# Vertical vs. horizontal scaling: What's the difference and which is better?

DevFeed: [Vertical vs. horizontal scaling: What's the difference and which is better?](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/vertical-vs-horizontal-scaling-what-s-the-difference-and-which-is-better-23823.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://cockroachlabs.com/blog/vertical-scaling-vs-horizontal-scaling>)

Author: Charlie Custer

Published: 2023-04-10T00:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Cockroach Labs](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/cockroach-labs.md>)

Topics: [autoscaling](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/autoscaling.md>), [Cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud.md>), [Database](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/database.md>), [Server](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/server.md>)

Tags: [cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cloud.md>), [database](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/database.md>), [gcp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gcp.md>), [partition](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/partition.md>), [scale](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/scale.md>), [server](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/server.md>), [work](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/work.md>)

## AI overview

The article compares vertical scaling, which increases the capacity of existing machines, with horizontal scaling, which adds machines or nodes. It explains examples using cloud databases and notes that the better approach depends on the system and workload; scaling terminology can also be used imprecisely.

## Source excerpt

So you need to scale. That's a good problem to have! But should you scale up or scale out? There's no easy answer, so let's take a closer look at horizontal scaling vs. vertical scaling , how they compare, and what the pros and cons are for each approach.