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MySQL vs Microsoft SQL Server

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. Microsoft SQL Server: Microsoft's flagship RDBMS: T-SQL, columnstore, Always On, and now native vectors and JSON.

key differences

  • Licensing: MySQL is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)); Microsoft SQL Server is proprietary (Microsoft commercial license).
  • Microsoft SQL Server is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than MySQL (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is addon in MySQL and manual in Microsoft SQL Server.
  • Only Microsoft SQL Server has vector search, materialized views, columnar storage, in-memory, time travel.

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 sql-server for

  • +Line-of-business apps in .NET shops
  • +ERP and CRM back ends (Dynamics, many ISV products)
  • +Operational reporting with columnstore indexes
  • +Departmental data marts feeding Power BI

best at · OLTP, HTAP, Warehouse

MySQLThe web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line.
Microsoft SQL ServerMicrosoft's flagship RDBMS: T-SQL, columnstore, Always On, and now native vectors and JSON.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial
Document, Spatial, Vector, Graph, XML
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Oracle Corporation
Microsoft
First release
1995
1989
Latest version
26.10.0 (Oct 20, 2026)
2025 CU10 (17.0.5035.5) (Oct 22, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)
ProprietaryMicrosoft commercial license
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
82.3
71.0
Rank
#3
#8
GitHub stars
12.5K
–
Stack Overflow questions
657K
336.2K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
Manual
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
Client server, Primary replica, Shared storage
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, DigitalOcean
Azure, AWS, Google 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
T-SQL
Client languages
C, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, C#
C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, Rust, C
Best for
OLTP, Content, Metadata, Geo
OLTP, HTAP, Warehouse, Real-time analytics
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

MySQL vs Microsoft SQL Server: FAQ

What is the difference between MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server?

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. Microsoft SQL Server: Microsoft's flagship RDBMS: T-SQL, columnstore, Always On, and now native vectors and JSON. Licensing: MySQL is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)); Microsoft SQL Server is proprietary (Microsoft commercial license). Microsoft SQL Server is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than MySQL (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is addon in MySQL and manual in Microsoft SQL Server.

When should I choose MySQL over Microsoft SQL Server?

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 Microsoft SQL Server for line-of-business apps in .NET shops; ERP and CRM back ends (Dynamics, many ISV products); and operational reporting with columnstore indexes.

Is MySQL or Microsoft SQL Server more popular?

MySQL ranks #3 on the WhichDB Score (82.3/100) and Microsoft SQL Server ranks #8 (71.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server open source?

Yes. MySQL is open source. License: GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise). No. Microsoft SQL Server is proprietary, closed-source software. License: Microsoft commercial license.