whichdb
vs

MariaDB vs MySQL

MariaDB: Community-led MySQL fork with extra storage engines, built-in Galera and a faster feature cadence. MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line.

key differences

  • Only MariaDB has vector search, columnar storage, time travel.

choose mariadb for

  • +Drop-in replacement for legacy MySQL deployments
  • +Linux distribution default database for LAMP stacks
  • +Temporal auditing with system-versioned tables
  • +HA clusters with Galera

best at · OLTP, Content, Geo

choose mysql for

  • +Web applications and CMS backends (WordPress, Drupal, Magento)
  • +Read-heavy SaaS OLTP with replicas
  • +Sharded high-traffic systems via Vitess
  • +E-commerce catalogs and order systems

best at · OLTP, Content, Metadata

MariaDBCommunity-led MySQL fork with extra storage engines, built-in Galera and a faster feature cadence.
MySQLThe web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial, Vector, Columnar / OLAP
Document, Spatial
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
MariaDB Foundation and MariaDB plc
Oracle Corporation
First release
2009
1995
Latest version
13.0.2 (Sep 15, 2026)
26.10.0 (Oct 20, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
56.2
82.3
Rank
#19
#3
GitHub stars
8.5K
12.5K
Stack Overflow questions
14.6K
657K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
Addon
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong, Eventual
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Multi primary, Client server
Single node, Primary replica, Multi primary, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, DigitalOcean, Akamai
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, DigitalOcean
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
✓
✓
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
✓
✓
Vector search
✓
—
Geospatial
✓
✓
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
✓
✓
Triggers
✓
✓
Stored procedures
✓
✓
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
✓
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
✓
Encryption at rest
✓
✓
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
✓
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
✓
✓
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
SQL, PL/SQL (Oracle mode)
SQL
Client languages
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Go, C#, Ruby
C, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, C#
Best for
OLTP, Content, Geo, Vector search
OLTP, Content, Metadata, Geo
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

MariaDB vs MySQL: FAQ

What is the difference between MariaDB and MySQL?

MariaDB: Community-led MySQL fork with extra storage engines, built-in Galera and a faster feature cadence. MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. Only MariaDB has vector search, columnar storage, time travel.

When should I choose MariaDB over MySQL?

Choose MariaDB for drop-in replacement for legacy MySQL deployments, linux distribution default database for LAMP stacks and temporal auditing with system-versioned tables. Choose MySQL for web applications and CMS backends (WordPress, Drupal, Magento); read-heavy SaaS OLTP with replicas; and sharded high-traffic systems via Vitess.

Is MariaDB or MySQL more popular?

MySQL ranks #3 on the WhichDB Score (82.3/100) and MariaDB ranks #19 (56.2/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are MariaDB and MySQL open source?

Yes. MariaDB is open source. License: GPL-2.0. Yes. MySQL is open source. License: GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise).