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TiDB VS MySQL

Compare TiDB VS MySQL and see what are their differences

TiDB logo TiDB

A distributed NewSQL database compatible with MySQL protocol

MySQL logo MySQL

The world's most popular open source database
  • TiDB Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-26
  • MySQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-17

TiDB features and specs

  • Scalability
    TiDB offers horizontal scalability, allowing you to add more nodes to handle increased loads seamlessly. This makes it suitable for applications expected to grow rapidly.
  • MySQL Compatibility
    TiDB is highly compatible with MySQL, enabling easy migration from MySQL databases and allowing developers to use familiar MySQL tools and syntax.
  • Distributed Architecture
    TiDB's distributed architecture allows it to maintain high availability and reliability, with the ability to continue operating even if some nodes fail.
  • HTAP Capabilities
    TiDB supports Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing (HTAP), which lets users perform real-time analytical queries on fresh transactional data without needing separate systems.
  • Strong Consistency
    TiDB ensures strong consistency across distributed transactions, maintaining data integrity without sacrificing performance.

Possible disadvantages of TiDB

  • Complex Deployment
    TiDB's distributed nature can make deployment and management more complex compared to traditional single-node databases, requiring specialized knowledge.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running a TiDB cluster can be resource-intensive, requiring more hardware resources compared to monolithic databases for optimal performance.
  • Evolving Ecosystem
    As a relatively new system, TiDB's surrounding ecosystem is still evolving, potentially leading to a lack of comprehensive ecosystem tools and third-party integrations.
  • Operational Overheads
    Maintaining and monitoring a TiDB cluster can introduce additional operational overheads due to its numerous components and dependencies.
  • Learning Curve
    For teams accustomed to traditional databases, there may be a steep learning curve when adopting TiDB, especially in understanding its distributed features and best practices.

MySQL features and specs

  • Reliability
    MySQL is known for its reliability and durability, making it a solid choice for many businesses' database management needs.
  • Performance
    It offers robust performance, handling large databases and complex queries efficiently.
  • Open Source
    MySQL is an open-source database, making it freely available under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
  • Scalability
    MySQL supports large-scale applications and can handle high volumes of transactions.
  • Community Support
    There is a large, active MySQL community that offers extensive resources, documentation, and support.
  • Cross-Platform
    MySQL is compatible with various operating systems like Windows, Linux, and macOS.
  • Integrations
    MySQL integrates well with numerous development frameworks, including LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl).
  • Security
    MySQL offers various security features, such as user account management, password policies, and encrypted connections.
  • Cost
    The open-source nature of MySQL means that it can be very cost-effective, especially for small to medium-sized businesses.

Possible disadvantages of MySQL

  • Support
    While community support is plentiful, official support from Oracle can be quite expensive.
  • Complexity
    More advanced features and configurations can be complex and may require a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Scalability Limitations
    While MySQL is scalable, very high-scale applications may run into limitations compared to some newer database technologies.
  • Plug-in Storage Engines
    The use of plug-in storage engines like InnoDB or MyISAM can cause inconsistencies and complicate backups and recovery processes.
  • ACID Compliance
    Although MySQL supports ACID compliance, certain configurations or storage engines may not fully adhere to ACID properties, affecting transaction reliability.
  • Concurrent Writes
    Handling a high number of concurrent writes can be less efficient compared to some other database systems designed specifically for high concurrency.
  • Feature Set
    Some advanced features found in other SQL databases (e.g., full-text indexing, rich analytics) may be less robust or absent.
  • Vendor Dependency
    With Oracle now owning MySQL, there can be concerns about licensing changes or other forms of vendor lock-in.
  • Replication Complexities
    Setting up replication and ensuring data consistency across distributed systems can be complex and error-prone.

