MySQL vs PostgreSQL comparison

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MySQL

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

PostgreSQL and MySQL are widely used open-source relational database management systems that compete in the database market. PostgreSQL seems to have the upper hand in terms of advanced functionalities and SQL compliance, while MySQL is noted for its speed and performance, particularly in web applications.

Features: PostgreSQL is known for following SQL standards closely and offers advanced features such as full-text search, GIS capabilities, and extensive support for various programming languages. It excels in scalability and robustness for handling large datasets. MySQL, on the other hand, is celebrated for its speed in web applications and provides flexibility with multiple storage engines, making it a favored choice for small to medium applications.

Room for Improvement: PostgreSQL could enhance its handling of certain SQL operations, such as 'INSERT IGNORE' and add support for unsigned integer data types. It has a reputation for a steeper learning curve. MySQL lacks some features like robust replication and transaction handling, and it faces performance issues with intensive InnoDB use compared to MyISAM, which are areas under development.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both PostgreSQL and MySQL are versatile in deployment, supporting various environments with increased popularity in cloud settings. PostgreSQL offers community-based support, though it can lack formal customer service. MySQL also benefits from a large community, but additional support might be necessary for enterprise setups. Both rely on external resources for technical support.

Pricing and ROI: PostgreSQL is completely open-source, providing a high ROI due to the absence of licensing fees, appealing to cost-conscious organizations. Costs may arise in training and support. MySQL is also open-source for base deployment, but enterprise features might incur additional expenses. Both solutions present excellent ROI, making them suitable for startups and businesses looking to avoid proprietary software costs.

To learn more, read our detailed MySQL vs. PostgreSQL Report (Updated: April 2025).

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MySQL vs. PostgreSQL

April 2025

Helped 851,491 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

MySQL

Ranking in Open Source Databases

2nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

149

Ranking in other categories

Relational Databases Tools (3rd)

PostgreSQL

Ranking in Open Source Databases

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

125

Ranking in other categories

Vector Databases (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MySQL is 10.8%, down from 17.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL is 18.0%, down from 20.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

Muzzamil Hussain

Assistant Vice President at National Bank of Pakistan

Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment

The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

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PavithrarajShetty

Software Architect at Tetherfi

Offers simplicity and is cheaply priced

I haven't gone through the scalability aspect since I was using MySQL Server. I haven't worked to a high level in PostgreSQL, but with MySQL Server, I have managed clustering and partitioning. I think I haven't put much focus on PostgreSQL, so I am not sure how it behaves or how it works.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I like MySQL because of its community."

"It has a remote access feature to manage the database from a remote location. This enables in-work collaboration."

"It is easy to use. It is simple to implement, which makes it suitable for our projects because we have deadlines. MySQL is also open-source, which is another plus point."

"The relations in the database, the dynamic workflow, and the ability to connect with all columns. It's useful for e-commerce."

"I would use MySQL for a medium project, with around 1,00,000 hundred thousand users, because of the indexing and stored procedures."

"MySQL is a scalable tool. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...The solution's technical support is good. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten."

"The solution is very stable."

"I like the JSON stuff."

More MySQL pros

"It's a useful solution, that can be widely used."

"With the database, you can provide a multi-component at the same service with the same performance, scalability, or all those things."

"The initial setup is quick and easy."

"The most valuable feature is the performance."

"PostgreSQL is very powerful, easy to manage, and has many features."

"PostgreSQL is stable. It's available, stable, and reliable."

"It is very useful for both structured and unstructured data. You can store unstructured and structured data in PostgreSQL. It is easy to use. You can easily manage things through PostgreSQL Admin. It is cost-effective. Its on-premise version is free. It is agnostic of on-premise or cloud. You can install it on the cloud or on-premises. It is available with all clouds, and you can also install it on desktop or Windows Servers."

"The solution provides complete support in terms of the SQL dialect and behaves nicely when it comes to transactions."

Cons

"Its scalability can be better. It is probably not as scalable as Oracle. I had some issues with connectors. I used it from a C++ program, and it required some work to make it run, but finally, it worked."

"This solution needs to be improved when it comes to working with desktop applications on the developer side."

"While utilizing a comparable algorithm, is noted to be sensitive, especially when configuring the inner device."

"It could be more secure."

"They should come up with a better solution than the NDB cluster for better scaling. If they could come up with a better solution for write scaling, apart from the NDB cluster, which is supported by all open source communities, that would be great. Although the NDB cluster, I believe, is an open-source tool, it's not widely supported as a solution."

"There are some issues with compatibility with Java environments that need to be improved. When Oracle bought this solution there were some driver changes that caused some issues with operations."

"It does not stand out regarding scalability. When the company size increases, the user base having actual experience with (very) large MySQL solutions is reduced."

"On the database side, it should be really lightweight, and the data structure should be like MongoDB."

More MySQL cons

"The price could be better."

"As PostgreSQL is an open-source product, you do have to do a bit more configuration and management yourself."

"It could be improved by using parallelization. You want basically, distributed computing."

"The database and applications can become very slow."

"The performance of PostgreSQL could improve."

