The definitive comparison for developers choosing between PostgreSQL and MySQL in 2026. Covers performance benchmarks, features, licensing, cloud costs, replication, JSON support, and when to use (or avoid) each database.
- Quick Comparison
- Performance
- Scalability & Replication
- JSON & NoSQL Features
- Extensions & Ecosystem
- Indexing
- SQL Standards & Advanced Queries
- Licensing & Cost
- Cloud Provider Support & Pricing
- Security
- Developer Experience
- When to Use PostgreSQL
- When to Use MySQL
- When NOT to Use Each
- Migration Considerations
- Related Comparisons
- Contributing
| Feature | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Latest stable | 17.x | 8.4+ / 9.x |
| License | PostgreSQL License (MIT-like) | GPL v2 (with proprietary Oracle editions) |
| ACID compliance | Full | Full (InnoDB only) |
| MVCC | Native | InnoDB only |
| JSON support | jsonb — binary, indexable, very fast |
JSON type — functional but slower |
| Full-text search | Built-in (tsvector, tsquery) |
Built-in (InnoDB) |
| Replication | Logical + streaming | Binary log (statement/row/mixed) |
| Partitioning | Declarative (range, list, hash) | Range, list, hash, key |
| Extensions | 1,000+ (PostGIS, TimescaleDB, pgvector…) | Limited plugin architecture |
| Stored procedures | PL/pgSQL, PL/Python, PL/Perl, PL/V8… | SQL, PL/SQL-like |
| Max DB size | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Max row size | 1.6 TB | 64 KB (InnoDB) |
| Default port | 5432 | 3306 |
| Best for | Complex queries, analytics, geospatial, compliance | High-throughput reads, web apps, replication simplicity |
| Workload | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
Simple SELECT by PK |
Fast | Slightly faster (InnoDB clustered index) |
Complex JOIN (5+ tables) |
Excellent query planner | Good, but optimizer is less sophisticated |
Aggregations (GROUP BY, window functions) |
Excellent | Good (improved significantly in 8.0+) |
| Full-text search | Good (built-in tsvector) |
Good (InnoDB FTS) |
| JSON queries | Excellent (jsonb with GIN indexes) |
Functional but slower |
| Workload | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
Single-row INSERT |
Fast | Fast |
Bulk INSERT |
Fast (COPY command) |
Fast (LOAD DATA INFILE) |
UPDATE-heavy workloads |
Good (MVCC creates row versions → vacuum needed) | Good (in-place updates with InnoDB) |
DELETE-heavy workloads |
Requires VACUUM maintenance |
Handles well natively |
| Write-ahead logging | WAL (reliable, tunable) | Redo/undo logs (InnoDB) |
| Aspect | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| MVCC model | Native, row-level | InnoDB only |
| Connection overhead | Higher per-connection memory | Lower per-connection |
| Connection pooling needed? | Yes (PgBouncer, pgpool) at scale | Yes at scale, but tolerates more raw connections |
| Parallel queries | Yes (parallel seq scan, joins, aggregates) | Limited (MySQL 8.0+ for some operations) |
Bottom line: PostgreSQL wins on complex queries and analytics. MySQL wins on simple, high-throughput read workloads with its clustered index architecture.
| Feature | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Streaming replication | Yes (physical — byte-level) | N/A (uses binlog) |
| Logical replication | Yes (table-level, selective) | Yes (binlog, row/statement/mixed) |
| Multi-source replication | Via logical replication | Native multi-source |
| Synchronous replication | Yes (configurable per-transaction) | Yes (semi-sync plugin, Group Replication) |
| Delayed replicas | Yes (recovery_min_apply_delay) |
Yes (CHANGE REPLICATION SOURCE TO ... DELAY) |
| Automatic failover | Requires external tooling (Patroni, repmgr) | MySQL InnoDB Cluster / Group Replication |
| Approach | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Read replicas | Easy (streaming replication) | Easy (standard replication) |
| Sharding | Citus extension, or manual | Vitess, ProxySQL, or manual |
| Distributed SQL | Citus, YugabyteDB (PG-compatible) | TiDB, PlanetScale (MySQL-compatible) |
Bottom line: MySQL has simpler built-in HA (InnoDB Cluster). PostgreSQL needs external tools for failover but offers more flexible replication (logical replication is excellent for selective table sync and zero-downtime upgrades).
