# Microsoft SQL Server vs Percona Server

**Leader by Vioscale score:** Percona Server

| Attribute | Microsoft SQL Server | Percona Server |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 22.6 (7% (low)) | 60 (41% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 28 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 1,271 |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | SQL Server 2025 is a commercial database platform that enables organizations to store, query, and analyze data while incorporating built-in AI capabilities. It supports multiple programming languages and deployment options ranging from on-premises installations to cloud-based managed services. | A free, fully compatible drop-in replacement for MySQL that delivers improved performance and instrumentation. It is built on MySQL foundations and designed for organizations seeking enhanced reliability and monitoring without switching databases. |
| features.capabilities | `{"sql_model":"full_sql","geo_spatial":"native","json_document":true,"license_class":"proprietary","acid_transactions":"full"}` | `{"isolation":"serializable","sql_model":"full_sql","deployment":"self_hosted","serverless":false,"consistency":"strong","geo_spatial":"native","replication":"sync","extensibility":true,"json_document":true,"license_class":"copyleft","horizontal_scale":"read_replica","acid_transactions":"full","automatic_failover":true,"wire_compatibility":"mysql"}` |
| integrations.count | 3 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"LangChain"},{"name":"Semantic Kernel"},{"name":"Entity Framework Core"}]` | - |
| language.primary | - | C++ |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| pricing | - | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Completely free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.percona.com/blog/percona-live-europe-discounted-pricing-community-dinner/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T16:35:48.210Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | - | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/percona/percona-server/releases/tag/Percona-Server-5.5.55-38.8","date":"2017-07-05T20:27:17Z","type":"stable","version":"Percona-Server-5.5.55-38.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/percona/percona-server/releases/tag/Percona-Server-5.7.17-13","date":"2017-07-05T20:28:28Z","type":"stable","version":"Percona-Server-5.7.17-13"}]` |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 6.2 |

## Capabilities (Relational Databases)

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

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:01:22.532Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*