I used it for a small customer database company in England with 20 employees. They didn't have that much data, and we needed something easy to install and easy to run. This was my use case for it.
Freelance Software Engineer + Director of a company at Peter Krall Consulting
Easy to install, easy to handle, and suitable for a limited amount of data
Pros and Cons
- "My main reason for using MySQL for this small customer database company and for some kinds of scientific projects was that I had to do the installation myself. I didn't have a database administration team behind me. Therefore, I was looking for something very easy to handle. MySQL is easy to install, connect, and do all such things."
- "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."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
My main reason for using MySQL for this small customer database company and for some kinds of scientific projects was that I had to do the installation myself. I didn't have a database administration team behind me. Therefore, I was looking for something very easy to handle. MySQL is easy to install, connect, and do all such things.
What needs improvement?
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.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two or three years.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I used it for a small customer database company in England with 20 employees. There were only two people using it. It was really a small solution. For this purpose, it was perfect, but I'm not sure how it scales. It was just not an issue in this case because we had very little data.
How are customer service and support?
Their technical support is fine.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to install. It takes just a few hours.
What other advice do I have?
I will probably keep on using this solution. If you have a limited amount of data you want to store in the database, and you don't want to spend a lot of time on administration, it is certainly fine.
I would rate MySQL a ten out of ten. It was perfect for our use case.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner

Data Solution Architect at Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
Free and easy to use but needs better backup functionality
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has been very easy to scale so far."
- "The backup methods need improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We are primarily using it as a database for our products. For internally built systems, we have MySQL. We use it internally.
What is most valuable?
It's our database due to the fact that it's cheaper and is actually free to use.
The product is very easy to use, yes.
It's quite stable.
The solution is very compatible with many versions of Linux. Most of Linux is free, so it's easy to implement with MySQL. Whether it's Ubuntu, CentOS, or different types of Linux, it's the same across other operating systems, and therefore it's very easy to use and compatible with any demand that comes from developers. At the end of the day, MySQL is compatible with most of the platforms.
The solution has been very easy to scale so far.
The installation process is very easy.
What needs improvement?
The backup methods need improvement. MySQL needs to improve its backup methods so that you can actually do a backup without affecting products. Currently, when you're doing your backup, it locks the database. When someone tries to access it during a backup, it fails to read or to update. They can improve on the backup and all the backup features in general.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for more than five years at this point. It may be as much as seven years or so.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable in terms of performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable. If you want to install it in the machine and scale that machine, you can do so. Or you add more machine nodes whereby you are actually clustering items and you're clustering your database within one site. The solution will actually extend these needs to another site for replication, DR replication.
We have about 20 people using the solution currently.
We do plan to continue to use the solution in the future.
How are customer service and technical support?
All of our support is internal. We haven't subscribed to outside technical support.
That said, we haven't had any issues with the solution that would require support assistance either.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not complex at all. It is very easy to install as most of the Linux comes embedded so that even if you're under a different administrator, you should be able to just click and install.
Installation doesn't take more than 10 minutes for me. It might take up to 30 minutes or an hour for someone who is new. However, for someone who is used to MySQL, doesn't take more than 10 minutes to set up.
For deployment and maintenance, basically, we would need about three engineers. The one that actually does the hardware infrastructure, the one that does the operating system, and then the one that actually does the MySQL, which is the database administrator.
What about the implementation team?
I handled the implementation myself. I did not need the assistance of integrators or consultants.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is absolutely free to use. It's one of the reasons we've chosen it.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We do evaluate other solutions. We also use other products, such as Oracle's SQL server.
When a trace comes for MySQL, we will check mostly the cost of installation and the cost for maintaining everything. We are choosing MySQL over the others that are actually licensed solutions mostly due to the fact that MySQL is free.
What other advice do I have?
We are just customers and end-users. We don't have a business relationship with MySQL.
I'd recommend the solution to other organizations.
I would rate it at a seven out of ten overall.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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MySQL
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about MySQL. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
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Global Data Architecture and Data Science Director at FH
Open-source, good documentation, and the multiplatform support includes Linux, Windows and Mac
Pros and Cons
- "It's a good tool, a good database platform."
- "It could be more secure."
What is our primary use case?
I used MySQL for academic purposes. I use it for learning purposes.
You can start anything with MySQL.
You can build your own app, and store your data.
It's a free solution for development purposes.
What is most valuable?
It's a good tool, a good database platform. Everything you can do, you can do for free.
I like that it's open-source and that it's free.
What needs improvement?
Typically security will be on a security layer. I haven't really looked into the security of it, but it should be good.
It could be more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using MySQL for 16 or 17 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have trained hundreds of users.
