9 Open Source Alternatives to PlanetScale

Supabase delivers a complete platform centered around a full Postgres database with built-in authentication using row level security. Developers gain instant RESTful APIs, real-time data synchronization, and edge functions to run custom server-side code. Additionally, support for vector embeddings enables easy ML integrations. The platform features an intuitive dashboard for managing databases, deploying functions, and controlling resources, making it straightforward to start small and scale to millions of users as your project evolves.

TiDB Cloud Serverless provides a fully managed, auto-scaling SQL database designed for unpredictable workloads. Its architecture enables non-blocking schema changes, high-performance analytical queries, and effortless integration with modern stacks. Advanced features include an AI-assisted SQL Editor, branching capabilities, a low-code data service, and built-in monitoring. A generous free tier offers 25GiB storage with 250 million reads, with a pay-as-you-go model for additional usage.

CrateDB empowers developers to execute ad-hoc queries on billions of records in milliseconds and perform complex aggregations across diverse data types. Its native SQL support, dynamic indexing, and flexible data schema accommodate structured, semi-structured, geospatial, and vector data. With multiple deployment options including cloud, on-premises, and edge, CrateDB is built for scalability and high performance.

Neon Postgres enables teams to deploy reliable, production-grade Postgres databases without the burden of traditional server management. The platform supports instant provisioning in 300ms, seamless autoscaling based on load, and innovative branching for isolated development and CI/CD environments. Designed for modern workflows, it integrates effortlessly with popular frameworks and languages, ensuring cost efficiency and high availability with scale-to-zero capabilities.

SlateDB harnesses your object store's 99.999999999% durability while operating without disks, thus eliminating failures and corruption associated with traditional hardware. It simplifies replication by relying on the object store's mechanisms and provides tunable performance configurations to optimize for low latency, cost, or high durability. The engine supports one writer with multiple readers, including features to detect and fence zombie writers, and is built in Rust for versatile language support.

Hydra integrates columnar storage into PostgreSQL to enable efficient, low-latency analytical processing on time series and transactional data. With features like isolated, autoscaling compute, automatic caching, 10X storage compression, and bottomless storage, Hydra simplifies the deployment of real-time analytics systems while eliminating resource contention and complex tuning.

Instant delivers a Firebase-like experience by letting you subscribe directly to a realtime database from your app. It simplifies building modern applications with features such as relational queries in the browser, automatic optimistic updates with rollback support, and built-in offline functionality. The tool is backed by experienced engineers from top tech companies, enabling you to focus on UX without worrying about the complex infrastructure behind live data operations.

Timescale enhances PostgreSQL by delivering lightning-fast query performance, efficient data ingestion, and real-time aggregation through its hybrid row-columnar engine. The tool features automatic partitioning, columnar compression, and dynamic scaling to manage vast streams of live data. It simplifies DB operations with built-in high availability, continuous backups, and seamless integration with cloud-native infrastructures, making it ideal for rapid prototyping and production-grade applications.

OceanBase powers mission-critical applications through unparalleled query performance, 100% ACID compliance, and robust distributed transactions using multi-replica synchronization. It simplifies data management by unifying OLTP, OLAP, and AI workloads in one system, while offering elastic scalability and automatic disaster recovery for zero downtime. Its multi-model support—including SQL, NoSQL, XML, and JSON—streamlines architecture and reduces storage costs with advanced compression.