# MariaDB vs MySQL

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** MySQL

| Attribute | MariaDB | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 49.9 (42% (low)) | 65.2 (53% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | 664 |
| adoption.github_stars | 8,358 | 12,441 |
| adoption.stackoverflow_questions | - | 230,000 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"A widely deployed open source database that evolved from MySQL while maintaining compatibility, offering advanced SQL capabilities, native vector search, pluggable storage engines, and multi-primary clustering for production workloads. It is indexed under Relational Databases.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"What is MariaDB?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"MariaDB is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the GPL-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"Is MariaDB free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"MariaDB supports Windows and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"What platforms does MariaDB support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. MariaDB can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"Can MariaDB be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 14 integrations for MariaDB, including MariaDB Connector/C, MariaDB Connector/Node.js, MariaDB Connector/ODBC, MariaDB Connector/J, MariaDB Connector/Python, MariaDB Connector/R2DBC, MySqlConnector for ADO.NET and ADO.NET Driver for MySQL, plus 6 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://mariadb.org","question":"What does MariaDB integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for MariaDB. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as MariaDB not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://mariadb.org/privacy-policy","question":"What security certifications does MariaDB have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Yes. MariaDB is published under the GPL-2.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server","question":"Is MariaDB open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"MySQL is a relational database management system that organizes data into structured tables and is one of the most widely deployed databases globally. It powers web applications, content management systems, e-commerce platforms, and services built with development stacks like LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) or LEMP. The database is known for ease of use, reliability, and solid performance for read-heavy workloads.","source":"https://www.mysql.com","question":"What is MySQL and what is it primarily used for?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"MySQL is open-source software distributed under the GNU General Public License, making it free to download, use, and modify. Oracle offers a commercial license for organizations with specific legal or support requirements, but the core database engine costs nothing. Managed hosting services and enterprise support may incur fees depending on the provider and service tier.","source":"https://www.mysql.com/about/","question":"Is MySQL open-source and what are the licensing and cost options?","confidence":0.93},{"answer":"MySQL is language-agnostic and supports connections from all major programming languages including PHP, Python, Node.js, Java, C++, Ruby, Go, and .NET. Virtually every web framework has built-in or third-party database drivers that work with MySQL, making it compatible with diverse technology stacks.","source":"https://www.mysql.com/products/connector/","question":"What programming languages and frameworks can connect to MySQL?","confidence":0.94},{"answer":"MySQL runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD, and other Unix-based systems, giving developers flexibility to work in their preferred environment. This cross-platform support makes MySQL deployable across different infrastructure and simplifies consistency between development and production environments.","source":"https://www.mysql.com/downloads/","question":"What operating systems can run MySQL?","confidence":0.96},{"answer":"MySQL can be deployed either as a self-hosted database on your own servers or cloud infrastructure, or accessed as a fully managed database service through providers like Amazon RDS, Google Cloud SQL, and Azure Database for MySQL. Self-hosting offers maximum control and customization, while managed services handle routine maintenance, backups, patching, and scaling.","source":"https://www.mysql.com/","question":"How is MySQL typically deployed: self-hosted or managed service?","confidence":0.94},{"answer":"MySQL's InnoDB storage engine (the default since version 5.5) provides full ACID compliance, supporting transactions that guarantee data consistency and durability across failures. Older storage engines like MyISAM lack transaction support, but InnoDB has become the standard for production applications requiring reliable data integrity.","source":"https://www.mysql.com/","question":"Does MySQL support transactions and ACID compliance?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"PostgreSQL is a feature-rich open-source relational database; MariaDB is an open-source MySQL fork; SQLite is a lightweight embedded option; commercial databases include Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Database. The choice depends on requirements for specific features, scalability needs, compliance mandates, and budget.","source":"https://www.mysql.com/","question":"What are the main open-source and commercial alternatives to MySQL?","confidence":0.92},{"answer":"MySQL powers major platforms including Wikipedia, YouTube, and many large social networks, demonstrating its capability to handle massive workloads and billions of data operations. It is equally effective for startups and smaller applications, making it viable across organizations of all sizes from single-server deployments to global-scale distributed systems.","source":"https://www.mysql.com/","question":"At what scale can MySQL operate and who uses it?","confidence":0.9}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A widely deployed open source database that evolved from MySQL while maintaining compatibility, offering advanced SQL capabilities, native vector search, pluggable storage engines, and multi-primary clustering for production workloads. | MySQL is an open-source SQL database server. MySQL Cluster extends it with real-time transaction processing capabilities for distributed deployments. |
