Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

PlanetScale VS Backblaze

Compare PlanetScale VS Backblaze and see what are their differences

PlanetScale logo PlanetScale

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

Backblaze logo Backblaze

Backblaze's remote backup automatically backs up your data to our secure datacenter.
  • PlanetScale Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-15
  • Backblaze Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-17

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 Vitessโ€™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.

Backblaze features and specs

  • Unlimited Storage
    Backblaze offers unlimited storage for a fixed price, making it an excellent option for users with large amounts of data.
  • Simple Pricing
    Backblaze has a straightforward pricing model without hidden fees, simplifying budgeting for cloud storage.
  • Automatic Backups
    Backblaze provides automatic, continuous backups, ensuring that your data is consistently backed up without manual intervention.
  • Ease of Use
    The interface and setup process are user-friendly, making it accessible even for those with limited technical knowledge.
  • Rapid Restore
    Backblaze offers multiple restore options, including via hard drive delivery, which can significantly speed up the process of data recovery.
  • Highly Secure
    Using AES 256-bit encryption and optional private encryption keys, Backblaze places a strong emphasis on data security.

Possible disadvantages of Backblaze

  • No File Sync
    Unlike some competitors, Backblaze does not offer file syncing capabilities, limiting its usefulness for collaborative or cross-device work.
  • Initial Backup Speed
    The initial backup process can be slow, especially for users with large amounts of data and slower internet connections.
  • Limited Versioning
    Backblaze retains versions of files for 30 days only, which might be insufficient for some users who need longer-term versioning.
  • No Linux Support
    Backblaze does not support Linux operating systems, which can be a deal-breaker for users who rely on this platform.
  • Geographical Limitations
    Backblazeโ€™s data centers are predominantly located in the United States, which might pose latency issues for international users.

Analysis of PlanetScale

Overall verdict

  • PlanetScale is a strong choice for developers and companies looking for a scalable, reliable, and developer-friendly database solution. Its foundations on proven technology and modern features make it a good option for various use cases.

Why this product is good

  • PlanetScale is known for its serverless database platform designed to be simple, scalable, and efficient. It is built on Vitess, which powers companies like YouTube and Slack, offering great performance at scale. PlanetScale provides features such as branching, sharding, and horizontal scaling without downtime, appealing to developers who need robust infrastructure. Additionally, it's designed to integrate seamlessly with developer workflows, providing tools like a CLI and a web console for easy database management.

Recommended for

  • Developers building cloud-native applications
  • Teams needing scalable databases with no downtime
  • Organizations requiring seamless integration with existing development workflows
  • Startups and tech companies looking for robust infrastructure

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

Backblaze videos

Backblaze Review - I ALMOST LOST IT ALL!

More videos:

  • Tutorial - BackBlaze Backup Review and Tutorial 2020
  • Review - The Ultimate Cloud Storage Backup Option - Backblaze

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PlanetScale and Backblaze)
Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Storage
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Backup And Disaster Recovery

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare PlanetScale and Backblaze

PlanetScale Reviews

We have no reviews of PlanetScale yet.
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Backblaze Reviews

Best Top 12 MEGA Alternatives in 2024
Backblaze is a streamlined and secure online backup service. It's beginner-friendly and works well for backing up data from a variety of cloud services, such as backing up Google Drive to Backblaze. However, if you want more control over your backups, Backblaze may frustrate you.
Wasabi, Storj, Backblaze et al, are promising 80%+ savings compared to Amazon S3... What's the catch?
When you use a Big 3 provider, like Azure Blob Storage or Amazon S3, youโ€™re often paying for reliable storage that a vast swath of enterprises with low-risk tolerance can bet the farm on. Azure has a wide range of options for replication (which has a considerable impact on the reliability of your storage), including LRS (Low Redundancy Storage) if you want to save some cost....
Source: dev.to
Raising Prices is Hard
Every time a person leaves Backblaze we send one final email thanking them for their time with us, wishing them well, and asking if they have any feedback. Those emails go directly into our ticketing system where I read all of them every month to get a picture of why people are leaving Backblaze. Sometimes they are reasons we cannot address, but if we can, they go on our...
Google Drive Alternatives: 10 Best Cloud Storage Services
Thus if you have some sensitive files, you can choose not to upload them to the cloud. Once you set up the service, everything happens automatically without you having to do anything. The only problem with this service will happen once you want to restore your data, as your backup over time can become really large and it will take a long time to download it all. Apart from...
Source: beebom.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, PlanetScale should be more popular than Backblaze. It has been mentiond 105 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 (105)

  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (June 2026)
    PlanetScale | https://planetscale.com/ | Software Engineer - PlanetScale Postgres | Remote (AMER, LATAM & EMEA) | Base range: $120,000 - $290,000 USD I'm the hiring manager for this position. Come build the best Postgres product on the planet with super talented folks, very high autonomy, tier-zero databases for some of the biggest and fastest growing data sets. Apply at... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • PlanetScale announces Postgres is GA
    i'll take the opposite side. I was very impressed with their website. The very first line: > The worldโ€™s fastest and most scalable cloud databases the second line: > PlanetScale brings you the fastest databases available in the cloud. Both our Postgres and Vitess databases deliver exceptional speed and reliability, with Vitess adding ultra scalability through horizontal sharding. I know exactly what they do. Zero... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Serverless Backend: A New Era for Developers
    Database: It helps storing, managing and retriving data in a structured manner (e.g. NeonDB, PlanetScale, DynamoDB). - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: What's the best free database provider out there?
    Https://planetscale.com/ would be a good bet. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • List of 45 databases in the world
    PlanetScaleโ€Šโ€”โ€ŠServerless database platform built on MySQL and Vitess. - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
View more

Backblaze mentions (43)

  • Tech Stack Lessons from scaling 20x in a year
    Last year we used Backblaze for blob storage. It was cheap and reliable. The problem wasn't technical, it was purely political and a question of positioning. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • The Tech Stack of a Cloud Computing Startup
    Redis handles caching to keep things quick, and we stash blobs like Backups (encrypted at rest of course) in Backblaze for cheap, dependable object storage. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • What is this red exclamation mark in my Mac preferences view?
    I've been seeing this red exclamation mark in my Backblaze preferences view on my Mac. When I click it, it only takes me to my account view on backblaze.com. Obviously, it's intended to indicate that something isn't right, but I get no information. I recently deleted my existing backup and am starting fresh with my personal machine and two external drives. I'm running 8.5.0.660 (20230127194041) on Ventura 13.1.1 (a). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Unable to login
    What seems to be happening here is that the OP's ISP is blocking backblazeb2.com (where the API servers and all the files are), but allowing backblaze.com (where the login page is). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Best Cloud Storage for 4 TB data (EU - IT) MAC
    For more than that or for more fractioned billing, I'd suggest using Backblaze (neat price comparison https://www.vmwareblog.org/looking-affordable-cloud-storage-aws-vs-azure-vs-backblaze-b2/). They charge for data retrievals like 2 cents per GB. Source: over 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

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

Supabase - An open source Firebase alternative

CrashPlan - Protect Your Data. Anytime. Anywhere.

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

ManageWP - ManageWP is a service for bloggers, site owners and web based companies helping them manage multiple WordPress sites from one dashboard.

Vercel - Vercel is the platform for frontend developers, providing the speed and reliability innovators need to create at the moment of inspiration.

MiniTool Partition Wizard - As a partition magic alternative, Minitool Partition Wizard is the latest partition manager software which be used to manage partition on Windows 10/8/7/XP and Server 2003/2008/2012.