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MySQL vs Percona XtraDB Cluster

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. Percona XtraDB Cluster: Percona Server plus Galera synchronous replication, packaged as an open-source HA MySQL cluster.

key differences

  • Horizontal scaling is addon in MySQL and none in Percona XtraDB Cluster.
  • Only MySQL has online schema changes.

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

choose percona-xtradb-cluster for

  • +Highly available MySQL for business-critical OLTP
  • +Zero-data-loss failover within a data center
  • +Self-hosted MySQL on Kubernetes with an operator
  • +Read scaling with consistent reads on every node

best at · OLTP, Content

MySQLThe web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line.
Percona XtraDB ClusterPercona Server plus Galera synchronous replication, packaged as an open-source HA MySQL cluster.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial
Document
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Oracle Corporation
Percona
First release
1995
2012
Latest version
26.10.0 (Oct 20, 2026)
9.7.1-1 (Sep 10, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
82.3
10.3
Rank
#3
#300
GitHub stars
12.5K
390
Stack Overflow questions
657K
59
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
None
Multi-region
Read replicas
Active active
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Multi primary, Client server
Multi primary, Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
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
SQL
Client languages
C, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, C#
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, C#
Best for
OLTP, Content, Metadata, Geo
OLTP, Content
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

MySQL vs Percona XtraDB Cluster: FAQ

What is the difference between MySQL and Percona XtraDB Cluster?

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. Percona XtraDB Cluster: Percona Server plus Galera synchronous replication, packaged as an open-source HA MySQL cluster. Horizontal scaling is addon in MySQL and none in Percona XtraDB Cluster. Only MySQL has online schema changes.

When should I choose MySQL over Percona XtraDB Cluster?

Choose MySQL for web applications and CMS backends (WordPress, Drupal, Magento); read-heavy SaaS OLTP with replicas; and sharded high-traffic systems via Vitess. Choose Percona XtraDB Cluster for highly available MySQL for business-critical OLTP, zero-data-loss failover within a data center and self-hosted MySQL on Kubernetes with an operator.

Is MySQL or Percona XtraDB Cluster more popular?

MySQL ranks #3 on the WhichDB Score (82.3/100) and Percona XtraDB Cluster ranks #300 (10.3/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are MySQL and Percona XtraDB Cluster open source?

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