| Feature | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| JSON storage type | json (text) and jsonb (binary) |
JSON (binary-ish, validated) |
| Indexing JSON | GIN indexes on jsonb — very fast |
Generated columns + B-tree (workaround) |
| JSON path queries | jsonb @> '{"key": "val"}' operators |
JSON_EXTRACT(), ->, ->> operators |
| Partial JSON updates | jsonb_set(), ` |
|
| Performance | jsonb with GIN index ≈ document DB speed |
Slower for complex JSON queries |
| Use as document store | Viable (many companies do this) | Possible but not recommended at scale |
Bottom line: If you need JSON-heavy workloads, PostgreSQL's jsonb is significantly ahead. MySQL's JSON support works for simple use cases but lacks efficient indexing for complex queries.
| Extension | Purpose |
|---|---|
| PostGIS | Geospatial data — industry standard |
| TimescaleDB | Time-series data at scale |
| pgvector | Vector similarity search (AI/ML embeddings) |
| Citus | Distributed/sharded PostgreSQL |
| pg_cron | Scheduled jobs inside the database |
| pg_stat_statements | Query performance monitoring |
| pgAudit | Audit logging for compliance |
| Foreign Data Wrappers | Query external data sources (MySQL, MongoDB, S3, etc.) |
| Tool/Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|
| MySQL Router | Connection routing and load balancing |
| MySQL Shell | Advanced admin CLI |
| Group Replication | Built-in HA clustering |
| MySQL HeatWave | In-database analytics (Oracle Cloud) |
| ProxySQL | Connection pooling and query routing |
| Vitess | Horizontal sharding (used by YouTube, Slack) |
Bottom line: PostgreSQL's extension ecosystem is unmatched. If you need geospatial (PostGIS), vector search (pgvector), or time-series (TimescaleDB), PostgreSQL is the clear choice. MySQL's ecosystem is more focused on scaling and HA tooling.
| Index Type | PostgreSQL | MySQL (InnoDB) |
|---|---|---|
| B-tree | Yes (default) | Yes (default, clustered on PK) |
| Hash | Yes | Yes (adaptive hash, internal) |
| GIN (inverted) | Yes — arrays, jsonb, full-text |
No |
| GiST | Yes — geospatial, range types | No |
| BRIN | Yes — block range, great for time-series | No |
| Partial indexes | Yes (WHERE clause on index) |
No |
| Expression indexes | Yes (CREATE INDEX ON tbl (lower(col))) |
Generated columns (workaround) |
| Covering indexes | Yes (INCLUDE clause) |
Yes (InnoDB covering index) |
| Full-text indexes | Yes (tsvector) |
Yes (InnoDB FTS) |
| Spatial indexes | Yes (GiST, SP-GiST) | Yes (R-tree) |
Bottom line: PostgreSQL offers significantly more indexing flexibility. Partial indexes and expression indexes alone can eliminate entire categories of performance problems that require workarounds in MySQL.
| Feature | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Window functions | Full support (since 8.4, 2009) | Added in 8.0 (2018) |
| CTEs (WITH) | Full support, recursive | Added in 8.0, now optimized |
| LATERAL JOIN | Yes | Yes (8.0+) |
| RETURNING clause | Yes (INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE ... RETURNING) |
No (use LAST_INSERT_ID() workaround) |
| UPSERT | INSERT ... ON CONFLICT (flexible) |
INSERT ... ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE |
| MERGE | Yes (PG 15+) | No native MERGE |
| Custom types | Yes (composite types, enums, domains) | ENUMs only |
| Array columns | Yes (native array type) | No |
| Range types | Yes (int4range, tsrange, etc.) |
No |
| Table inheritance | Yes | No |
| Generated columns | Yes (stored + virtual) | Yes (stored + virtual) |
| CHECK constraints | Yes (enforced) | Yes (enforced since 8.0.16) |
Bottom line: PostgreSQL adheres more closely to the SQL standard and offers advanced features (arrays, range types, RETURNING, LATERAL) that simplify application code. MySQL has closed the gap significantly since 8.0 but still lags on advanced SQL features.
