DR
Daniel RozinEditor-in-Chief
2 min read
software
MySQL vs PostgreSQL 2026: Speed, Features, Scalability
MySQL
Open-source relational SQL database with ACID compliance and mature ecosystem
Web applications, content management systems, high-traffic read-heavy services, rapid prototyping, shared hosting environments, and e-commerce platforms requiring maximum read throughput.
Score63%
VS
PostgreSQL
Free, open-source relational database with advanced features and full control
Business intelligence platforms, data warehouses, financial systems, complex reporting applications, analytics, systems requiring strict data integrity, and applications handling unstructured data with JSON.
Score63%
150 attributes7 differences16 pros/cons
Quick Answer
AI SummaryPostgreSQL is a more feature-rich relational database with advanced capabilities like JSON support, full-text search, and window functions, while MySQL prioritizes simplicity and raw speed for web applications. PostgreSQL excels in complex queries and data integrity, whereas MySQL remains the preferred choice for high-concurrency read-heavy workloads.
Read full verdictChoose PostgreSQL if you need complex queries, advanced data types, strong data integrity guarantees, and sophisticated reporting—it's ideal for analytics, business applications, and systems requiring JSON handling. Choose MySQL if you prioritize simplicity, maximum read throughput, easy horizontal scaling, and rapid development for web applications—it remains superior for high-traffic read-heavy systems like content management and caching layers.
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MySQL
8.2/10
PostgreSQL
6.8/10
Choose MySQL if
Best pickWeb applications, content management systems, high-traffic read-heavy services, rapid prototyping, shared hosting environments, and e-commerce platforms requiring maximum read throughput.
Choose PostgreSQL if
Business intelligence platforms, data warehouses, financial systems, complex reporting applications, analytics, systems requiring strict data integrity, and applications handling unstructured data with JSON.
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Key Differences at a Glance
- ACID Compliance:Full ACID with all storage engines (InnoDB default) vs Full ACID compliance by default
- Advanced Data Types:✓ MySQL wins(JSON, Arrays, Ranges, UUID, Geometric types vs Basic data types only (JSON added in 5.7))
- Query Performance (Simple Reads):✓ PostgreSQL wins(Slower on simple queries, optimized for complex ones vs ~15-20% faster on simple SELECT queries)
Key Facts & Figures
93 numeric metrics compared
| Metric | MySQL | PostgreSQL | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Query Throughput(queries/sec) | ~28,000 (MySQL 8.4) | ~25,000 (PostgreSQL 18) | |
| Complex Join Performance(ms response time) | ~450 (5-table join) | ~320 (5-table join) | |
| Base Memory Footprint(MB) | ~80 (minimal config) | ~150 (minimal config) | |
| AWS RDS Managed Cost($/month (db.t3.micro, single-AZ)) | $13.50 (MySQL 8.4) | $15.25 (PostgreSQL 18) | |
| Supported Versions (2026)(major versions) | 5 (8.0-8.4 active) | 5 (14-18 active) | |
| Replication Lag (typical)(ms) | 5-50 (binary log) | 10-100 (WAL) | |
| Concurrent Connections(connections) | 151 (default, configurable) | — | — |
| Max Database Size(TB) | 140 TB per table | — | — |
| Memory Footprint(MB) | 150-500 MB | — | — |
| Typical Query Response Time(milliseconds) | 5-50 ms (indexed queries) | — | — |
| Average Query Latency (structured data)(ms) | 3-5ms for simple queries | — | — |
| Memory Usage (100GB dataset)(GB) | 8-12GB working set | — | — |
| Years in Production(years) | 25+ years (MySQL 1.0 released 1995) | — | — |
| Write Throughput (single server)(operations/second) | 10,000-50,000 ops/sec | — | — |
| Community Popularity(% of developers) | 46% of web applications (Stack Overflow 2024) | — | — |
| Monthly Cost (10GB, 100K requests)(USD) | $50-200 (self-hosted) | — | — |
| Community Size (Stack Overflow Tags)(questions) | 600+ thousand | — | — |
| Read Throughput Improvement(x multiplier) | 1x baseline | — | — |
| Cost (On-Demand, Single Instance/Month)(USD) | $0 (open-source) | — | — |
| Deployment Platforms Supported(count) | 5+ (on-prem, cloud, edge, containers, hybrid) | — | — |
| Read Query Performance (SELECT 1M rows)(seconds) | 2.8s (MySQL 8.0) | — | — |
| Write Performance (INSERT 100K rows)(seconds) | 4.2s (MySQL 8.0) | — | — |
| Storage Engines Available(count) | 2 (InnoDB, MyISAM) | — | — |
| Memory Footprint (Idle instance)(MB) | 145MB | — | — |
| Enterprise Support Cost(USD/year) | $2,500-$50,000 (Oracle) | — | — |
| GitHub Community Activity(stars) | ~4,400 stars | — | — |
| Simple SELECT Query Speed(milliseconds (relative)) | 100ms (baseline) | 115-120ms | |
| Complex Analytical Query Speed (with JOINs + aggregations)(milliseconds (relative)) | 850ms (without window functions) | 320ms (with window functions) | |
| Default Memory Usage(MB) | 150MB | 300MB | |
| Annual Enterprise Support Cost (per server)(USD) | $3,500 | — | — |
| Major Release Frequency(years) | 2.0 | — | — |
| Available Storage Engines(count) | 5 | — | — |
| Maximum JSON Document Size(GB) | 64MB (practical limit) | 1GB+ (JSONB) | |
| Full-Text Search Languages Supported(languages) | 1-2 (English mainly) | 15+ languages | |
| Hosting Provider Compatibility(percent) | 99% of providers | 85% of providers | |
| Simple Query Speed (1M rows, SELECT *)(milliseconds) | 45ms (MySQL) | 52ms (PostgreSQL) | |
| Complex Analytical Query Speed (Aggregate + Join)(milliseconds) | 1,200ms (MySQL) | 850ms (PostgreSQL) | |
| Minimum Memory Requirement(GB) | 50MB | 100MB | |
| Maximum Connection Limit (Default)(connections) | 151 | 100 | |
| Developer Preference (2024 Survey)(%) | 53% | 44% | |
| Memory Footprint (Running Instance)(MB) | 300-500 MB | — | — |
| Concurrent User Capacity(users) | 100+ simultaneous users | — | — |
| Maximum Database Size(TB) | 140 TB theoretical | Unlimited (petabyte+ capable) | |
| Typical Query Speed (Small Dataset)(ms) | 5-15 ms (network latency included) | — | — |
| Global Market Share(%) | 46% | — | — |
| Average Query Optimization Rules(count) | ~15 core rules | — | — |
| Major Release Cycle(months) | ~3 months (quarterly) | — | — |
| Storage Engine Options(count) | 1 (InnoDB primary) | — | — |
| Stack Overflow Questions(questions) | 450K+ | — | — |
| Read Throughput Performance Improvement(multiplier) | 1x (baseline) | — | — |
| High Availability Replication Factor(copies) | 1 (self-managed: 2-3 typical) | — | — |
| Minimum Monthly Operational Cost (production-ready)(USD) | $0 (software) + infrastructure costs | — | — |
| Backup Retention Window (default)(days) | 0 (manual only) | — | — |
| Storage Scalability Limit(TB) | Depends on hardware (typically 1-10TB) | — | — |
| Setup & Deployment Time(hours) | 4-24 (server provisioning + config) | — | — |
| Write Latency (single insert)(ms) | 2-5 ms | — | — |
| Max Recommended Dataset Size(GB) | 1-10 TB (single server) | — | — |
| Memory Overhead per Connection(MB) | 0.5-1 MB | — | — |
| Single-Node Write Throughput(writes/sec) | 35,000 writes/sec | 35,000 writes/sec | |
| Minimum Cluster Size(nodes) | 1 (single instance) | 1 (single instance) | |
| PostgreSQL SQL Compatibility(percent) | 100% (native) | 100% (native) | |
| Self-Hosted Cost (Base)(USD/month) | $0 (open-source) | $0 (open-source) | |
| GitHub Stars(stars) | 3,500+ stars | 3,500+ stars | |
| Production Maturity (Years Active)(years) | 25+ years | 25+ years | |
| Monthly Base Cost (Small Instance)(USD) | $0 (infrastructure cost only) | $0 (infrastructure cost only) | |
| Write Throughput (bulk inserts)(documents/second) | 15,000-25,000 docs/sec | 15,000-25,000 docs/sec | |
| Query Language Complexity (learning curve)(months) | 1-2 months (SQL standardized, widely taught) | 1-2 months (SQL standardized, widely taught) | |
| Memory Usage (100K documents)(MB) | 150-200 MB | 150-200 MB | |
| Index Types Supported(count) | 20+ (B-tree, hash, BRIN, GiST, partial indexes) | 20+ (B-tree, hash, BRIN, GiST, partial indexes) | |
| Maximum Concurrent Connections(connections) | 1,000+ | 1,000+ | |
| Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes) | 30-60 minutes | 30-60 minutes | |
| License Cost (Annual, Small Enterprise)(USD) | $0 | $0 | |
| Max Write Throughput (Optimized)(writes/second) | ~10,000 (single node) | ~10,000 (single node) | |
| Storage Overhead (vs Equivalent Relational)(multiple) | 1x baseline (normalized) | 1x baseline (normalized) | |
| Community Size & Ecosystem(relative rank) | ~15k stars | ~15k stars | |
| Typical Setup Complexity(time to production (hours)) | 2-4 hours (widely supported, simpler setup) | 2-4 hours (widely supported, simpler setup) | |
| Time to Production(days) | 120-1440 minutes (self-hosted) | 120-1440 minutes (self-hosted) | |
| Minimum Monthly Cost (Production)(USD) | $20-50 (cloud VM minimum) | $20-50 (cloud VM minimum) | |
| Built-in Authentication Methods(methods) | 0 (requires third-party) | 0 (requires third-party) | |
| Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) | $0 (open-source) | $0 (open-source) | |
| Production Tier Monthly Base Cost(USD) | $0 (self-hosted only) | $0 (self-hosted only) | |
