PolarDB-X vs TiDB

PolarDB-X: Alibaba's open-source, MySQL-compatible shared-nothing distributed SQL with Paxos and columnar indexes. TiDB: MySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics.

key differences

TiDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than PolarDB-X (≤ 1 PB).
Only PolarDB-X has stored procedures.
Only TiDB has vector search, branching.
TiDB 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 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

PolarDB-XAlibaba's open-source, MySQL-compatible shared-nothing distributed SQL with Paxos and columnar indexes.

TiDBMySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics.

overview

Primary model

Relational

Also supports

Document, Columnar / OLAP

Document, Columnar / OLAP, Vector

Type

Database engine

Status

Active

Developer

Alibaba Cloud

PingCAP

First release

2021

2017

Latest version

5.4.21 (Sep 20, 2026)

8.5.8 (Aug 27, 2026)

License

Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0

Free tier

—

✓

popularity

WhichDB Score

5.0

35.9

Rank

#391

#56

GitHub stars

1.7K

40.7K

Stack Overflow questions

–

102

scale & guarantees

Comfortable data size

Large (≤ 1 PB)

Massive (Multi-PB)

Horizontal scaling

Native

Multi-region

Read replicas

ACID

Full

Consistency

Strong

Schema

Strict

Architecture

Distributed, Client server

Distributed, Client server, Serverless

deployment

Self-hosted

✓

Vendor-managed cloud

✓

Serverless

—

✓

Embedded

—

Edge

—

Clouds

Alibaba Cloud

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

Client languages

Java, Python, Go, PHP, JavaScript

Java, Go, Python, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, PHP, Rust

Best for

OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics

OLTP, HTAP, Real-time analytics, Vector search

Add more to this comparison Not sure either fits? Try smart match

PolarDB-X vs TiDB: FAQ

What is the difference between PolarDB-X and TiDB?

PolarDB-X: Alibaba's open-source, MySQL-compatible shared-nothing distributed SQL with Paxos and columnar indexes. TiDB: MySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics. TiDB is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than PolarDB-X (≤ 1 PB). Only PolarDB-X has stored procedures. Only TiDB has vector search, branching.

When should I choose PolarDB-X over TiDB?

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

Is PolarDB-X or TiDB more popular?

TiDB ranks #56 on the WhichDB Score (35.9/100) and PolarDB-X ranks #391 (5.0/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are PolarDB-X and TiDB open source?

Yes. PolarDB-X is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Yes. TiDB is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.