PlanetScale vs Briefkasten
Self-hosted for $4/mo on hetzner CAX11, versus $0-$0/user/mo on PlanetScale.
Side-by-side
| PlanetScale | Briefkasten (self-hosted) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | $0-$0/user/mo | $4.13/mo flat (any team size) |
| Hosting | PlanetScale's servers | Your VPS (hetzner CAX11) |
| Data ownership | PlanetScale controls the data | Your disk, your encryption |
| Source code | Closed | Open (MIT) |
| Customization | API + integrations only | Full source access; modify freely |
| Maintenance burden | Zero | Backups + updates (Docker available) |
| Health score (ossreplace) | — | 56 / 100 |
Why teams leave PlanetScale
Briefkasten answers this by: Open-source alternatives that can replace PlanetScale.
The cost math
Assumes 5-person team using PlanetScale at the midpoint price ($0/user/mo).
| Period | PlanetScale | Briefkasten on hetzner | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0 | $4.13 | $-4.13 |
| Yearly | $0 | $49.56 | $-49.56 |
| 3 years | $0 | $149 | $-149 |
Deploy Briefkasten now
One-click deploys at the cheapest provider for this workload:
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Common questions
Is Briefkasten a good alternative to PlanetScale?
Briefkasten is an open-source, self-hostable alternative to PlanetScale with an ossreplace health score of 56/100 — a composite of project activity, maturity, community, security, and adoption. It runs on your own hetzner VPS from $4.13/mo with full source access under the MIT license, versus PlanetScale's $0–0/user/mo hosted plans.
How much cheaper is Briefkasten than PlanetScale?
A 5-person team pays about $0/mo on PlanetScale. Self-hosting Briefkasten on hetzner CAX11 costs a flat $4.13/mo regardless of team size — roughly $-149 less over three years (-Infinity% lower).
Is Briefkasten hard to self-host?
Briefkasten ships a Docker setup, so deployment is usually a single docker-compose command on a $4.13/mo VPS. You own the backups and updates, and there are no per-seat fees.
Do you keep control of your data with Briefkasten vs PlanetScale?
Yes. Because Briefkasten runs on your own server, the data lives on your disk under your encryption. With PlanetScale, PlanetScale controls the hosting, storage, and access.