diff --git a/.changeset/wet-vans-rest.md b/.changeset/wet-vans-rest.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..506ada4112
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/wet-vans-rest.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"create-t3-app": patch
+---
+
+changed default password error message for `start-database` script
diff --git a/cli/template/extras/start-database/mysql.sh b/cli/template/extras/start-database/mysql.sh
index 2579f259ea..268df5cc53 100755
--- a/cli/template/extras/start-database/mysql.sh
+++ b/cli/template/extras/start-database/mysql.sh
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ if [ "$DB_PASSWORD" == "password" ]; then
   echo "You are using the default database password"
   read -p "Should we generate a random password for you? [y/N]: " -r REPLY
   if ! [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
-    echo "Please set a password in the .env file and try again"
+    echo "Please change the default password in the .env file and try again"
     exit 1
   fi
   # Generate a random URL-safe password
diff --git a/cli/template/extras/start-database/postgres.sh b/cli/template/extras/start-database/postgres.sh
index 164e9889ac..11fb2042ad 100755
--- a/cli/template/extras/start-database/postgres.sh
+++ b/cli/template/extras/start-database/postgres.sh
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ if [ "$DB_PASSWORD" = "password" ]; then
   echo "You are using the default database password"
   read -p "Should we generate a random password for you? [y/N]: " -r REPLY
   if ! [[ $REPLY =~ ^[Yy]$ ]]; then
-    echo "Please set a password in the .env file and try again"
+    echo "Please change the default password in the .env file and try again"
     exit 1
   fi
   # Generate a random URL-safe password