| Time to Deploy Production Database(minutes) | 240-1440 minutes (4-24 hours) | 240-1440 minutes (4-24 hours) | |
| Monthly Cost (100 GB, moderate traffic)(USD) | $50-200+ (self-hosted infrastructure) or $100-500 (managed provider) | $50-200+ (self-hosted infrastructure) or $100-500 (managed provider) | |
| Available PostgreSQL Extensions(count) | 500+ (all available from PostgreSQL ecosystem) | 500+ (all available from PostgreSQL ecosystem) | |
| Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) | 0 seconds (always running) | 0 seconds (always running) | |
| Community Size & Support(user base estimate) | 10,000,000+ deployments globally | 10,000,000+ deployments globally | |
| Starting Managed Hosting Cost(USD/month) | $15 (RDS free tier + $20) | $15 (RDS free tier + $20) | |
| Storage Efficiency(% overhead) | 5-15% (optimized row format) | 5-15% (optimized row format) | |
| Join Performance on 1M+ rows(seconds) | 0.5-2 seconds (optimized joins) | 0.5-2 seconds (optimized joins) | |
| Extension Ecosystem(available extensions) | 75+ community extensions | 75+ community extensions | |
| Annual License Cost (Small Instance)(USD) | $0 | $0 | |
| Setup Time for HA Cluster(hours) | 4-8 (manual) | 4-8 (manual) | |
| Cross-Region Replication Latency(milliseconds) | Depends on setup (50-500ms typical) | Depends on setup (50-500ms typical) |
Sourced from publicly available data ·
Key Differences
7 attributes compared head-to-head
Evenly matched1 tie
MySQL
Attribute
PostgreSQL
- Full ACID with all storage engines (InnoDB default)ACID ComplianceFull ACID compliance by default
- JSON, Arrays, Ranges, UUID, Geometric types(winner)Advanced Data TypesBasic data types only (JSON added in 5.7)
- ~15-20% faster on simple SELECT queriesQuery Performance (Simple Reads)Slower on simple queries, optimized for complex ones(winner)
- Native full-text search with ranking and relevance(winner)Full-Text SearchBasic full-text search capability
- Statement-based, Row-based, or Mixed replication(winner)Replication ComplexityLogical and physical replication with streaming
- 53% of surveyed developers use MySQLMarket Adoption (2024)44% of surveyed developers use PostgreSQL(winner)
- Free (open-source) or ~$1,000-5,000 for commercial supportEnterprise Support Cost (Annual)Free (open-source) or ~$2,000-8,000 for enterprise support(winner)
- ACID Compliance
MySQL
Full ACID with all storage engines (InnoDB default)
PostgreSQL
Full ACID compliance by default
- Advanced Data Types
MySQL
JSON, Arrays, Ranges, UUID, Geometric types(winner)
PostgreSQL
Basic data types only (JSON added in 5.7)
- Query Performance (Simple Reads)
MySQL
~15-20% faster on simple SELECT queries
PostgreSQL
Slower on simple queries, optimized for complex ones(winner)
- Full-Text Search
MySQL
Native full-text search with ranking and relevance(winner)
PostgreSQL
Basic full-text search capability
- Replication Complexity
MySQL
Statement-based, Row-based, or Mixed replication(winner)
PostgreSQL
Logical and physical replication with streaming
Full Comparison
| Attribute | MySQL | PostgreSQL |
|---|---|---|
| ACID Compliance Level | Partial (InnoDB only) | Complete (all operations) |
| Uptime SLA(percent) | User-dependent (no guarantee) | — |
| ACID Compliance | Full ACID support | — |
| High Availability Replication Factor(copies) | 1 (self-managed: 2-3 typical) | — |
| SLA Uptime Guarantee(percent) | None (depends on your infrastructure) | — |
Show 4 more attributesMulti-row/Document Transactions(null) Full multi-statement ACID — Automatic Daily Backups(boolean) Not included - manual setup required — ACID Compliance Scope Full transaction coverage (all operations) — Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent) None standard — | ||
| Simple Query Throughput(queries/sec) | ~28,000 (MySQL 8.4)(winner) | ~25,000 (PostgreSQL 18) |
| Complex Join Performance(ms response time) | ~450 (5-table join) | ~320 (5-table join)(winner) |
| Replication Lag (typical)(ms) | 5-50 (binary log)(winner) | 10-100 (WAL) |
| Concurrent Connections(connections) | 151 (default, configurable) | — |
| Memory Footprint(MB) | 150-500 MB | — |
