whichdb
vs

MySQL vs TiDB

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. TiDB: MySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics.

key differences

  • Licensing: MySQL is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)); TiDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • TiDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than MySQL (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is addon in MySQL and native in TiDB.
  • Only MySQL has full-text search, geospatial, triggers, stored procedures.
  • Only TiDB has vector search, ttl / expiry, columnar storage, time travel, branching.
  • TiDB has a serverless option; MySQL does not.

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 tidb for

  • +Replacing hand-sharded MySQL
  • +HTAP dashboards on live transactional data
  • +SaaS platforms with very large tenant counts
  • +Payment and order systems at internet scale

best at · OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics

MySQLThe web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line.
TiDBMySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial
Document, Columnar / OLAP, Vector
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Oracle Corporation
PingCAP
First release
1995
2017
Latest version
26.10.0 (Oct 20, 2026)
8.5.8 (Aug 27, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
82.3
35.9
Rank
#3
#56
GitHub stars
12.5K
40.7K
Stack Overflow questions
657K
102
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
Native
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
Distributed, Client server, Serverless
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
✓
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, DigitalOcean
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, 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
Client languages
C, C++, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, C#
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, PHP, Rust
Best for
OLTP, Content, Metadata, Geo
OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

MySQL vs TiDB: FAQ

What is the difference between MySQL and TiDB?

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. TiDB: MySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics. Licensing: MySQL is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)); TiDB is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). TiDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than MySQL (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is addon in MySQL and native in TiDB.

When should I choose MySQL over TiDB?

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 TiDB for replacing hand-sharded MySQL, HTAP dashboards on live transactional data and SaaS platforms with very large tenant counts.

Is MySQL or TiDB more popular?

MySQL ranks #3 on the WhichDB Score (82.3/100) and TiDB ranks #56 (35.9/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are MySQL and TiDB open source?

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