MySQL vs PostgreSQL: Complete Comparison Tables
Core Architecture & Philosophy
| Aspect | MySQL | PostgreSQL |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy | “Make it work fast” - Practical & performance-focused | “Make it correct” - Standards-compliant & feature-rich |
| Origin | Swedish company, now Oracle-owned | Academic project, now open-source community |
| License | GPLv2 (community) + commercial | PostgreSQL License (BSD-style) |
| Default Storage | InnoDB (transactional) | Heap table system |
| SQL Compliance | SQL:2003 partial | SQL:2016 extensive |
Performance Characteristics
| Workload Type | MySQL Performance | PostgreSQL Performance | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple READ queries | Excellent (optimized) | Very Good | ✅ MySQL |
| Complex JOINs | Good | Excellent | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| Write-intensive | Very Good | Good | ✅ MySQL |
| OLTP workloads | Excellent | Very Good | ✅ MySQL |
| OLAP/analytical | Good | Excellent | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| High concurrency | Excellent (with InnoDB) | Good (improving) | ✅ MySQL |
Data Types Comparison
| Data Type Category | MySQL | PostgreSQL | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Integer types | TINYINT, SMALLINT, MEDIUMINT, INT, BIGINT | SMALLINT, INTEGER, BIGINT | ⚖️ Similar |
| String types | CHAR, VARCHAR, TEXT (max 64KB) | CHAR, VARCHAR, TEXT (max 1GB) | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| Boolean | TINYINT(1) or BOOL (alias) | Native BOOLEAN type | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| JSON support | JSON type (good) | JSON & JSONB (excellent) | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| Array types | Not supported | Native array support | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| Geospatial | Spatial extensions | PostGIS (industry standard) | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| Custom types | Limited | User-defined types | ✅ PostgreSQL |
Advanced Features
| Feature | MySQL | PostgreSQL | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Window Functions | ✅ Basic support | ✅ Full support | PostgreSQL has more functions |
| Common Table Expressions | ✅ Supported | ✅ Supported + MATERIALIZED | PostgreSQL more advanced |
| Full-Text Search | ✅ Good (InnoDB) | ✅ Excellent (ranking, weighting) | PostgreSQL more flexible |
| Recursive Queries | ✅ Limited | ✅ Excellent | PostgreSQL superior |
| Table Inheritance | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Supported | PostgreSQL exclusive |
| Foreign Data Wrappers | ❌ Limited | ✅ Extensive | PostgreSQL can query other DBs |
Replication & High Availability
| Feature | MySQL | PostgreSQL | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in replication | ✅ Async & semi-sync | ✅ Streaming & logical | ⚖️ Both good |
| Multi-master | ✅ Galera Cluster | ✅ BDR extension | ✅ MySQL (simpler) |
| Read replicas | ✅ Easy setup | ✅ Good support | ✅ MySQL |
| Failover | ✅ MHA, Orchestrator | ✅ Patroni, repmgr | ⚖️ Similar |
| Backup tools | ✅ mysqlbackup, XtraBackup | ✅ pg_basebackup, Barman | ⚖️ Similar |
Security Features
| Security Aspect | MySQL | PostgreSQL | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication | Good | Excellent (more methods) | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| Row-Level Security | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Native support | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| Column encryption | ✅ Limited | ✅ Better support | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| SSL connections | ✅ Supported | ✅ Supported | ⚖️ Similar |
| Audit logging | ✅ Enterprise edition | ✅ Extensions available | ⚖️ Similar |
Ecosystem & Tools
| Category | MySQL | PostgreSQL | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORM Support | Excellent in all frameworks | Excellent in all frameworks | ⚖️ Equal |
| Cloud Support | All major providers | All major providers | ⚖️ Equal |
| Monitoring | Mature tools (Percona) | Good tools (pgHero) | ✅ MySQL (more mature) |
| GUI Tools | MySQL Workbench, phpMyAdmin | pgAdmin, DBeaver | ⚖️ Similar |
| Community | Very large | Large & growing | ✅ MySQL (larger) |
Scalability Comparison
| Scaling Type | MySQL | PostgreSQL | Implementation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vertical scaling | Excellent | Excellent | Both handle large instances well |
| Horizontal read scaling | Excellent (replicas) | Good (replicas) | ✅ MySQL (simpler) |
| Horizontal write scaling | ✅ Vitess, ProxySQL | ✅ Citus extension | ⚖️ Both possible |
| Sharding | ✅ Complex setup | ✅ Citus (simpler) | ✅ PostgreSQL |
| Connection pooling | ✅ Required for high concurrency | ✅ pgbouncer recommended | ⚖️ Both need it |
Use Case Recommendations
| Application Type | Recommended Database | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Web applications | ✅ MySQL | Better read performance, simpler |
| E-commerce | ✅ MySQL | Proven reliability, fast sessions |
| Content Management | ✅ MySQL | WordPress, Drupal optimized |
| Financial systems | ✅ PostgreSQL | ACID compliance, data integrity |
| Geospatial apps | ✅ PostgreSQL | PostGIS is industry standard |
| Analytics/BI | ✅ PostgreSQL | Better complex queries, window functions |
| SaaS applications | ⚖️ Both | Depends on data complexity |
| Mobile app backend | ✅ MySQL | Simpler, faster for typical workloads |
Cost of Ownership
| Cost Factor | MySQL | PostgreSQL | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software cost | Free (community) | Free | ⚖️ Equal |
| Hardware requirements | Similar | Similar | ⚖️ Equal |
| DBA expertise cost | Lower (more common) | Higher (specialized) | ✅ MySQL |
| Training resources | Extensive | Good | ✅ MySQL |
| Enterprise support | Oracle + third-party | Third-party only | ⚖️ Similar |
Migration Considerations
| Migration Aspect | MySQL to PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL to MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Complexity | Medium-High | Medium |
| Data type mapping | Challenging | Easier |
| SQL syntax changes | Significant | Moderate |
| Tool support | Good | Good |
| Common issues | Auto-increment, LIMIT syntax | JSON, array types, advanced features |
Limitations & Weak Points
| Limitation | MySQL | PostgreSQL |
|---|---|---|
| Check constraints | ✅ Supported (recent) | ✅ Full support |
| Transactional DDL | ✅ InnoDB only | ✅ Full support |
| Partial indexes | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Supported |
| Expression indexes | ❌ Limited | ✅ Supported |
| Concurrent index creation | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Supported |
Development Experience
| Aspect | MySQL | PostgreSQL |
|---|---|---|
| Learning curve | Gentle | Steeper |
| SQL standards | MySQL dialect | Closer to standard SQL |
| Error messages | Good | More detailed |
| Documentation | Excellent | Excellent |
| Community support | Very large | Large & helpful |
Summary Table: Quick Decision Guide
| Criteria | Choose MySQL When | Choose PostgreSQL When |
|---|---|---|
| Performance needs | Simple queries, high reads | Complex queries, analytics |
| Data complexity | Standard relational data | Advanced types, JSON, spatial |
| Team expertise | Junior developers, web focus | Senior developers, data focus |
| Project scale | Small to large web apps | Enterprise, data-intensive |
| Budget constraints | Lower operational costs | Willing to invest in expertise |
| Future growth | Standard web scaling | Complex feature requirements |
Final Verdict: Both databases are excellent. Choose based on your specific use case rather than seeking a universal “best” solution.
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