I will continue to use this solution for learning purposes.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not contacted technical support.
How was the initial setup?
You can download it and start using it.
It's very easy to install. It's a one-click Windows installation.
You can install and configure everything in a half-hour to one hour.
There is a lot of documentation available.
The maintenance can be done by anyone who has installed and used it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I have never used the enterprise level of MySQL.
I use the open-source free community version.
I am sure that the Enterprise version of MySQL is cheaper than Microsoft SQL Server, or IBM and Oracle.
It's cheaper than other tools.
What other advice do I have?
For anyone who wants to learn SQL, MySQL is free on Linux, Windows, or Mac Operating Systems.
MySQL can be deployed anywhere on the cloud or on a PC.
I would rate MySQL an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Data Architect at ACPAS Loan Management Software
Easy to use, easy to deploy, and stable with useful table partitioning feature
Pros and Cons
- "Table partitioning is most valuable. It is easy to use."
- "I am looking for the Temporal SQL feature, which basically means that there is complete history for each table. This feature is currently available in MariaDB. PostgreSQL has something called a foreign-data wrapper, which is another way to access external data from inside. MySQL could have a similar feature."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for RADIUS protocol, which is for network access. We are tracking the duration of user stations.
What is most valuable?
Table partitioning is most valuable. It is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
I am looking for the Temporal SQL feature, which basically means that there is complete history for each table. This feature is currently available in MariaDB.
PostgreSQL has something called a foreign-data wrapper, which is another way to access external data from inside. MySQL could have a similar feature.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution intermittently for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. We currently have six users.
How are customer service and technical support?
I don't have any experience with their technical support.
How was the initial setup?
Its initial setup was straightforward. It took 10 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
I did it myself. We have two people for its deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am not paying, but I am not sure about the exact licensing requirements.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
It is always compared with PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. I plan to keep using it.
I would rate MySQL an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Specialist Geosciences Data Consultant at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
Simple to use, good for data manipulation and creating views
Pros and Cons
- "It is pretty simple to use and I don't have anything really bad to say about it."
- "I would like to have the ability to cancel a query in SQL Developer."
What is our primary use case?
My daily tasks are related to data mining and TBICO Spotfire is one of the products that I use. We are a small group of geologists operating in a niche area who are analyzing geochemical data. Our backend database is MySQL and we use products such as Power BI, Tableau, and Spotfire to display data for the geochemists.
I perform data-related tasks such as data manipulation and creating views, then updating the database afterward, all using SQL queries. As part of this, I'm making entries as needed or corrections to data that has already been processed.
How has it helped my organization?
Essentially, I'm doing data mining with SQL queries, although I wouldn't call what I am doing Data Mining exactly, because I already know the data model. I know the geochemistry data in my head, so I already know what I'm looking for when I write an SQL query. We're not doing machine learning or AI at this point, although it may come in the future.
Every now and then, we create dashboards for the geochemists, which cover their needs from the data.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable component for me is SQL Developer. It is pretty simple to use and I don't have anything really bad to say about it. It supports multiple window displays and all of the connections are available. A lot of people use Toad for this type of work, but I have not myself.
The functionality that I use most often is querying the data model.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see an autocorrect option, where if you're typing a query and you enter a comma instead of space, or something similar, the ability for it to be able to understand based on your previous scripts would be an advantage. For example, if you were to put a comma between your AND statements then it's not going to work. Maybe a smarter application where, as you're writing queries, similar to the way that grammar and spelling are checked when you type a text message on an iPhone, it could be autocorrected.
I would like to have the ability to cancel a query in SQL Developer. Specifically, I would like to be able to cancel the query should I accidentally write one that's going to loop, or have a JOIN wrong, where you get millions of records joining with millions of records over and over again. The availability to hit cancel so that it doesn't keep running would be helpful because, when such a thing happens, then you have to shut down the whole application and you lose any queries that you might've typed before.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with MySQL for approximately nine years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This application is pretty easy to scale.
Within my department, which is technical data management, approximately 75% of the people use MySQL.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never had to deal with technical support from Oracle directly. We just raise tickets that go up and show operations, and in turn, they are the ones that deal with Oracle.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used several versions of Oracle MySQL including 10, 11, and 12, and I don't really see any difference between them.
How was the initial setup?
MySQL comes pre-installed with our new PCs, so I have never been involved with the initial setup.
What about the implementation team?
On the operations side, based on what I have seen in terms of people putting in tickets for issues, it seems that we have three people who support and maintain MySQL at different levels. I feel that having this number of resources assigned to maintaining a database is wasteful.
I think that a single person can be in charge of maintaining multiple databases.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
As a data analyst, I am not in operations and don't have a say in which products we use.
What other advice do I have?