"Instead of the installation agent downloading all the packages for the install, it should allow the user to download the packages separately on their own to do the install."

"The interface climate could be better."

"The user interface could be a bit better."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's cheaper than other solutions."

"I don't pay for a license."

"I think that MySQL is a premium product."

"We do have a couple of clients who choose to use the paid, enterprise version of the solution and who take full advantage of it."

"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."

"Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."

"It is free. It is an open-source platform."

"The solution is open source so is free."

More MySQL pricing and cost advice

"It is free, but if you need support, you can go for the commercial version called EnterpriseDB. They provide paid support, and they can even do hosting for you if you want standby and support."

"The need for our customers to pay for licences is contingent on their projects and budgets."

"The community version of Postgre is basically free."

"PostgreSQL is open-source, so if capable admins are available then the setup cost can be $0."

"It is open source. There is no licensing."

"The tool is cheaply priced compared to other RDBMS providers in the market."

"We are using the free version of PostgreSQL."

"It is free. In terms of operating costs, it basically needs the same platform on which Oracle runs."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?

MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...

Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?

I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...

What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?

One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...

How does Firebird SQL compare with PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL was designed in a way that provides you with not only a high degree of flexibility but also offers you a cheap and easy-to-use solution. It gives you the ability to redesign and audit yo...

What do you like most about PostgreSQL?

It's a transactional database, so we use Postgres for most of our reporting. That's where it's helping.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PostgreSQL?

The tool is free of cost. For now, it's not about making money. But once we perfect it, we can offer it to customers willing to pay for support and other services. Most of my deployments are free.

Firebird SQL vs PostgreSQL

Comparisons

Firebird SQL vs MySQL

Compared 27% of the time

SAP HANA vs MySQL

Compared 9% of the time

MariaDB vs MySQL

Compared 6% of the time

Teradata vs MySQL

Compared 5% of the time

SQL Server vs MySQL

Compared 5% of the time

More MySQL Competitors

Compared 36% of the time

EDB Postgres Advanced Server vs PostgreSQL

Compared 11% of the time

MariaDB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 8% of the time

Chroma vs PostgreSQL

Compared 7% of the time

LanceDB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 4% of the time

Product Reports

Download MySQL product report

MySQL

May 2025

Download PostgreSQL product report

May 2025

Overview

MySQL is a cost-efficient and scalable relational database management system widely used in web, mobile applications, and academic projects.

MySQL is utilized for backend operations, data analysis, reporting, financial transactions, and ERP databases. It supports deployment on local servers, Cloud, and Kubernetes. Its free, open-source nature along with strong community support make it popular among companies. MySQL's compatibility with multiple platforms and programming languages enhances its appeal. While it remains stable and easy to use, areas such as replication, clustering, and backup require improvement to better serve enterprise applications. Enhanced security, error messages, and monitoring tools are also desired for a better user experience.

What are the most important features of MySQL?

Free and Open-Source: No licensing costs, perfect for budget-conscious projects.
Compatibility: Works with multiple platforms and programming languages.
High Performance: Efficient performance across large datasets.
Scalability: Easily scales to meet growing business needs.
Clustering and Replication: Ensures data availability and redundancy.
Easy Installation: Quick setup process on various operating systems.
Community Support: Extensive resources and community assistance.
Cross-Platform: Operates seamlessly on different operating systems.
Data Management Interface: Simplifies data handling and manipulation.

What are the benefits of using MySQL?

Cost Efficiency: Reduce expenses with a free, open-source database.
Scalability: Adapt to increasing data demands effortlessly.
Performance: Handle large datasets with ease and speed.
Community Support: Access a vast pool of knowledge and resources.
Flexibility: Integrate with various platforms and languages for diverse use cases.
Data Reliability: Clustering and replication for high data availability.

In multiple industries, MySQL supports internal applications, billing systems, academic teaching purposes, and ERP databases. Companies leverage MySQL for Cloud and local deployments, ensuring effective data manipulation and backend operations in diverse projects. Its role in financial transactions and reporting further emphasizes its versatility.

Oracle

PostgreSQL is a versatile and reliable database management system commonly used for web development, data analysis, and building scalable databases.

It offers advanced features like indexing, replication, and transaction management. Users appreciate its flexibility, performance, and ability to handle large amounts of data efficiently. Its robustness, scalability, and support for complex queries make it highly valuable.

Additionally, PostgreSQL's extensibility, flexibility, community support, and frequent updates contribute to its ongoing improvement and stability.

Sample Customers

Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.

1. Apple 2. Cisco 3. Fujitsu 4. Instagram 5. Netflix 6. Red Hat 7. Sony 8. Uber 9. Cisco Systems 10. Skype 11. LinkedIn 12. Etsy 13. Yelp 14. Reddit 15. Dropbox 16. Slack 17. Twitch 18. WhatsApp 19. Snapchat 20. Shazam 21. SoundCloud 22. The New York Times 23. Cisco WebEx 24. Atlassian 25. Cisco Meraki 26. Heroku 27. GitLab 28. Zalando 29. OpenTable 30. Trello 31. Square Enix 32. Bloomberg