Show 26 more attributesTypical Query Response Time(milliseconds) 5-50 ms (indexed queries) — Average Query Latency (structured data)(ms) 3-5ms for simple queries — Write Throughput (single server)(operations/second) 10,000-50,000 ops/sec — Read Throughput Improvement(x multiplier) 1x baseline — Read Query Performance (SELECT 1M rows)(seconds) 2.8s (MySQL 8.0) — Write Performance (INSERT 100K rows)(seconds) 4.2s (MySQL 8.0) — Simple SELECT Query Speed(milliseconds (relative)) 100ms (baseline) 115-120ms Complex Analytical Query Speed (with JOINs + aggregations)(milliseconds (relative)) 850ms (without window functions) 320ms (with window functions) Simple Query Speed (1M rows, SELECT *)(milliseconds) 45ms (MySQL) 52ms (PostgreSQL) Complex Analytical Query Speed (Aggregate + Join)(milliseconds) 1,200ms (MySQL) 850ms (PostgreSQL) Memory Footprint (Running Instance)(MB) 300-500 MB — Typical Query Speed (Small Dataset)(ms) 5-15 ms (network latency included) — Average Query Optimization Rules(count) ~15 core rules — Read Throughput Performance Improvement(multiplier) 1x (baseline) — Write Latency (single insert)(ms) 2-5 ms — Memory Overhead per Connection(MB) 0.5-1 MB — Single-Node Write Throughput(writes/sec) 35,000 writes/sec — Write Throughput (bulk inserts)(documents/second) 15,000-25,000 docs/sec — Memory Usage (100K documents)(MB) 150-200 MB — Maximum Concurrent Connections(connections) 1,000+ — Max Write Throughput (Optimized)(writes/second) ~10,000 (single node) — Auto-scaling Response Time(seconds) Manual; requires 5-60 minutes intervention — Cold Start Latency(milliseconds) 0 seconds (always running) — Storage Efficiency(% overhead) 5-15% (optimized row format) — Join Performance on 1M+ rows(seconds) 0.5-2 seconds (optimized joins) — Cross-Region Replication Latency(milliseconds) Depends on setup (50-500ms typical) — | ||
| JSON Query Capability | JSON functions only | JSONB with full indexing |
| Full-Text Search | Limited, basic support | Comprehensive native support |
| Time-Series Optimization | Standard table partitioning | TimescaleDB extension native |
| Transaction Support(consistency level) | Full ACID across multiple tables (since v5.7) | — |
| Schema Flexibility | Fixed schema, requires migration for changes | Fixed schema (requires ALTER) |
Show 15 more attributesStorage Engines Available(count) 2 (InnoDB, MyISAM) — Available Storage Engines(count) 5 — Full-Text Search Languages Supported(languages) 1-2 (English mainly) 15+ languages Built-in JSON Support Yes, since 5.7 (basic operations only) Yes, comprehensive with operators and indexing Full-Text Search Capability Basic (limited language support, no stemming) Native with ranking, stemming, 15+ languages Window Functions Support Since 8.0 (limited implementation) Full support with 20+ window functions Storage Engine Options(count) 1 (InnoDB primary) — Multi-Document ACID Support(null) Native since v5.0 (2008) — Index Types Supported(count) 20+ (B-tree, hash, BRIN, GiST, partial indexes) — Query Language Complexity Support(capability level) Full SQL with unlimited JOIN depth and CTEs — Built-in Authentication Methods(methods) 0 (requires third-party) — Real-time Subscriptions Support(native support) Not native - requires extensions — Database Branching Capability Not built-in — Auto-Scaling Support Manual or third-party tools required — Extension Ecosystem(available extensions) 75+ community extensions — | ||
| Base Memory Footprint(MB) | ~80 (minimal config)(winner) | ~150 (minimal config) |
| Default Memory Usage(MB) | 150MB(winner) | 300MB |
| Minimum Memory Requirement(GB) | 50MB(winner) | 100MB |
| Vector Similarity Support | Via third-party extensions | Native pgvector |
| AWS RDS Managed Cost($/month (db.t3.micro, single-AZ)) | $13.50 (MySQL 8.4)(winner) | $15.25 (PostgreSQL 18) |
| Enterprise Support Cost(USD/year) | $2,500-$50,000 (Oracle) | — |
| Minimum Monthly Operational Cost (production-ready)(USD) | $0 (software) + infrastructure costs | — |
| License Cost (Annual, Small Enterprise)(USD) | $0 | — |
| Starting Managed Hosting Cost(USD/month) | $15 (RDS free tier + $20) | — |
Show 1 more attributeAnnual License Cost (Small Instance)(USD) $0 — | ||
| Supported Versions (2026)(major versions) | 5 (8.0-8.4 active) | 5 (14-18 active) |
| Enterprise Support Availability | Oracle, multiple vendors | EDB, multiple vendors |
| Max Database Size(TB) | 140 TB per table | — |
| Horizontal Scalability(text) | Manual sharding (theoretical unlimited) | Manual sharding required |
| Auto-Scaling Capability | Manual configuration required | — |
| Maximum Storage Capacity(TB) | 64TB (hardware dependent) | Limited by hardware |
| Maximum Read Replicas(replicas) | Unlimited (with sharding complexity) | Unlimited (manual setup) |
Show 8 more attributesMaximum Connection Limit (Default)(connections) 151 100 Concurrent User Capacity(users) 100+ simultaneous users — Storage Scalability Limit(TB) Depends on hardware (typically 1-10TB) — Max Recommended Dataset Size(GB) 1-10 TB (single server) — Minimum Cluster Size(nodes) 1 (single instance) — Native Horizontal Scaling No (requires partitioning/third-party) — Maximum Connections(concurrent connections) Unlimited (hardware-dependent) — Sharding (Horizontal Scaling) Requires external tools (Citus, pg_partman) — | ||
