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PolarDB-X vs TDSQL (Tencent)

PolarDB-X: Alibaba's open-source, MySQL-compatible shared-nothing distributed SQL with Paxos and columnar indexes. TDSQL (Tencent): Tencent's financial-grade MySQL-compatible database family: distributed TDSQL and cloud-native TDSQL-C.

key differences

  • Licensing: PolarDB-X is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); TDSQL (Tencent) is proprietary (Proprietary (Tencent Cloud service / private deployment)).
  • Only PolarDB-X has ttl / expiry, columnar storage, time travel.
  • TDSQL (Tencent) has a serverless option; PolarDB-X does not.

choose polardb-x for

  • +Scaling large MySQL e-commerce databases
  • +High-concurrency order and payment systems
  • +Consolidating sharded MySQL into one logical database
  • +Operational analytics via columnar indexes

best at · OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics

choose tencent-tdsql for

  • +Core banking and payment systems in China
  • +Scaling MySQL workloads on Tencent Cloud
  • +Gaming and social backends in the Tencent ecosystem
  • +Oracle and DB2 replacement in financial services

best at · OLTP, Ledger, HTAP

PolarDB-XAlibaba's open-source, MySQL-compatible shared-nothing distributed SQL with Paxos and columnar indexes.
TDSQL (Tencent)Tencent's financial-grade MySQL-compatible database family: distributed TDSQL and cloud-native TDSQL-C.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Columnar / OLAP
Document, Wide-Column
Type
Database engine
Managed service
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Alibaba Cloud
Tencent Cloud
First release
2021
2014
Latest version
5.4.21 (Sep 20, 2026)
–
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
ProprietaryProprietary (Tencent Cloud service / private deployment)
Free tier
—
—
popularity
WhichDB Score
5.0
0.0
Rank
#391
#828
GitHub stars
1.7K
–
Stack Overflow questions
–
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Client server
Distributed, Multi primary, Shared storage, Serverless
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
✓
Serverless
—
✓
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
Alibaba Cloud
Tencent 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
Java, Python, Go, PHP, JavaScript
Java, Go, Python, PHP, C++, JavaScript
Best for
OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics
OLTP, Ledger, HTAP
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

PolarDB-X vs TDSQL (Tencent): FAQ

What is the difference between PolarDB-X and TDSQL (Tencent)?

PolarDB-X: Alibaba's open-source, MySQL-compatible shared-nothing distributed SQL with Paxos and columnar indexes. TDSQL (Tencent): Tencent's financial-grade MySQL-compatible database family: distributed TDSQL and cloud-native TDSQL-C. Licensing: PolarDB-X is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); TDSQL (Tencent) is proprietary (Proprietary (Tencent Cloud service / private deployment)). Only PolarDB-X has ttl / expiry, columnar storage, time travel. TDSQL (Tencent) has a serverless option; PolarDB-X does not.

When should I choose PolarDB-X over TDSQL (Tencent)?

Choose PolarDB-X for scaling large MySQL e-commerce databases; high-concurrency order and payment systems; and consolidating sharded MySQL into one logical database. Choose TDSQL (Tencent) for core banking and payment systems in China; scaling MySQL workloads on Tencent Cloud; and gaming and social backends in the Tencent ecosystem.

Is PolarDB-X or TDSQL (Tencent) more popular?

PolarDB-X ranks #391 on the WhichDB Score (5.0/100) and TDSQL (Tencent) ranks #828 (0.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are PolarDB-X and TDSQL (Tencent) open source?

Yes. PolarDB-X is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. No. TDSQL (Tencent) is proprietary, closed-source software.