PolarDB for MySQL

At a glance

• Editor score
  7.8 / 10
• Pricing
  From $39/mo
• Best for
  High-availability MySQL at cluster scale
• Free plan
  No
• Paid from
  $39/mo
• High availability
  Yes
• Founded
  2009
• Facts checked
  20 Sep 2026

• Where it wins

  • Multi-zone and cross-region high-availability options
  • Point-in-time recovery plus automated snapshots and redo-log backups
  • Serverless vertical and horizontal autoscaling

• Where it doesn't

  • No free plan for smaller or experimental deployments
  • Storage is billed separately from compute
  • Pricing and configurations vary by region

Our verdict on PolarDB for MySQL

PolarDB for MySQL is Alibaba Cloud’s managed, MySQL-compatible relational database service for production applications and enterprise workloads. Its compute-storage decoupled architecture uses shared distributed storage, while managed capabilities cover read/write splitting, read replicas, connection pooling, overload protection, backups, recovery, networking, and online scaling. It is aimed at teams that need MySQL compatibility with high availability, large-scale storage, and managed database operations rather than a lightweight standalone database server.

The published plans show two billing options for Cluster Edition — General-purpose 2-core 4 GB. Monthly billing starts at $39 per node per month, while the hourly option is $0.081 per node per hour. Both options list up to 100 TB of storage capacity, 1,800 maximum connections, up to 4,000 maximum IOPS with PSL4 or 8,000 maximum IOPS with PSL5, and 1 Gbps of I/O bandwidth. Pricing and available configurations vary by region, and storage is billed separately. The service supports provisioned, pay-as-you-go, and serverless billing, giving teams several ways to align compute use with workload patterns.

Its strongest fit is high-availability architecture: deployments can use single-zone, dual-zone, three-zone, or cross-region configurations. Automated snapshots, redo-log backups, and point-in-time recovery apply to clusters, databases, and tables. Private network endpoints through VPC, Transparent Data Encryption, and SSL transmission encryption also support controlled application connectivity. Serverless vertical and horizontal autoscaling, load balancing, and connection pooling extend the operational feature set. Choose PolarDB for MySQL when shared storage, recovery controls, private networking, and cluster-scale availability matter. Buyers seeking a free plan, a simpler small-scale database service, or a single bundled storage price should consider a narrower alternative.

PolarDB for MySQL pricing

All 1 PolarDB for MySQL plans and prices →

PolarDB for MySQL fact sheet

Alternatives to PolarDB for MySQL

• Aiven for MySQLFlexible managed MySQL with a free tier, low entry price, and production features.10.0
• MySQL HeatWaveA broad managed MySQL service for advanced analytics and AI workloads.—
• Amazon RDSA mature AWS-native choice for managed MySQL operations, scaling, and availability.—

See all PolarDB for MySQL alternatives →

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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Sep 2026

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