Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PlanetScale VS Microsoft SQL

Compare PlanetScale VS Microsoft SQL and see what are their differences

PlanetScale logo PlanetScale

The last database you'll ever need. Go from idea to IPO.

Microsoft SQL logo Microsoft SQL

Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.
  • PlanetScale Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-15
  • Microsoft SQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-26

PlanetScale features and specs

  • Scalability
    PlanetScale is designed for massive scale, leveraging the Vitess engine that powers YouTube. This makes it suitable for applications requiring high scalability for both read and write operations.
  • Global Distribution
    Offers multi-region deployment, ensuring low-latency access and higher availability, beneficial for globally distributed applications.
  • Serverless Approach
    The platform takes a serverless approach to database management, which means automatic scaling, less infrastructure to manage, and potential cost savings.
  • Branching and Sharding
    Supports database branching for isolated environments like development, testing, and production. It also supports sharding, which helps in distributing data across multiple nodes for better performance and reliability.
  • High Availability
    PlanetScale provides high availability with automated failover mechanisms, ensuring minimal downtime.
  • Strong Data Integrity
    Uses Vitess’s strong consistency models to ensure data integrity across distributed systems.
  • Developer Friendly
    Includes tools and features that make it easier for developers to manage, such as automatic migrations and simplified schema management.
  • Integration
    Can be easily integrated with various cloud service providers, making it flexible for different deployment environments.

Possible disadvantages of PlanetScale

  • Learning Curve
    The platform comes with a learning curve, especially for teams unfamiliar with Vitess or managing distributed databases.
  • Cost
    While it can offer cost savings in some areas, the pricing for large-scale deployments and multi-region setups can be relatively high.
  • Complexity of Advanced Features
    Advanced features like sharding and branching can add complexity to the database management operations.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    Compared to more established databases, the ecosystem and community around PlanetScale might be smaller, which can affect the availability of third-party tools and community support.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Using a proprietary platform can lead to vendor lock-in, making it harder to switch to other database services if needed.
  • Early-stage Platform
    While promising, PlanetScale is relatively new compared to some other established database services, which means it may lack some maturity or have bugs that older platforms have ironed out.

Microsoft SQL features and specs

  • Comprehensive Feature Set
    SQL Server offers a wide range of features including advanced analytics, in-memory capabilities, robust security measures, and integration services.
  • High Performance
    With in-memory OLTP and support for persistent memory technologies, SQL Server provides high transaction and query performance.
  • Scalability
    SQL Server can scale from small installations on single machines to large, data-intensive applications requiring high throughput and storage.
  • Security
    SQL Server offers advanced security features like encryption, dynamic data masking, and advanced threat protection, ensuring data safety and compliance.
  • Integrations
    It easily integrates with other Microsoft products such as Azure, Power BI, and Active Directory, providing a cohesive ecosystem for enterprise solutions.
  • Developer Friendly
    It supports a wide range of development tools and languages including .NET, Python, Java, and more, making it highly versatile for developers.
  • High Availability
    Features like Always On availability groups and failover clustering provide high availability and disaster recovery options for critical applications.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft SQL

  • Cost
    SQL Server can be expensive, particularly for the Enterprise edition. Licensing costs can add up quickly depending on the features and scale required.
  • Complexity
    Due to its comprehensive feature set, SQL Server can be complex to configure and manage, requiring skilled administrators and developers.
  • Resource Intensive
    SQL Server can be resource-intensive, requiring substantial hardware resources for optimal performance, which can increase overall operational costs.
  • Windows-Centric
    While SQL Server can run on Linux, it is primarily optimized for and tightly integrated with the Windows ecosystem, which may not suit all organizations.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Being a proprietary solution, it can cause vendor lock-in, making it challenging to switch to alternative database systems without significant migration efforts.

PlanetScale videos

PlanetScale Beta - Release Radar

More videos:

  • Review - Using PlanetScale (MySQL) with Next.js and Vercel!
  • Review - PlanetScale and Prisma: building in the cloud - Nick Van Wiggeren | Prisma Day 2021

Microsoft SQL videos

3.1 Microsoft SQL Server Review

More videos:

  • Review - What is Microsoft SQL Server?
  • Review - Querying Microsoft SQL Server (T-SQL) | Udemy Instructor, Phillip Burton [bestseller]

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PlanetScale and Microsoft SQL)
Databases
29 29%
71% 71
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Relational Databases
18 18%
82% 82
Vitess
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using PlanetScale and Microsoft SQL. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, PlanetScale seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 102 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PlanetScale mentions (102)

  • Ask HN: What's the best free database provider out there?
    Https://planetscale.com/ would be a good bet. - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • List of 45 databases in the world
    PlanetScale — Serverless database platform built on MySQL and Vitess. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Good alternatives to Heroku
    Planetscale - Directly from their website: "PlanetScale is a MySQL-compatible serverless database that brings you scale, performance, and reliability — without sacrificing developer experience.". - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • MySQL or Top Alternatives in 2024 and How to Choose One
    PlanetScale is a MySQL-compatible database that offers scale, performance, and reliability, and many more powerful database features. Leveraging cloud-native architecture, PlanetScale enables organizations to deploy, manage, and scale MySQL-compatible databases with ease. With features such as automatic sharding, distributed transactions, and high availability, PlanetScale enables businesses to handle large... - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Breaking the Myth: Scalable, Multi-Region, Low-Latency App Exists And Will Not Cost You A Kidney.
    For MySQL, we've got PlanetScale, and for PostgreSQL, there's Neon. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

Microsoft SQL mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Microsoft SQL yet. Tracking of Microsoft SQL recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing PlanetScale and Microsoft SQL, you can also consider the following products

Datahike - A durable datalog database adaptable for distribution.

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Datomic - The fully transactional, cloud-ready, distributed database

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

MarkLogic Server - MarkLogic Server is a multi-model database that has both NoSQL and trusted enterprise data management capabilities.

SQLite - SQLite Home Page