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MySQL vs Vitess

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. Vitess: CNCF-graduated sharding and clustering layer that makes a fleet of MySQL servers look like one database.

key differences

  • Licensing: MySQL is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)); Vitess is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0).
  • Vitess is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than MySQL (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is addon in MySQL and native in Vitess.
  • Transactions: MySQL offers full ACID; Vitess offers limited.
  • Only MySQL has geospatial, triggers, stored procedures, encryption at rest.
  • Only Vitess has materialized views.

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 vitess for

  • +Scaling a large MySQL application beyond one primary
  • +Multi-tenant SaaS sharded by customer
  • +Consolidating many MySQL databases under one routing layer
  • +Zero-downtime schema migrations on huge tables

best at · OLTP, Metadata, Content

MySQLThe web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line.
VitessCNCF-graduated sharding and clustering layer that makes a fleet of MySQL servers look like one database.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial
Document
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Oracle Corporation
Vitess Authors (CNCF; maintained largely by PlanetScale)
First release
1995
2012
Latest version
26.10.0 (Oct 20, 2026)
24.0.5 (Oct 13, 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
21.2
Rank
#3
#142
GitHub stars
12.5K
21.4K
Stack Overflow questions
657K
54
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Massive (Multi-PB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Limited
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong, Eventual
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Multi primary, Client server
Distributed, Primary replica, 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#
Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, C#
Best for
OLTP, Content, Metadata, Geo
OLTP, Metadata, Content
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

MySQL vs Vitess: FAQ

What is the difference between MySQL and Vitess?

MySQL: The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line. Vitess: CNCF-graduated sharding and clustering layer that makes a fleet of MySQL servers look like one database. Licensing: MySQL is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0 (Community) / commercial (Enterprise)); Vitess is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0). Vitess is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than MySQL (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is addon in MySQL and native in Vitess.

When should I choose MySQL over Vitess?

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 Vitess for scaling a large MySQL application beyond one primary, multi-tenant SaaS sharded by customer and consolidating many MySQL databases under one routing layer.

Is MySQL or Vitess more popular?

MySQL ranks #3 on the WhichDB Score (82.3/100) and Vitess ranks #142 (21.2/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are MySQL and Vitess open source?

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