The right PlanetScale alternative starts with your data model. If you want standard Postgres with extras, pick a managed or serverless Postgres service. If you need to survive a regional outage and handle heavy scale, look at distributed SQL. Building an app with thousands of tenants, consider per-tenant or multi-tenant databases. Then test backups and restores before anything else.
Changing a production database is the move developers put off longest, and for good reason. Code can be rolled back in minutes. Data can't. PlanetScale is a managed database service, and if you're looking around, the ten options below cover the main directions teams go: managed Postgres, serverless Postgres, distributed SQL and some more specialised designs.
They're in no particular order, A to Z, and each description comes from the vendor's own website. Read them as claims and prove the ones that matter with your own data.
Do you make managed database services? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Which database shape fits your app?
A typical web app or SaaS product
Most apps are well served by managed or serverless Postgres. You get a familiar database, a huge ecosystem of tools, and providers that add extras such as auth, storage or branching for development.
Users across several regions, and downtime isn't an option
Distributed SQL spreads data across nodes and regions so the database keeps running if one part fails. It's more to learn, so pick it because you need the resilience, not because it sounds impressive.
Many customers, each with their own data
Multi-tenant designs and per-tenant databases help keep each customer's data separate and easy to manage. If tenant isolation keeps coming up in sales calls, start here.
Live dashboards on top of transactions
Some engines handle transactions and analytics together, which saves running a separate analytics database for real-time reporting.
Ten managed databases, A to Z
Aiven
Best for: companies that want to stream, store and serve data with managed open-source services across the major clouds.
CockroachDB
Best for: teams that need a cloud-native distributed SQL database built for resilience, horizontal scaling and global deployment.
Crunchy Bridge
Best for: engineering teams wanting fully managed Postgres on AWS, GCP, Azure or Heroku, with Postgres experts on support.
Neon
Best for: developers who want instant, branchable, serverless Postgres with auth, functions, storage and an AI gateway around it.
Nile
Best for: B2B SaaS builders who want Postgres re-engineered for secure, scalable multi-tenant applications.
Prisma Postgres
Best for: developers who want serverless PostgreSQL with instant setup, built-in connection pooling and automated backups.
SingleStore
Best for: apps needing live reads and writes alongside analytics, using one engine for both workloads.
Supabase
Best for: app builders wanting a Postgres database plus authentication, instant APIs, realtime, functions, storage and vector embeddings.
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Turso
Best for: products that need lots of small databases, one for every user, agent or tenant, with embedded replicas.
YugabyteDB
Best for: projects that want distributed PostgreSQL that can start serverless and grow into mission-critical workloads without re-platforming.
Summary table
| Tool | Database type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Aiven | Open-source data platform | Several open-source data services on one platform |
| CockroachDB | Distributed SQL | Resilience and global deployment |
| Crunchy Bridge | Managed Postgres | Managed on the cloud you already use |
| Neon | Serverless Postgres | Branchable Postgres for apps and agents |
| Nile | Multi-tenant Postgres | SaaS apps with many customer tenants |
| Prisma Postgres | Serverless Postgres | Instant setup with pooling and backups |
| SingleStore | Real-time database | Transactions and analytics in one engine |
| Supabase | Postgres platform | A full backend on top of Postgres |
| Turso | SQLite-based database | One database per user or tenant |
| YugabyteDB | Distributed PostgreSQL | Starting small, growing to mission-critical |
Back up and test the restore before you migrate
This is the step that saves careers. The UK NCSC's advice on backing up your most important data gives a simple rule of thumb: back up anything you value, meaning anything that would inconvenience you if you could no longer access it. A production database is the clearest case there is.
Before you move, take a fresh backup on your current platform, restore it somewhere separate, and check the data's all there. Then do the same on the new platform during your trial. A backup you've never restored is a hope, not a plan.
Planning migration day
- Run a full test migration with a copy of production data and time it.
- List every app, job and report that connects to the database, and its connection string.
- Decide your cutover approach and how long writes can pause, if at all.
- Keep the old database read-only for a set period so you can compare and roll back.
- Watch query performance closely for the first week after the switch.
Two of my guides help with this part: database migration tools for moving the data itself, and database monitoring tools for spotting slow queries once you've landed.
Developer workflow counts as much as uptime
A database isn't only where data lives. It shapes how your team works every day. Branching lets developers test schema changes on a copy of real data without touching production. Built-in auth and APIs can save weeks on a new product. Good local development tools mean nobody's afraid to change a migration file.
So ask your developers what slows them down with the current setup, and weight those answers heavily. A platform your team enjoys working with gets looked after; one they dread gets workarounds, and workarounds are where outages start.
Questions to ask each provider
- Which regions can my data live in, and can I choose?
- How do point-in-time restores work, and how far back can I go?
- What does connection pooling look like for serverless functions?
- How do I get my data out again if I leave?
- Who answers when the database is down at the weekend?
My advice for a database switch
Don't migrate to chase a feature you might use one day. Move when there's a clear reason: a scaling wall, a data residency need, a developer workflow your team keeps fighting. Then pick the provider closest to what you run today, because the fewer changes you make at once, the quicker you'll find the cause when something goes wrong. That's dull advice, and it's the kind that keeps your app online.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Postgres a good choice for most apps?
For many web apps and SaaS products, yes. It's widely supported, has a large ecosystem and is offered by many managed and serverless providers, which keeps your options open later.
What is distributed SQL?
Distributed SQL databases spread data across several nodes or regions while still behaving like a SQL database. They're built for resilience and scale, and they suit apps where downtime would hurt the business badly.
How do I move a production database safely?
Back up, restore the backup somewhere separate to prove it works, run a full test migration, plan the cutover, and keep the old database read-only for a while so you can roll back.
Is this list ranked?
No. The databases are listed A to Z, not in order of preference, and each description is based on the vendor's own website.