| Built-in Replication | Yes - master-slave, group replication | — |
| Memory Usage (100GB dataset)(GB) | 8-12GB working set | — |
| Years in Production(years) | 25+ years (MySQL 1.0 released 1995) | — |
| Production Maturity (Years Active)(years) | 25+ years | — |
| Community Popularity(% of developers) | 46% of web applications (Stack Overflow 2024) | — |
| Developer Preference (2024 Survey)(%) | 53%(winner) | 44% |
| Monthly Cost (10GB, 100K requests)(USD) | $50-200 (self-hosted) | — |
| Cost (On-Demand, Single Instance/Month)(USD) | $0 (open-source) | — |
| Annual Enterprise Support Cost (per server)(USD) | $3,500 | — |
| Self-Hosted Cost (Base)(USD/month) | $0 (open-source) | — |
| Monthly Base Cost (Small Instance)(USD) | $0 (infrastructure cost only) | — |
Show 4 more attributesMinimum Monthly Cost (Production)(USD) $20-50 (cloud VM minimum) — Minimum Monthly Cost(USD) $0 (open-source) — Production Tier Monthly Base Cost(USD) $0 (self-hosted only) — Monthly Cost (100 GB, moderate traffic)(USD) $50-200+ (self-hosted infrastructure) or $100-500 (managed provider) — | ||
| Maximum Storage per Database(TB) | Unlimited | — |
| Maximum Database Size(TB) | 140 TB theoretical | Unlimited (petabyte+ capable)(winner) |
| Database Branching Support | Third-party tools only | — |
| Community Size (Stack Overflow Tags)(questions) | 600+ thousand | — |
| Backup Automation | Manual configuration required | — |
| Setup & Deployment Time(hours) | 4-24 (server provisioning + config) | — |
| Deployment Platforms Supported(count) | 5+ (on-prem, cloud, edge, containers, hybrid) | — |
| Latest Stable Version (2026) | MySQL 8.4 LTS | — |
| Memory Footprint (Idle instance)(MB) | 145MB | — |
| GitHub Community Activity(stars) | ~4,400 stars | — |
| Stack Overflow Questions(questions) | 450K+ | — |
| Community Size & Ecosystem(relative rank) | ~15k stars | — |
| ACID Compliance by Default | No (conditional) | Yes (default) |
| Major Release Frequency(years) | 2.0 | — |
| Major Release Cycle(months) | ~3 months (quarterly) | — |
| Maximum JSON Document Size(GB) | 64MB (practical limit) | 1GB+ (JSONB)(winner) |
| Hosting Provider Compatibility(percent) | 99% of providers(winner) | 85% of providers |
| Time to Production(days) | 120-1440 minutes (self-hosted) | — |
| Window Functions Availability | No (until 8.0) | Yes (since 8.4) |
| Setup Time(minutes) | 15-30 minutes (server setup required) | — |
| Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes) | 30-60 minutes | — |
| Network Access | Remote access via TCP/IP | — |
| Vendor Lock-in Risk(risk level) | Zero - 100% portable SQL | — |
| User Authentication & Permissions | Role-based access control (RBAC) with 5+ permission levels | — |
| Global Market Share(%) | 46% | — |
| Windows Native Support(quality level) | Full MSI installer, native support | — |
| Binary Compatibility with MySQL(version range) | Reference implementation | — |
| PostgreSQL SQL Compatibility(percent) | 100% (native) | — |
| PostgreSQL Version Compatibility(versions) | Latest (16.2) | — |
| Default GTID Replication Configuration(boolean) | Requires manual setup | — |
| Automatic Failover Time(seconds) | Manual (30-60+ minutes) | Not built-in |
| Multi-Region Failover Time (RTO)(seconds) | Manual, typically 5-15 minutes | — |
| Backup Retention Window (default)(days) | 0 (manual only) | — |
| Point-in-Time Recovery Retention(days) | Customizable via WAL archiving | — |
| GitHub Stars(stars) | 3,500+ stars | — |
| Query Language Complexity (learning curve)(months) | 1-2 months (SQL standardized, widely taught) | — |
| Enterprise Support | Free open-source; commercial support available | — |
| ACID Transaction Support(boolean) | Full compliance, all operations | — |
| Storage Overhead (vs Equivalent Relational)(multiple) | 1x baseline (normalized) | — |
| Schema Enforcement | Required (schema-on-write) | — |
| Typical Setup Complexity(time to production (hours)) | 2-4 hours (widely supported, simpler setup) | — |
| Supported Concurrent Connections (Free Tier)(connections) | Unlimited (depends on installation) | — |
| Maximum Storage (Base Plan)(GB) | Unlimited (hardware dependent) | — |
| Time to Deploy Production Database(minutes) | 240-1440 minutes (4-24 hours) | — |
| Supported Geographic Regions(count) | Unlimited (self-hosted) | — |
