whichdb
vs

MySQL vs PostgreSQL

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.

key differences

  • Licensing: MySQL is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)); PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License).
  • Only MySQL has encryption at rest.
  • Only PostgreSQL has vector search, materialized views, pub/sub.

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 postgresql for

  • +General-purpose application backend
  • +SaaS multi-tenant data
  • +Geospatial applications with PostGIS
  • +Semantic search alongside relational data with pgvector

best at · OLTP, Geo, Search

MySQLThe web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line.
PostgreSQLThe extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial
Document, Spatial
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Oracle Corporation
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
First release
1995
1996
Latest version
26.10.0 (Oct 20, 2026)
18.6 (Aug 13, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
82.3
93.2
Rank
#3
#1
GitHub stars
12.5K
22.6K
Stack Overflow questions
657K
178.8K
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
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Multi primary, Client server
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, DigitalOcean
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud
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, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
C, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, C#
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Content, Metadata, Geo
OLTP, Geo, Search, Content
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

MySQL vs PostgreSQL: FAQ

What is the difference between MySQL and PostgreSQL?

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. Licensing: MySQL is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)); PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License). Only MySQL has encryption at rest. Only PostgreSQL has vector search, materialized views, pub/sub.

When should I choose MySQL over PostgreSQL?

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 PostgreSQL for general-purpose application backend, SaaS multi-tenant data and geospatial applications with PostGIS.

Is MySQL or PostgreSQL more popular?

PostgreSQL ranks #1 on the WhichDB Score (93.2/100) and MySQL ranks #3 (82.3/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are MySQL and PostgreSQL open source?

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