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Percona Server for MySQL vs Percona XtraDB Cluster

Percona Server for MySQL: A drop-in MySQL build that ships enterprise features (thread pool, audit, encryption) as free GPL code. Percona XtraDB Cluster: Percona Server plus Galera synchronous replication, packaged as an open-source HA MySQL cluster.

key differences

  • Percona Server for MySQL is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Percona XtraDB Cluster (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is addon in Percona Server for MySQL and none in Percona XtraDB Cluster.
  • Only Percona Server for MySQL has online schema changes.

choose percona-server-mysql for

  • +Self-hosted MySQL fleets needing enterprise security features
  • +Replacing MySQL Enterprise Edition to cut license cost
  • +High-concurrency OLTP needing a thread pool
  • +MySQL on Kubernetes via the Percona Operator

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

Percona Server for MySQLA drop-in MySQL build that ships enterprise features (thread pool, audit, encryption) as free GPL code.
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
Percona
Percona
First release
2006
2012
Latest version
9.7.2-2 (Sep 28, 2026)
9.7.1-1 (Sep 10, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
23.1
10.3
Rank
#131
#300
GitHub stars
1.3K
390
Stack Overflow questions
632
59
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
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, Client server
Multi primary, Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
–
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, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, C#, Ruby
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, PHP, C#
Best for
OLTP, Content, Metadata
OLTP, Content
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Percona Server for MySQL vs Percona XtraDB Cluster: FAQ

What is the difference between Percona Server for MySQL and Percona XtraDB Cluster?

Percona Server for MySQL: A drop-in MySQL build that ships enterprise features (thread pool, audit, encryption) as free GPL code. Percona XtraDB Cluster: Percona Server plus Galera synchronous replication, packaged as an open-source HA MySQL cluster. Percona Server for MySQL is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than Percona XtraDB Cluster (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is addon in Percona Server for MySQL and none in Percona XtraDB Cluster. Only Percona Server for MySQL has online schema changes.

When should I choose Percona Server for MySQL over Percona XtraDB Cluster?

Choose Percona Server for MySQL for self-hosted MySQL fleets needing enterprise security features, replacing MySQL Enterprise Edition to cut license cost and high-concurrency OLTP needing a thread pool. 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 Percona Server for MySQL or Percona XtraDB Cluster more popular?

Percona Server for MySQL ranks #131 on the WhichDB Score (23.1/100) and Percona XtraDB Cluster ranks #300 (10.3/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Percona Server for MySQL and Percona XtraDB Cluster open source?

Yes. Percona Server for MySQL is open source. License: GPL-2.0. Yes. Percona XtraDB Cluster is open source. License: GPL-2.0.