Percona Server for MySQL
activeby Percona · since 2006 · also known as Percona Server, PS for MySQL
A drop-in MySQL build that ships enterprise features (thread pool, audit, encryption) as free GPL code.
Overview
Percona Server for MySQL is Percona's enhanced, fully compatible build of MySQL Community Server. It tracks upstream LTS releases and adds the features Oracle reserves for MySQL Enterprise Edition, including a thread pool, audit logging, PAM/LDAP authentication, data masking, Vault-backed keyring encryption and extra instrumentation, all under GPLv2. Since 8.x Percona releases only for MySQL LTS lines (8.4 and 9.7), which makes it a conservative choice for teams that want MySQL behavior with enterprise operability but no license fees. It pairs with Percona XtraBackup, Toolkit and the Percona Operator for Kubernetes.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +MySQL Enterprise-style features (thread pool, audit log, LDAP auth, data masking) at no cost
- +Binary-compatible drop-in for MySQL Community of the same version
- +Extra diagnostics: user/table statistics, slow-log extensions
- +Percona Operator gives a supported Kubernetes deployment path
- +Long-term support aligned with MySQL LTS lines
Trade-offs
- −Releases lag upstream MySQL by weeks to months
- −Skips MySQL Innovation releases, so new features arrive only with LTS
- −Linux-only packages
- −Not offered as a managed service by the big clouds (use RDS MySQL or Percona's own services)
Great 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
Think twice for
- −Teams wanting the newest MySQL Innovation features immediately
- −Windows or macOS server deployments
- −Fully managed serverless use
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 14 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Large · ≤ 1 PB
- Horizontal scaling
- Addon
- Multi-region
- Read replicas
- Transactions
- Full ACID
- Consistency
- Strong, Eventual
- Schema
- Strict
- Architecture
- Single node, Primary replica, Client server
- Query languages
- SQL
Same topology options as MySQL: async/semi-sync replicas, Group Replication, or Vitess/ProxySQL for sharding.
Deployment
Ecosystem
Alternatives to Percona Server for MySQL
The web's default open-source SQL database, now on calendar versioning with 9.7 as the LTS line.
percona-server-mysql vs mysql →Community-led MySQL fork with extra storage engines, built-in Galera and a faster feature cadence.
percona-server-mysql vs mariadb →Percona Server plus Galera synchronous replication, packaged as an open-source HA MySQL cluster.
percona-server-mysql vs percona-xtradb-cluster →AWS's MySQL- and PostgreSQL-compatible engine on a shared, six-way replicated storage layer.
percona-server-mysql vs amazon-aurora →MySQL-compatible distributed SQL with a row store for OLTP and a columnar replica for real-time analytics.
percona-server-mysql vs tidb →CNCF-graduated sharding and clustering layer that makes a fleet of MySQL servers look like one database.
percona-server-mysql vs vitess →Percona Server for MySQL FAQ
What is Percona Server for MySQL?
Percona Server for MySQL is a relational database by Percona, first released in 2006. Percona Server for MySQL is Percona's enhanced, fully compatible build of MySQL Community Server. It tracks upstream LTS releases and adds the features Oracle reserves for MySQL Enterprise Edition, including a thread pool, audit logging, PAM/LDAP authentication, data masking, Vault-backed keyring encryption and extra instrumentation, all under GPLv2. Since 8.x Percona releases only for MySQL LTS lines (8.4 and 9.7), which makes it a conservative choice for teams that want MySQL behavior with enterprise operability but no license fees. It pairs with Percona XtraBackup, Toolkit and the Percona Operator for Kubernetes.
Is Percona Server for MySQL open source?
Yes. Percona Server for MySQL is open source. License: GPL-2.0.
Does Percona Server for MySQL support ACID transactions?
Yes. Percona Server for MySQL supports full ACID transactions, with strong, eventual consistency.
Does Percona Server for MySQL scale horizontally?
Percona Server for MySQL scales horizontally through an official extension, proxy or edition rather than in the core engine. It is comfortable at large scale (≤ 1 PB). It supports cross-region read replicas.
How can I run Percona Server for MySQL?
You can self-host it.
What is Percona Server for MySQL best for?
Percona Server for MySQL is a strong fit 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. Think twice for teams wanting the newest MySQL Innovation features immediately.
What are the best alternatives to Percona Server for MySQL?
Common alternatives to Percona Server for MySQL include MySQL, MariaDB, Percona XtraDB Cluster, Amazon Aurora and TiDB. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
How popular is Percona Server for MySQL?
Percona Server for MySQL ranks #131 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (23.1/100), and #43 among relational databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.