PlanetScale startup credits: free migration (2026)

I quick answer

PlanetScale's startup offer: no published amount (free migration services; credits unconfirmed).

No equity, no fees. No referral needed; apply directly.

Stage fit: No stage criteria published. Best fit is a startup that already has a production database to move and is a YC company or fast-growing.. Difficulty: moderate.

II key facts

PlanetScale at a glance

Max value: No published amount (free migration services; credits unconfirmed)
Stage fit: No stage criteria published. Best fit is a startup that already has a production database to move and is a YC company or fast-growing.
Takes equity: No
Who files it: You (no code needed)
Geography: Global.
Referral needed: No
Difficulty: Moderate
Review time: Not published
Credits expire: Not published.

III available programs and tiers

What PlanetScale actually gives you

Complimentary migration services
Free hands-on migration by PlanetScale specialists: requirements call, Discovery Tool assessment, environment setup, data transfer, validation and cutover. PlanetScale says migration pricing varies with workload complexity, database size and timeline, and is 'frequently discounted or complimentary', especially for large workloads and straightforward migrations. No dollar value is published.
Y Combinator portfolio companies and 'select high-growth startups' (criteria not published). Get in touch via planetscale.com/migrate or the contact form to see if you qualify.
Migration credits (unconfirmed)
An archived 15 Nov 2025 version of planetscale.com/startups said PlanetScale could provide credits to offset migration costs. That wording is no longer on the live startups or migrate pages, and no credit amount has ever been published by PlanetScale. Ask sales whether any credits are available before planning around them.
Teams moving an existing database from Amazon RDS or Aurora, Google Cloud SQL, Supabase, Neon, Heroku, MariaDB, Azure Database for MySQL or similar. Availability is at PlanetScale's discretion.
Standard self-serve pricing
Single-node Postgres from $5/month; high-availability clusters (1 primary + 2 replicas across 3 availability zones) from under $40/month per the startups page. Pay as you go with no long-term contract. Annual-commitment discounts were advertised on the Nov 2025 startups page but are not stated on the live pages, so ask sales.
Anyone with a valid debit or credit card. No free tier: new Hobby databases stopped on March 6, 2024 and existing ones were put to sleep on April 8, 2024.

IV eligibility

Who qualifies

You likely qualify if

You already run a production Postgres or MySQL-compatible database elsewhere (RDS, Aurora, Cloud SQL, Supabase, Neon, Heroku, MariaDB, Azure Database for MySQL, etc.) that you intend to move to PlanetScale.
For the complimentary migration services: you are a Y Combinator portfolio company, or PlanetScale judges you a 'select high-growth startup' after you get in touch (no published threshold).
You can give the contact form your work email, company, product interest (Vitess, Neki, Postgres, Multiple or Not sure), current database size and details of your setup.
You can put a valid debit or credit card on the account when you create a paid database; PlanetScale does not accept prepaid cards and requires a payment method on every plan.

You won't qualify if

Greenfield projects with no existing database to migrate: the free offer is for migration services.
Anyone looking for a free or hobby tier: the Hobby tier no longer accepts new databases and the cheapest plan is $5/month.
Startups expecting automatic or self-serve credits: there is no application form, no promo code and no published credit amount; everything is handled through sales.
Non-YC startups have no guaranteed path: 'select high-growth startups' is at PlanetScale's discretion.

Geography. Global. Databases deploy in 12 AWS regions (N. Virginia, Ohio, Oregon, Dublin, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Mumbai, Montreal, Sao Paulo) and 7 GCP regions per the PlanetScale regions docs; engine availability per region and prices vary by provider and region.

V how to apply

How to apply to PlanetScale for Startups

01Optional: run the free Postgres migration assessment at planetscale.com/liftoff, or the PlanetScale Discovery Tool, to get a readiness report on complexity, blockers and the recommended migration path.
02Go to planetscale.com/migrate and choose 'Talk to our migration team', which opens the contact form at planetscale.com/contact. Fill in your name, work email, company, product interest (Vitess, Neki, Postgres), database size and details.
03In the details box, say you are moving from your current provider, state that you are a Y Combinator portfolio company if you are, and ask whether you qualify for complimentary or discounted migration and whether any credits are available.
04Take the call: the migration team assesses your requirements and proposes a custom migration strategy and pricing.
05If you are moving to Neki (sharded Postgres, in Platform Preview), email migrations@planetscale.com; automated Neki imports are not available yet.
06Create your account at auth.planetscale.com/sign-up when you are ready to create a database; a debit or credit card is required for paid plans.