| Aspect | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| License | PostgreSQL License (permissive, MIT-like) | GPL v2 |
| Fully open source? | Yes — one edition | Community Edition is open source; Enterprise is proprietary (Oracle) |
| Commercial use | No restrictions | GPL requires source distribution if redistributing; or buy Oracle commercial license |
| Enterprise features | All features in one free edition | Some features locked behind Oracle MySQL Enterprise (audit, firewall, backup, monitoring) |
| Vendor lock-in risk | None — community-governed | Moderate — Oracle controls MySQL development |
| Support options | EDB, Percona, Crunchy Data, community | Oracle, Percona, MariaDB Corp, community |
Bottom line: PostgreSQL is simpler licensing-wise — everything is free, no enterprise tier. MySQL's GPL license and Oracle's proprietary Enterprise edition add complexity, especially for companies embedding MySQL in distributed products.
| Provider | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | RDS PostgreSQL, Aurora PostgreSQL | RDS MySQL, Aurora MySQL |
| Google Cloud | Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL, AlloyDB | Cloud SQL for MySQL |
| Azure | Azure Database for PostgreSQL (Flexible Server) | Azure Database for MySQL (Flexible Server) |
| DigitalOcean | Managed PostgreSQL | Managed MySQL |
| PlanetScale | — | Yes (Vitess-based, MySQL-compatible) |
| Neon | Yes (serverless PostgreSQL) | — |
| Supabase | Yes (PostgreSQL-based) | — |
| Tembo | Yes (PostgreSQL stacks) | — |
| Provider | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| AWS RDS | ~$140-170/mo | ~$140-170/mo |
| AWS Aurora | ~$200-250/mo | ~$200-250/mo |
| Google Cloud SQL | ~$120-150/mo | ~$120-150/mo |
| Google AlloyDB | ~$200+/mo | — |
| Azure Flexible Server | ~$130-160/mo | ~$130-160/mo |
Note: Prices vary by region and configuration. Always check current pricing on provider websites.
Bottom line: Pricing is nearly identical across providers. The real differentiator is the ecosystem around it — PostgreSQL has more serverless/developer-focused options (Neon, Supabase), while MySQL has PlanetScale for edge/serverless MySQL.
| Feature | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Row-level security (RLS) | Yes — native policies | No (application-level workaround) |
| Column-level permissions | Yes | Yes |
| SSL/TLS | Yes | Yes |
| Authentication methods | Password, SCRAM-SHA-256, LDAP, GSSAPI, certificate, RADIUS, PAM | Password (caching_sha2_password), LDAP, PAM, certificate |
| Audit logging | pgAudit extension | Enterprise only (MySQL Enterprise Audit) or community plugins |
| Data masking | Extensions available | Enterprise only |
| Encryption at rest | TDE via extensions or OS-level | InnoDB tablespace encryption (Community), TDE (Enterprise) |
Bottom line: PostgreSQL's row-level security (RLS) is a standout feature for multi-tenant applications. MySQL's audit and masking capabilities are locked behind the Enterprise edition.
| Aspect | PostgreSQL | MySQL |
|---|---|---|
| Default CLI | psql (powerful, \d commands, tab completion) |
mysql client (functional, less discovery) |
| GUI tools | pgAdmin, DBeaver, DataGrip | MySQL Workbench, DBeaver, DataGrip |
| ORM support | Excellent (all major ORMs) | Excellent (all major ORMs) |
| Driver maturity | Excellent across all languages | Excellent across all languages |
| Error messages | Detailed, with hints and context | Functional, sometimes cryptic |
| Documentation | Excellent — comprehensive official docs | Good — Oracle official docs, community wikis |
| Learning curve | Moderate — more features to learn | Lower — simpler defaults, fewer knobs |
| Docker image | postgres:17 (official, well-maintained) |
mysql:8.4 (official) |
| Startup time | Fast | Fast |
Bottom line: Both have mature tooling. PostgreSQL's psql is more powerful for interactive use. MySQL is slightly easier to get started with for beginners.