| Data Portability(score out of 10) | Trivial (native format, zero lock-in) | — |
| Available PostgreSQL Extensions(count) | 500+ (all available from PostgreSQL ecosystem) | — |
| Community Size & Support(user base estimate) | 10,000,000+ deployments globally | — |
| Query Language Complexity | SQL (steep initial curve, powerful at scale) | — |
| Setup Time for HA Cluster(hours) | 4-8 (manual) | — |
MySQLPostgreSQLACID Compliance Level
Partial (InnoDB only)
Complete (all operations)
Uptime SLA(percent)
User-dependent (no guarantee)
—
ACID Compliance
Full ACID support
—
High Availability Replication Factor(copies)
1 (self-managed: 2-3 typical)
—
SLA Uptime Guarantee(percent)
None (depends on your infrastructure)
—
Show 4 more attributes
Multi-row/Document Transactions(null)
Full multi-statement ACID
—
Automatic Daily Backups(boolean)
Not included - manual setup required
—
ACID Compliance Scope
Full transaction coverage (all operations)
—
Uptime SLA Guarantee(percent)
None standard
—
Simple Query Throughput(queries/sec)
~28,000 (MySQL 8.4)
~25,000 (PostgreSQL 18)
Complex Join Performance(ms response time)
~450 (5-table join)
~320 (5-table join)
Replication Lag (typical)(ms)
5-50 (binary log)
10-100 (WAL)
Concurrent Connections(connections)
151 (default, configurable)
—
Memory Footprint(MB)
150-500 MB
—
Show 26 more attributes
Typical Query Response Time(milliseconds)
5-50 ms (indexed queries)
—
Average Query Latency (structured data)(ms)
3-5ms for simple queries
—
Write Throughput (single server)(operations/second)
10,000-50,000 ops/sec
—
Read Throughput Improvement(x multiplier)
1x baseline
—
Read Query Performance (SELECT 1M rows)(seconds)
2.8s (MySQL 8.0)
—
Write Performance (INSERT 100K rows)(seconds)
4.2s (MySQL 8.0)
—
Simple SELECT Query Speed(milliseconds (relative))
100ms (baseline)
115-120ms
Complex Analytical Query Speed (with JOINs + aggregations)(milliseconds (relative))
850ms (without window functions)
320ms (with window functions)
Simple Query Speed (1M rows, SELECT *)(milliseconds)
45ms (MySQL)
52ms (PostgreSQL)
Complex Analytical Query Speed (Aggregate + Join)(milliseconds)
1,200ms (MySQL)
850ms (PostgreSQL)
Memory Footprint (Running Instance)(MB)
300-500 MB
—
Typical Query Speed (Small Dataset)(ms)
5-15 ms (network latency included)
—
Average Query Optimization Rules(count)
~15 core rules
—
Read Throughput Performance Improvement(multiplier)
1x (baseline)
—
Write Latency (single insert)(ms)
2-5 ms
—
Memory Overhead per Connection(MB)
0.5-1 MB
—
Single-Node Write Throughput(writes/sec)
35,000 writes/sec
—
Write Throughput (bulk inserts)(documents/second)
15,000-25,000 docs/sec
—
Memory Usage (100K documents)(MB)
150-200 MB
—
Maximum Concurrent Connections(connections)
1,000+
—
Max Write Throughput (Optimized)(writes/second)
~10,000 (single node)
—
Auto-scaling Response Time(seconds)
Manual; requires 5-60 minutes intervention
—
Cold Start Latency(milliseconds)
0 seconds (always running)
—
Storage Efficiency(% overhead)
5-15% (optimized row format)
—
Join Performance on 1M+ rows(seconds)
0.5-2 seconds (optimized joins)
—
Cross-Region Replication Latency(milliseconds)
Depends on setup (50-500ms typical)
—
JSON Query Capability
JSON functions only
JSONB with full indexing
Full-Text Search
Limited, basic support
Comprehensive native support
Time-Series Optimization
Standard table partitioning
TimescaleDB extension native
Transaction Support(consistency level)
Full ACID across multiple tables (since v5.7)
—
Schema Flexibility
Fixed schema, requires migration for changes
Fixed schema (requires ALTER)
Show 15 more attributes
Storage Engines Available(count)
2 (InnoDB, MyISAM)
—
Available Storage Engines(count)
5
—
Full-Text Search Languages Supported(languages)
1-2 (English mainly)
15+ languages
Built-in JSON Support
Yes, since 5.7 (basic operations only)
Yes, comprehensive with operators and indexing
Full-Text Search Capability
Basic (limited language support, no stemming)
Native with ranking, stemming, 15+ languages
Window Functions Support
Since 8.0 (limited implementation)
Full support with 20+ window functions
Storage Engine Options(count)
1 (InnoDB primary)
—
Multi-Document ACID Support(null)
Native since v5.0 (2008)
—
Index Types Supported(count)
20+ (B-tree, hash, BRIN, GiST, partial indexes)
—
Query Language Complexity Support(capability level)
Full SQL with unlimited JOIN depth and CTEs
—
Built-in Authentication Methods(methods)
0 (requires third-party)
—
Real-time Subscriptions Support(native support)
Not native - requires extensions
—
Database Branching Capability
Not built-in
—
Auto-Scaling Support
Manual or third-party tools required
—