TiDB videos

Hands-On TiDB - Episode 1: A Brief Introduction to TiDB

More videos:

  • Review - TiDB Contributor 学习之路
  • Tutorial - TiDB Binlog Tutorial

MySQL videos

MySQL IN 10 MINUTES (2020) | Introduction to Databases, SQL, & MySQL

More videos:

  • Review - A Review of MySQL Open Source Software

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to TiDB and MySQL)
Databases
9 9%
91% 91
Relational Databases
9 9%
91% 91
NoSQL Databases
11 11%
89% 89
Productivity
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using TiDB and MySQL. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare TiDB and MySQL

TiDB Reviews

20+ MongoDB Alternatives You Should Know About
TiDB is another take on MySQL compatible sharding. This NewSQL engine is MySQL wire protocol compatible but underneath is a distributed database designed from the ground up.
Source: www.percona.com

MySQL Reviews

MariaDB Vs MySQL In 2019: Compatibility, Performance, And Syntax
MySQL: MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Just like all other relational databases, MySQL uses tables, constraints, triggers, roles, stored procedures and views as the core components that you work with. A table consists of rows, and each row contains a same set of columns. MySQL uses primary keys to uniquely identify each row (a.k.a...
Source: blog.panoply.io
20+ MongoDB Alternatives You Should Know About
MySQL® is another feasible replacement. MySQL 5.7 and MySQL 8 have great support for JSON, and it continues to get better with every maintenance release. You can also consider MySQL Cluster for medium size sharded environments. You can also consider MariaDB and Percona Server for MySQL
Source: www.percona.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, TiDB should be more popular than MySQL. It has been mentiond 17 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

TiDB mentions (17)

  • TiDB – cloud-native, distributed SQL database written in Go
    I do want to clarify a few points, on the project page it does provide the following information: > Distributed Transactions: TiDB uses a two-phase commit protocol to ensure ACID compliance, providing strong consistency. Transactions span multiple nodes, and TiDB's distributed nature ensures data correctness even in the presence of network partitions or node failures. > … > High Availability: Built-in Raft... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • TiDB – cloud-native, distributed SQL database written in Go
    Note that TiDB did subject itself to Jepsen testing (relatively) early. Here's their 2019 results: https://jepsen.io/analyses/tidb-2.1.7 The devil is in the details, and anyone who is looking to implement TiDB for data correctness should read through not just this but other currently-open correctness-related Github issues: e.g., https://github.com/pingcap/tidb/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20state%3Aopen%20correctness. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • A MySQL compatible database engine written in pure Go
    Tidb has been around for a while, it is distributed, written in Go and Rust, and MySQL compatible. https://github.com/pingcap/tidb. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Ask HN: Who is hiring? (January 2023)
    PingCAP | https://www.pingcap.com | Database Engineer, Product Manager, Developer Advocate and more | Remote in California | Full-time We work on a MySQL compatible distributed database called TiDB https://github.com/pingcap/tidb/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Apache Pegasus – A a distributed key-value storage system
    Isn't TiDB built on top of TiKV?[0] [0]: https://github.com/pingcap/tidb. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
View more

MySQL mentions (4)

  • I have a recurring issue with a MySQL DB where I continually run out of disk space due to logs being filled. I've tried everything I can think of. Can anyone think of anything else I should try?
    So, I did a quick read through the mysql reference and found a bunch of flush related commands. I tried:. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • MMORPG design resources
    MySQL: Any SQL or DB knock-off, really... mysql.com - mariadb.org - sqlite.org. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Probably a syntax error
    15 years and five strokes ago. I was a Unix sysadmin. ALthough I was never an actual programmer, I did maintenance/light enhancement for the organization's website, in php. Now, as self-administered cognative therapy, I'm going back to it. This is an evil HR application that uses the mysql.com employees sample database. The module below enables the evil HR end user to generate a list of the oldest workers so... Source: almost 4 years ago
  • An absolute nightmare with mysql 8.0.25
    I always use the packages from mysql.com, that way I don't have to deal with strange configuration stuff along those lines, but anyway, I'm afraid I'm out of ideas. Surely someone else would have run in to the same issue here though. Source: almost 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing TiDB and MySQL, you can also consider the following products

OceanBase - Unlimited scalable distributed database for data intensive transaction & real-time operational analytics workload, with ultra fast performance of maintaining the world record of both TPC-C and TPC-H benchmark tests.

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

ClickHouse - ClickHouse is an open-source column-oriented database management system that allows generating analytical data reports in real time.

Microsoft SQL - Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.

StarRocks - StarRocks offers the next generation of real-time SQL engines for enterprise-scale analytics. Learn how we make it easy to deliver real-time analytics.

MongoDB - MongoDB (from "humongous") is a scalable, high-performance NoSQL database.