: https://tidb.cloud/
- **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/pingcap/tidb
- **License**: Open Source
- **Runs On**: Local
- **GitHub Stars**: 40.7k
- **Maintenance Activity**: nov 2026
- **Supported Platforms**: desktop, cross-platform, one-click install
- **Summary**: Distributed SQL database combining OLTP and OLAP capabilities, offering horizontal scalability, high availability, and real-time analytics.
- **The Catch vs PlanetScale**: Community-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
- **Installation**: Clone https://github.com/pingcap/tidb or deploy with Docker Compose
- **Setup**: Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- **Data Storage**: All application data lives locally on your own machine.

### Neon Postgres
- **Fork Page**: [Neon Postgres Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/neon-postgres)
- **Head-to-Head Comparison**: [PlanetScale vs Neon Postgres](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-neon-postgres)
- **Official Website**: https://neon.com
- **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/neondatabase/neon
- **License**: Open Source
- **Runs On**: Local
- **GitHub Stars**: 23.3k
- **Maintenance Activity**: nov 2026
- **Supported Platforms**: desktop, cross-platform, one-click install
- **Summary**: Cloud-native, auto-scaling Postgres with instant branching, bottomless storage, and pay-per-use pricing
- **The Catch vs PlanetScale**: Community-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
- **Installation**: Clone https://github.com/neondatabase/neon or deploy with Docker Compose
- **Setup**: Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- **Data Storage**: All application data lives locally on your own machine.

### Turso
- **Fork Page**: [Turso Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/turso)
- **Head-to-Head Comparison**: [PlanetScale vs Turso](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-turso)
- **Official Website**: https://turso.tech
- **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/tursodatabase/libsql
- **License**: Open Source
- **Runs On**: Local
- **GitHub Stars**: 17.3k
- **Maintenance Activity**: nov 2026
- **Supported Platforms**: desktop, cross-platform, one-click install
- **Summary**: Turso provides a simple developer experience with SQLite compatibility, allowing you to build and scale multi-tenant applications with unlimited databases.
- **The Catch vs PlanetScale**: Community-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
- **Installation**: Clone https://github.com/tursodatabase/libsql or deploy with Docker Compose
- **Setup**: Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- **Data Storage**: All application data lives locally on your own machine.

### Instant
- **Fork Page**: [Instant Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/instant)
- **Head-to-Head Comparison**: [PlanetScale vs Instant](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-instant)
- **Official Website**: https://www.instantdb.com/
- **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/instantdb/instant
- **License**: Open Source
- **Runs On**: Local
- **GitHub Stars**: 10.6k
- **Maintenance Activity**: nov 2026
- **Supported Platforms**: desktop, cross-platform, one-click install
- **Summary**: Instant is a database solution for building real-time and offline-enabled applications, simplifying the development of collaborative products.
- **The Catch vs PlanetScale**: Community-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
- **Installation**: Clone https://github.com/instantdb/instant or deploy with Docker Compose
- **Setup**: Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- **Data Storage**: All application data lives locally on your own machine.

### OceanBase
- **Fork Page**: [OceanBase Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/oceanbase)
- **Head-to-Head Comparison**: [PlanetScale vs OceanBase](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-oceanbase)
- **Official Website**: https://en.oceanbase.com/
- **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/oceanbase/oceanbase
- **License**: Open Source
- **Runs On**: Local
- **GitHub Stars**: 10.4k
- **Maintenance Activity**: nov 2026
- **Supported Platforms**: desktop, cross-platform, one-click install
- **Summary**: Scalable, high-availability database system supporting OLTP, OLAP, and hybrid transactional/analytical processing workloads.
- **The Catch vs PlanetScale**: Community-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
- **Installation**: Clone https://github.com/oceanbase/oceanbase or deploy with Docker Compose
- **Setup**: Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- **Data Storage**: All application data lives locally on your own machine.

### SlateDB
- **Fork Page**: [SlateDB Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/slatedb)
- **Head-to-Head Comparison**: [PlanetScale vs SlateDB](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-slatedb)
- **Official Website**: https://slatedb.io
- **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/slatedb/slatedb
- **License**: Open Source
- **Runs On**: Local
- **GitHub Stars**: 3.6k
- **Maintenance Activity**: nov 2026
- **Supported Platforms**: desktop, cross-platform, one-click install
- **Summary**: SlateDB is an embedded storage engine that leverages object storage for durability, scalability, and simplified replication without the need for disk management.
- **The Catch vs PlanetScale**: Community-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
- **Installation**: Clone https://github.com/slatedb/slatedb or deploy with Docker Compose
- **Setup**: Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- **Data Storage**: All application data lives locally on your own machine.

### CrateDB
- **Fork Page**: [CrateDB Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/cratedb)
- **Head-to-Head Comparison**: [PlanetScale vs CrateDB](https://caniforkit.com/vs/planetscale-vs-cratedb)
- **Official Website**: https://cratedb.com
- **Source Code Repository**: https://github.com/crate/crate
- **License**: Open Source
- **Runs On**: Local
- **GitHub Stars**: 4.5k
- **Maintenance Activity**: nov 2026
- **Supported Platforms**: desktop, cross-platform, one-click install
- **Summary**: Distributed SQL database designed for high-speed ingestion and complex queries on massive datasets, ideal for IoT and time-series data.
- **The Catch vs PlanetScale**: Community-driven open source project without dedicated enterprise SLAs.
- **Installation**: Clone https://github.com/crate/crate or deploy with Docker Compose
- **Setup**: Download the native package or installer for your operating system.
- **Data Storage**: All application data lives locally on your own machine.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is the best free alternative to PlanetScale?
The top free alternative to PlanetScale is Supabase (open source, Apache-2.0). Provides a full backend stack built on Postgres: authentication, auto-generated APIs, edge functions, realtime subscriptions, file storage, and vector search. Other popular PlanetScale replacements include TiDB, Neon Postgres, Turso.

### How much does switching from PlanetScale to a free alternative save?
PlanetScale starts at $25/month per seat ($300/year). Switching a 5-person team to a free alternative like Supabase saves $1,500 per year in software subscription fees.

### What is the catch when switching away from PlanetScale?
While Supabase replaces core PlanetScale features without subscription fees, the real-world trade-off is: Supabase replaces Convex's document/function runtime with PostgreSQL, SQL migrations, row-level security, and separate services, so the application architecture must be rewritten rather than simply moved.

## Related

- [databases Software Category Hub](https://caniforkit.com/category/databases)
- [All Paid SaaS Alternatives Index](https://caniforkit.com/alternatives)
- [Self-Hosted Software Directory](https://caniforkit.com/self-hosted)
- [Homepage](https://caniforkit.com)