- Complex queries — heavy JOINs, window functions, CTEs, subqueries
- Analytics & reporting — OLAP-style workloads alongside OLTP
- Geospatial data — PostGIS is the industry standard
- JSON-heavy workloads —
jsonbwith GIN indexes - AI/ML vector search — pgvector for embedding similarity
- Time-series data — TimescaleDB extension
- Multi-tenant SaaS — row-level security (RLS) for tenant isolation
- Strict compliance — permissive license, audit logging, encryption
- Schema complexity — arrays, range types, custom types, table inheritance
- You want one free edition with all features included
- High-throughput simple reads — web apps, content platforms, e-commerce catalogs
- Read-heavy workloads — clustered index on InnoDB is optimized for PK lookups
- Simpler applications — CRUD apps where advanced SQL features aren't needed
- Existing MySQL ecosystem — WordPress, Drupal, Magento, many PHP frameworks default to MySQL
- Built-in HA — InnoDB Cluster / Group Replication is simpler than PostgreSQL HA setup
- Edge/serverless MySQL — PlanetScale (Vitess-based)
- Your team knows MySQL — familiarity reduces onboarding time
- WordPress / PHP stack — MySQL is the default, switching adds complexity
| Scenario | Why | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra-simple CRUD app | Overkill — more config than needed | MySQL or SQLite |
| Your team only knows MySQL | Migration + retraining cost is real | MySQL |
| You need built-in HA without external tools | PostgreSQL HA requires Patroni/repmgr setup | MySQL InnoDB Cluster |
| WordPress / PHP legacy stack | MySQL is the default; fighting it adds friction | MySQL |
| Embedded / edge database | PostgreSQL is not designed for embedding | SQLite |
| Scenario | Why | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
| Complex analytical queries | Query optimizer is less sophisticated | PostgreSQL |
| Geospatial workloads | PostGIS far exceeds MySQL spatial | PostgreSQL + PostGIS |
| JSON-heavy document patterns | jsonb with GIN indexes is far superior |
PostgreSQL |
| Multi-tenant RLS needed | MySQL has no row-level security | PostgreSQL |
| You need vector search (AI/ML) | pgvector doesn't exist for MySQL | PostgreSQL + pgvector |
| Licensing concerns (redistribution) | GPL is more restrictive than PostgreSQL License | PostgreSQL |
| You want audit logging without paying Oracle | pgAudit is free; MySQL audit is Enterprise-only | PostgreSQL |
RETURNINGclause doesn't exist — rewrite toLAST_INSERT_ID()- Arrays and range types don't exist — normalize to separate tables
jsonboperators differ — rewrite toJSON_EXTRACT()/->syntax- Row-level security must be replaced with application logic
- PL/pgSQL stored procedures must be rewritten
AUTO_INCREMENT→SERIALorGENERATED ALWAYS AS IDENTITYINSERT ... ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE→INSERT ... ON CONFLICT- Backtick quoting (
`) → double-quote (") for identifiers GROUP_CONCAT()→STRING_AGG()IFNULL()→COALESCE()(works in both, but COALESCE is standard)LIMIT offset, count→LIMIT count OFFSET offset
- pgLoader — MySQL to PostgreSQL (handles schema + data conversion)
- AWS DMS — Database Migration Service (supports both directions)
- pg_chameleon — MySQL to PostgreSQL replication-based migration
More comparisons coming soon — star and watch to get notified.
- Docker vs Podman (coming soon)
- Kafka vs RabbitMQ (coming soon)
- Redis vs Memcached (coming soon)
Found an error? Have updated benchmarks? Know a better way to explain something?
Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or submit a PR.
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This project is licensed under the MIT License.
Last updated: April 2026 | PostgreSQL 17.x vs MySQL 8.4+ / 9.x