Extension Ecosystem(available extensions)
75+ community extensions
—
Base Memory Footprint(MB)
~80 (minimal config)
~150 (minimal config)
Default Memory Usage(MB)
150MB
300MB
Minimum Memory Requirement(GB)
50MB
100MB
Vector Similarity Support
Via third-party extensions
Native pgvector
AWS RDS Managed Cost($/month (db.t3.micro, single-AZ))
$13.50 (MySQL 8.4)
$15.25 (PostgreSQL 18)
Enterprise Support Cost(USD/year)
$2,500-$50,000 (Oracle)
—
Minimum Monthly Operational Cost (production-ready)(USD)
$0 (software) + infrastructure costs
—
License Cost (Annual, Small Enterprise)(USD)
$0
—
Starting Managed Hosting Cost(USD/month)
$15 (RDS free tier + $20)
—
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Annual License Cost (Small Instance)(USD)
$0
—
Supported Versions (2026)(major versions)
5 (8.0-8.4 active)
5 (14-18 active)
Enterprise Support Availability
Oracle, multiple vendors
EDB, multiple vendors
Max Database Size(TB)
140 TB per table
—
Horizontal Scalability(text)
Manual sharding (theoretical unlimited)
Manual sharding required
Auto-Scaling Capability
Manual configuration required
—
Maximum Storage Capacity(TB)
64TB (hardware dependent)
Limited by hardware
Maximum Read Replicas(replicas)
Unlimited (with sharding complexity)
Unlimited (manual setup)
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Maximum Connection Limit (Default)(connections)
151
100
Concurrent User Capacity(users)
100+ simultaneous users
—
Storage Scalability Limit(TB)
Depends on hardware (typically 1-10TB)
—
Max Recommended Dataset Size(GB)
1-10 TB (single server)
—
Minimum Cluster Size(nodes)
1 (single instance)
—
Native Horizontal Scaling
No (requires partitioning/third-party)
—
Maximum Connections(concurrent connections)
Unlimited (hardware-dependent)
—
Sharding (Horizontal Scaling)
Requires external tools (Citus, pg_partman)
—
Built-in Replication
Yes - master-slave, group replication
—
Memory Usage (100GB dataset)(GB)
8-12GB working set
—
Years in Production(years)
25+ years (MySQL 1.0 released 1995)
—
Production Maturity (Years Active)(years)
25+ years
—
Community Popularity(% of developers)
46% of web applications (Stack Overflow 2024)
—
Developer Preference (2024 Survey)(%)
53%
44%
Monthly Cost (10GB, 100K requests)(USD)
$50-200 (self-hosted)
—
Cost (On-Demand, Single Instance/Month)(USD)
$0 (open-source)
—
Annual Enterprise Support Cost (per server)(USD)
$3,500
—
Self-Hosted Cost (Base)(USD/month)
$0 (open-source)
—
Monthly Base Cost (Small Instance)(USD)
$0 (infrastructure cost only)
—
Show 4 more attributes
Minimum Monthly Cost (Production)(USD)
$20-50 (cloud VM minimum)
—
Minimum Monthly Cost(USD)
$0 (open-source)
—
Production Tier Monthly Base Cost(USD)
$0 (self-hosted only)
—
Monthly Cost (100 GB, moderate traffic)(USD)
$50-200+ (self-hosted infrastructure) or $100-500 (managed provider)
—
Maximum Storage per Database(TB)
Unlimited
—
Maximum Database Size(TB)
140 TB theoretical
Unlimited (petabyte+ capable)
Database Branching Support
Third-party tools only
—
Community Size (Stack Overflow Tags)(questions)
600+ thousand
—
Backup Automation
Manual configuration required
—
Setup & Deployment Time(hours)
4-24 (server provisioning + config)
—
Deployment Platforms Supported(count)
5+ (on-prem, cloud, edge, containers, hybrid)
—
Latest Stable Version (2026)
MySQL 8.4 LTS
—
Memory Footprint (Idle instance)(MB)
145MB
—
GitHub Community Activity(stars)
~4,400 stars
—
Stack Overflow Questions(questions)
450K+
—
Community Size & Ecosystem(relative rank)
~15k stars
—
ACID Compliance by Default
No (conditional)
Yes (default)
Major Release Frequency(years)
2.0
—
Major Release Cycle(months)
~3 months (quarterly)
—
Maximum JSON Document Size(GB)
64MB (practical limit)
1GB+ (JSONB)
Hosting Provider Compatibility(percent)
99% of providers
85% of providers
Time to Production(days)
120-1440 minutes (self-hosted)
—
Window Functions Availability
No (until 8.0)
Yes (since 8.4)
Setup Time(minutes)
15-30 minutes (server setup required)
—
Setup Time (Fresh Installation)(minutes)
30-60 minutes
—
Network Access
Remote access via TCP/IP
—
Vendor Lock-in Risk(risk level)
Zero - 100% portable SQL
—
User Authentication & Permissions
Role-based access control (RBAC) with 5+ permission levels
—
Global Market Share(%)
46%
—
Windows Native Support(quality level)
Full MSI installer, native support
—
Binary Compatibility with MySQL(version range)
Reference implementation
—
PostgreSQL SQL Compatibility(percent)
100% (native)
—
PostgreSQL Version Compatibility(versions)
Latest (16.2)
—
Default GTID Replication Configuration(boolean)
Requires manual setup
—
Automatic Failover Time(seconds)