| features.capabilities | `{"sql_model":"full_sql","consistency":"tunable","geo_spatial":"native","replication":"sync","extensibility":true,"json_document":true,"license_class":"copyleft","horizontal_scale":"distributed_native","acid_transactions":"full","automatic_failover":true,"wire_compatibility":"mysql"}` | `{"hosting":"both","isolation":"serializable","sql_model":"full_sql","data_model":"relational","deployment":"self_hosted","serverless":true,"consistency":"strong","replication":"async","sql_support":true,"extensibility":true,"json_document":true,"license_class":"copyleft","vector_search":true,"horizontal_scale":"distributed_native","acid_transactions":"full","automatic_failover":true,"wire_compatibility":"mysql"}` |
| integrations.count | 17 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"MariaDB Connector/C"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/Node.js"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/ODBC"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/J"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/Python"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/R2DBC"},{"name":"MariaDB Connector/C++"},{"name":"MySqlConnector for ADO.NET"},{"name":"ADO.NET Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"ODBC Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"JDBC Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"Node.js Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"C++ Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"C Driver for MySQL"},{"name":"C API for MySQL"},{"name":"PyMySQL"},{"name":"mysql-python"}]` | - |
| language.primary | C++ | C++ |
| license.spdx | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://mariadb.org","retrievedAt":"2026-09-10T21:05:20.008Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"MySQL Community Server","description":"Free open source database","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"MySQL Enterprise Edition","description":"Advanced features, management tools, and technical support","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"MySQL Standard Edition","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"MySQL Classic Edition","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Community edition free; Enterprise/Standard/Classic editions require contacting sales","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.mysql.com","retrievedAt":"2026-07-08T12:01:40.782Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | open_source | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| release.cadence_days | - | 90 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-13.0.2","date":"2026-09-15T15:55:36Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-13.0.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-13.1.1","date":"2026-09-15T15:56:12Z","type":"prerelease","version":"mariadb-13.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-12.3.3","date":"2026-08-24T22:31:19Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-12.3.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.8.9","date":"2026-08-24T22:30:45Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.8.9"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.4.13","date":"2026-08-24T22:30:23Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.4.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.11.19","date":"2026-08-24T22:27:58Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.11.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.6.28","date":"2026-08-13T18:00:31Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.6.28"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-13.0.1","date":"2026-05-29T19:32:21Z","type":"prerelease","version":"mariadb-13.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-12.3.2","date":"2026-05-28T19:32:07Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-12.3.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.8.8","date":"2026-05-27T18:25:31Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.8.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.4.12","date":"2026-05-27T18:24:55Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.4.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.6.27","date":"2026-05-27T18:23:42Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.6.27"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.11.18","date":"2026-05-27T18:24:20Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.11.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.8.7b","date":"2026-05-18T16:20:36Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.8.7b"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.4.11b","date":"2026-05-18T16:19:48Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.4.11b"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.6.26","date":"2026-05-18T16:17:25Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.6.26"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-10.11.17","date":"2026-05-18T16:18:44Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-10.11.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-12.2.2","date":"2026-02-12T19:39:07Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-12.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-12.3.1","date":"2026-02-12T19:39:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"mariadb-12.3.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/MariaDB/server/releases/tag/mariadb-11.8.6","date":"2026-02-04T22:03:31Z","type":"stable","version":"mariadb-11.8.6"}]` | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | 4.7 | 5.1 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=openinfradev%2Fmariadb&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=homebrew&package_name=mysql&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Relational Databases)

| Capability | MariaDB | MySQL |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| SQL model | Full SQL | Full SQL |
| **Transactions** |  |  |
| ACID transactions | Full | Full |
| Highest isolation level | - | Serializable |
| **Consistency** |  |  |
| Consistency | Tunable | Strong |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Horizontal scale | Natively distributed | Natively distributed |
| **Replication** |  |  |
| Replication | Sync | Async |
| **Availability** |  |  |
| Automatic failover / HA | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | - | Self-hosted |
| Serverless / scale-to-zero | - | ✓ |
| **Compatibility** |  |  |
| Wire compatibility | MySQL protocol | MySQL protocol |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| Extensions / plugins / UDFs | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Copyleft | Copyleft |
| **Data types** |  |  |
| JSON / document support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Geo / spatial | Native | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T19:28:21.687Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*