My advice for anybody who is implementing MySQL is to ask around because there are many different ways that you can create a database now. Relational databases are no longer the best way to organize your data. It really depends on what it is that you're doing. For example, you may not need a relational database, but instead just a file structure. So, look at all of your options and speak with the experts to see what kind of database is needed before assuming that you need an RDBMS.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Sysad Database Administrator Lead at USSC
A stable solution with a community version, but the enterprise manager license should cover more virtual machines
Pros and Cons
- "It has a community version. When I have to create a new database, I have no problems with licenses."
- "It can have better monitoring. In addition, the enterprise manager should be able to cater to more than one virtual machine. Currently, you need one license per server. It seems a bit too much to get one license for one enterprise manager. I hope the enterprise manager for MySQL can accommodate more virtual machines for MySQL."
What is our primary use case?
We use it for financial transactions such as money remittance.
What is most valuable?
It has a community version. When I have to create a new database, I have no problems with licenses.
What needs improvement?
It can have better monitoring. In addition, the enterprise manager should be able to cater to more than one virtual machine. Currently, you need one license per server. It seems a bit too much to get one license for one enterprise manager. I hope the enterprise manager for MySQL can accommodate more virtual machines for MySQL.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for a decade.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have categorized the amount of data we have as big data, although we haven't really been using it much.
We have 2,000 people in our company, and we have over 100 virtual machines installed with MySQL.
How are customer service and technical support?
Because we are using the community version, we haven't had the chance to contact the technical support of MySQL.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy for us. After a few trials or installing it a few times, we have benchmarked and created best practices for installing it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It has a community version.
What other advice do I have?
If you are not into command-line usage, I don't think MySQL is for you. I found MySQL easier to use by using the command line rather than by using the workbench. The workbench is comparatively slow, especially when exporting.
I would rate MySQL a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Deputy Director General at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is very easy to install and has all basic database features
Pros and Cons
- "It is very easy to install and has all basic database features."
- "We require more ease of use, scalability, and high availability. These are some of the critical features that we use and look for in a product. It should be easier to manage clusters. Scalability is very important for us because our projects and concurrency requirements are quite big. We also require high availability of the server, application, and other things. It should also have more performance-based features or enhancements from the performance point of view. When we divide a database, it should be able to handle the queries very fast."
What is our primary use case?
I have been working for 25 to 30 years in this domain, and during this time, I have used various products such as MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL. Currently, in my product, I am using PostgreSQL, and in some projects, I am using MySQL. We are using the latest version of this solution.
We do projects for various government departments. We have used this solution for the transport department for vehicle registration, driving license, and all such things. We have also used it for port projects, depots, educational counseling projects, school databases, higher education, and health registry. As an organization, we have a lot of use cases of this solution.
What is most valuable?
It is very easy to install and has all basic database features.
What needs improvement?
We require more ease of use, scalability, and high availability. These are some of the critical features that we use and look for in a product. It should be easier to manage clusters. Scalability is very important for us because our projects and concurrency requirements are quite big. We also require high availability of the server, application, and other things.
It should also have more performance-based features or enhancements from the performance point of view. When we divide a database, it should be able to handle the queries very fast.
How are customer service and technical support?
Whenever required, we also take support, but our people are quite experienced. They are able to manage it most of the time.
How was the initial setup?
Its installation is quite easy.
What about the implementation team?
We have our own people who do the deployment. We have various teams for various projects, and the size of the deployment team depends on the project. We have people who basically look after the DB activities, installation, and consolidation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a licensing cost because we are going for a proprietary product. There are some other versions for which there is no licensing cost.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution depending on the project. If a project requires the kind of features that are available in this solution, I would recommend this solution.
I would rate MySQL an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Implementer
Senior Database Administrator Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Easy to set up but the stability needs to be improved
Pros and Cons
- "It was easy to install."
- "Stability needs improvement and the backup needs to be enhanced."
What is our primary use case?
We only support the backend and only carry it as a database. You can do what you want on the database to create the schema and to manage the rest of the organization.
What needs improvement?
Errors that come from MySQL need to be more clear. In Oracle, for example, you have the aura and you have numbers, you can easily find the error. MySQL should follow the same as in Oracle.
Stability needs improvement and the backup needs to be enhanced.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using MySQL for years.
We are using the latest version. Normally we do upgrades and we follow the upgrade path.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It could be more stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 15 customers, but I am not sure of the number of users we have.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not dealt with technical support.
How was the initial setup?
It was easy to install. It only took ten minutes.
We have a huge database team as we are supporting many regions.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented this solution ourselves.
What other advice do I have?
We plan to continue using this product. It's good, and I can recommend it to others.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner

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