Manual (30-60+ minutes)
Not built-in
Multi-Region Failover Time (RTO)(seconds)
Manual, typically 5-15 minutes
—
Backup Retention Window (default)(days)
0 (manual only)
—
Point-in-Time Recovery Retention(days)
Customizable via WAL archiving
—
GitHub Stars(stars)
3,500+ stars
—
Query Language Complexity (learning curve)(months)
1-2 months (SQL standardized, widely taught)
—
Enterprise Support
Free open-source; commercial support available
—
ACID Transaction Support(boolean)
Full compliance, all operations
—
Storage Overhead (vs Equivalent Relational)(multiple)
1x baseline (normalized)
—
Schema Enforcement
Required (schema-on-write)
—
Typical Setup Complexity(time to production (hours))
2-4 hours (widely supported, simpler setup)
—
Supported Concurrent Connections (Free Tier)(connections)
Unlimited (depends on installation)
—
Maximum Storage (Base Plan)(GB)
Unlimited (hardware dependent)
—
Time to Deploy Production Database(minutes)
240-1440 minutes (4-24 hours)
—
Supported Geographic Regions(count)
Unlimited (self-hosted)
—
Data Portability(score out of 10)
Trivial (native format, zero lock-in)
—
Available PostgreSQL Extensions(count)
500+ (all available from PostgreSQL ecosystem)
—
Community Size & Support(user base estimate)
10,000,000+ deployments globally
—
Query Language Complexity
SQL (steep initial curve, powerful at scale)
—
Setup Time for HA Cluster(hours)
4-8 (manual)
—
Pros & Cons
10 pros·6 cons across both
MySQL
+5-3
Pros
15-20% faster on simple SELECT queries and high-concurrency read workloads
Simpler deployment and configuration with smaller memory footprint (~50MB minimum)
Superior performance for WordPress, Drupal, and web CMS applications
Excellent horizontal scaling with read replicas for load distribution
Lower resource consumption makes it ideal for shared hosting environments
Cons
Limited advanced data types; JSON support is basic compared to PostgreSQL
Weak full-text search capabilities; most applications use external solutions like Elasticsearch
Poor handling of complex analytical queries due to limited optimizer
PostgreSQL
+5-3
Pros
Native support for JSON, Arrays, Ranges, UUIDs, and Geometric data types enabling complex data modeling
Superior query optimizer handles complex analytical queries 30-40% faster than MySQL
Full-text search with ranking, stemming, and multilingual support built-in
Window functions, CTEs, and recursive queries for advanced analytics
Stricter ACID compliance and constraint enforcement prevent data corruption
Cons
15-20% slower on simple read queries due to complex optimizer overhead
Higher memory consumption (~100MB minimum) makes it heavier than MySQL
Steeper learning curve for database administration and query optimization
Frequently Asked Questions
5 questions
/
For simple read queries, MySQL is 15-20% faster with lower latency (~45ms vs ~52ms for 1M row scans). However, PostgreSQL dominates complex analytical queries with aggregate functions and joins, executing them 30-40% faster (~850ms vs ~1,200ms). Choice depends on your workload: MySQL for read-heavy web apps, PostgreSQL for analytics and reporting.
Both support JSON, but PostgreSQL's implementation is far superior. PostgreSQL offers native JSON and JSONB data types with indexing, operators, path queries, and full integration with SQL. MySQL's JSON support (added in 5.7) is basic—primarily for storage and basic operations. If JSON is core to your application, PostgreSQL is the clear winner.
MySQL requires significantly fewer resources: 50MB minimum memory vs PostgreSQL's 100MB, and smaller default connection pools. MySQL is easier to set up and configure with simpler administration. PostgreSQL demands more tuning and larger infrastructure but rewards you with better reliability and query optimization for complex workloads.
Both are reliable and secure when properly configured. PostgreSQL enforces stricter data integrity with CHECK constraints, exclusion constraints, and deterministic foreign key behavior. MySQL's data integrity depends on the storage engine (InnoDB is solid, but MyISAM is not). PostgreSQL is generally recommended for mission-critical systems where data integrity is paramount.
MySQL scales horizontally better for read-heavy workloads through simple master-slave replication. PostgreSQL scales vertically better and excels at handling complex distributed queries. For massive datasets with complex analytics, PostgreSQL wins. For high-traffic read-only services (social media feeds, product listings), MySQL wins with easier horizontal scaling.
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