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MySQL

The relational server that ran the early web, now Oracle-stewarded and InnoDB-based.

mysql.comdev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.4/engithub.com/mysql/mysql-server
Overall in database engines
3of 5 · score 63.5
Data coverage
100%
26 of 26 fields sourced

Best for

  • •Very large tables that must be altered without downtime
  • •Read-replica topologies your team has already run before
  • •Environments where the host, ORM or ops runbook already assumes MySQL

Strong on

  • +Online schema change Yes 1/5
  • +Embedded or server Server (client/server) 1/5
  • +Isolation levels Read uncommitted, Read committed, Repeatable read, Serializable 1/5
  • +Managed options Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, Google Cloud SQL, Azure Database, PlanetScale 2/5
  • +Migration tooling 4 2/5
  • +JSON support Binary JSON type 2/5

Weak on

  • −Extension ecosystem 2 5/5
    Better: PostgreSQL: 5
  • −Embed in closed source No 5/5
    Better: SQLite: Yes
  • −Ops burden 3 3/5
    Better: SQLite: 1
  • −Vector search Native type 5/5
    Better: MariaDB: Native type + ANN index

vs MariaDB

  • •Ahead on Client libraries: 5 vs 4
  • •Ahead on Migration tooling: 4 vs 3
  • •Behind on Vector search: Native type vs Native type + ANN index
  • •Behind on Embed in closed source: No vs Partial

How MySQL scores among 5 database engines26 of 26 fields known

Engine & SQL10

Embedded or server1st
Server (client/server)
1/5
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Concurrency model2nd
MVCC (undo log)
2/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · MVCC (heap row versions)
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Write concurrency1st
Concurrent writers (row-level)
1/5
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Isolation levels1st
Read uncommitted, Read committed, Repeatable read, Serializable
1/5
dev.mysql.com · 2026-11-06
JSON support2nd
Binary JSON type
2/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · Binary JSONB + indexes
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Full-text search1st
Built-in
1/5
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Vector search
Native type
5/5
Leader: MariaDB · Native type + ANN index
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Type strictness3rd
Static, coercing
3/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · Static, strict
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
ALTER TABLE2nd
Moderate
2/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · Minimal
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Max database size
64 TB
2/3
Leader: SQLite · 256 TB
dev.mysql.com · 2026-11-06

Operations7

Replication1st
Built-in async + synchronous
1/5
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
PITR1st
Yes
1/5
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Online schema change1st
Yes
1/5
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Connection model3rd
Thread per connection
3/5
Leader: SQLite · In-process (no connections)
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Default max conns
151
1/3
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Managed options2nd
Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, Google Cloud SQL, Azure Database, PlanetScale
2/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · Neon, Supabase, Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, Google Cloud SQL, Azure Database, PlanetScale
· 2026-07-01
Ops burden3rd
3
3/5
Leader: SQLite · 1
· 2026-07-01

Ecosystem5

Extension ecosystem
2
5/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · 5
· 2026-07-01
Client libraries1st
5
1/5
· 2026-07-01
Migration tooling2nd
4
2/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · 5
· 2026-07-01
GitHub stars3rd
11,000
3/5
Leader: DuckDB · 33,000
github.com · 2026-07-01
Positioning
The world's most popular open source database.
mysql.com · 2026-07-01

Licence & governance3

Licence
GPL-2.0 or commercial
5/5
Leader: SQLite · Public domain
mysql.com · 2026-11-06
Embed in closed source
No
5/5
Leader: SQLite · Yes
mysql.com · 2026-07-01
Governance
Single vendor
5/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · Community project
mysql.com · 2026-07-01

History1

First release
1995-05-23
dev.mysql.com · 2026-07-01

Alternatives4

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Sources20

MySQL logo & brand colours

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MySQL brand colours

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