Review time: Not published. Sales-led: the contact form leads to a call with the migration team; no SLA stated.. Apply at planetscale.com/contact.

VI what changed

What changed in 2025 and 2026

Between November 2025 and October 2026 PlanetScale removed the 'Migration assistance and credits' section ('We can work with you to provide credits to help offset migration costs') and the annual-commitment and consumption-commitment discount lines from planetscale.com/startups. The live page now says 'Clusters start at $5 per month' and 'reach out to discuss migration assistance'. The offer of complimentary migration services for YC and select high-growth startups is on planetscale.com/migrate. Earlier: the Hobby free tier closed to new databases on March 6, 2024 (existing ones slept April 8, 2024); $5/month single-node Postgres was announced October 30, 2025 and generally available November 14, 2025.

Dated change log for every program →

VII the AWS angle

PlanetScale credits and your AWS bill

PlanetScale is a managed Postgres and MySQL (Vitess) service that runs on AWS and GCP infrastructure and competes directly with Amazon RDS and Aurora, and its startup help is built around migrating off those services, so it replaces part of an AWS bill rather than reducing it. AWS Activate credits are generally not usable on AWS Marketplace purchases, so do not assume they cover PlanetScale. PlanetScale Enterprise is listed on AWS Marketplace (for example a 12-month contract listing at $36,000), and PlanetScale is an AWS ISV Accelerate co-sell partner; whether a Marketplace purchase counts toward your own AWS commitment depends on your AWS agreement, so confirm with your AWS account team.

VIIIfaq

PlanetScale startup credits, answered

How much does PlanetScale give startups?

PlanetScale's startup offer: no published amount (free migration services; credits unconfirmed). There are 3 tiers: Complimentary migration services: Free hands-on migration by PlanetScale specialists: requirements call, Discovery Tool assessment, environment setup, data transfer, validation and cutover; Migration credits (unconfirmed): An archived 15 Nov 2025 version of planetscale.com/startups said PlanetScale could provide credits to offset migration costs; Standard self-serve pricing: Single-node Postgres from $5/month.

Does PlanetScale take equity?

No. PlanetScale for Startups is a credits program, not an investment; you keep 100% of your company. No referral needed; apply directly.

Who qualifies for PlanetScale for Startups?

Stage fit: No stage criteria published. Best fit is a startup that already has a production database to move and is a YC company or fast-growing. You usually qualify if: you already run a production Postgres or MySQL-compatible database elsewhere (RDS, Aurora, Cloud SQL, Supabase, Neon, Heroku, MariaDB, Azure Database for MySQL, etc.) that you intend to move to PlanetScale.; for the complimentary migration services: you are a Y Combinator portfolio company, or PlanetScale judges you a 'select high-growth startup' after you get in touch (no published threshold).; you can give the contact form your work email, company, product interest (Vitess, Neki, Postgres, Multiple or Not sure), current database size and details of your setup. You will not qualify if: greenfield projects with no existing database to migrate: the free offer is for migration services.; anyone looking for a free or hobby tier: the Hobby tier no longer accepts new databases and the cheapest plan is $5/month.

How long does PlanetScale take to approve credits?

Not published. Sales-led: the contact form leads to a call with the migration team; no SLA stated. Difficulty: moderate, a real application and usually some back and forth.

When do PlanetScale credits expire?

Not published. Migration pricing and any credits are set per deal with sales.

Can I combine PlanetScale credits with AWS credits?

PlanetScale is a managed Postgres and MySQL (Vitess) service that runs on AWS and GCP infrastructure and competes directly with Amazon RDS and Aurora, and its startup help is built around migrating off those services, so it replaces part of an AWS bill rather than reducing it. AWS Activate credits are generally not usable on AWS Marketplace purchases, so do not assume they cover PlanetScale. On AWS, CloudRoute matches you for free with a vetted partner who can file MAP, POC or IW funding when the workload qualifies and AWS approves it. The PlanetScale application you submit yourself.

Verified against planetscale.com/migrate on Oct 9, 2026 (confidence: medium). Programs change; always confirm on the official page. 15 sources checked.