MySQL

MySQL is a relational database management system owned and developed by Oracle. The vendor's About page calls it the world's most popular open source database and says it is a common choice for web-based applications. The reference manual describes a multithreaded, multi-user SQL server intended for heavy-load production systems and for embedding in mass-deployed software.

MySQL is dual licensed: users can run it as open source under the GPL, or buy a commercial license from Oracle. The product line has Community Edition (free), paid Standard, Classic and Enterprise editions with support and extra tools, NDB Cluster, an embedded edition for ISVs and OEMs, and MySQL HeatWave, a managed cloud service with analytics and machine learning. Release tracks are split into Innovation and long-term support versions.

• Pluggable storage engines. The server separates SQL processing from storage, so InnoDB, NDB, MyISAM and others can be used. InnoDB is the default transactional engine, and a transactional data dictionary provides atomic DDL statements.
• Replication and high availability. Replication, Group Replication with automated failover, and InnoDB Cluster form a native high availability setup. MySQL Router sits between application and servers to route connections.
• Document Store. The vendor says MySQL supports SQL and NoSQL in one server, using the X Protocol, the X DevAPI and MySQL Shell for JSON document workloads next to relational tables.
• Stored programs, triggers and views. Stored procedures, triggers and views are in the Community Edition. Enterprise Edition adds JavaScript stored programs, marked as new on the Enterprise page.
• Enterprise security. Enterprise Edition lists Transparent Data Encryption, Encryption functions, Masking and De-identification, Dynamic Data Masking, Firewall, Audit, and authentication through PAM and Windows Active Directory.
• Enterprise Backup. Online hot backups with full, incremental and partial modes, point-in-time recovery and compression are part of the Enterprise Edition.
• Monitoring and tools. Performance Schema and Information Schema give metadata and resource monitoring. MySQL Workbench covers visual modelling, SQL development and administration, and connectors exist for ODBC, JDBC and .NET.

• A small web agency. Runs Community Edition on Linux behind WordPress and custom sites, using Workbench for administration. The GPL license has no fee, and the vendor says the software runs on more than 20 platforms.
• An e-commerce company needing uptime. Sets up InnoDB Cluster with Group Replication and MySQL Router so failed nodes are replaced automatically, and buys Enterprise Backup and 24x7 support from Oracle for point-in-time recovery.
• An ISV shipping a packaged product. Licenses the Embedded edition for OEMs and ISVs, which the vendor describes as a proven, low-cost embedded database. The commercial license avoids GPL obligations on the distributed software.

Download MySQL Community Server from the Downloads section, together with MySQL Shell, Router and Workbench. The reference manual has installation, upgrade and downgrade chapters and a tutorial chapter that walks through creating a database and running queries.

The manual is available for 8.4 (long-term support), plus 8.0 and newer Innovation releases, in PDF and man page formats. Connectors for common languages are listed under Documentation. Oracle also offers training and certification. For paid editions, the How to Buy page directs you to sales, with phone numbers by region.

MySQL Community Server is GPLv2 and the source is on Oracle's GitHub, so the engine costs nothing to run. What Oracle sells is around it: Enterprise Edition, Standard and Classic editions, and the HeatWave cloud service on OCI, AWS or Azure.

Its product page lists no prices. Buyers uneasy about one owner can compare MariaDB, whose foundation states it is independent of commercial entities.

In our database management systems ranking MySQL stands at #9 of 22: Couchbase sits directly above it and Microsoft SQL Server directly below. No numeric score is attached; established products follow the challengers in their ranked order.

By headquarters, 15 of the 22 are established in North America, as MySQL is in the United States.

Charging model: Community Server free under GPLv2; HeatWave metered per ECPU-hour; Enterprise on request.

Community Edition is free under the GPL. The paid editions are Standard, Classic, Enterprise, NDB Cluster CGE and Embedded, sold through Oracle sales or the How to Buy page. The product pages reviewed do not print amounts or billing periods, so prices for these editions and for HeatWave must be requested. Enterprise Edition includes 24x7 technical support, per the Enterprise page. The manual states that a standard commercial license can be bought from Oracle as an alternative to the GPL.

We took this from mysql.com, the vendor’s own site, when we reviewed Best Database Management Systems in 2026; that review is dated 7 November 2026.

Hosting depends on where you run it, since MySQL is software you install yourself, or use through HeatWave on Oracle Cloud. Enterprise Edition features include Transparent Data Encryption, masking, firewall and audit, and the vendor lists DISA STIG and CIS Benchmark material.

Security advisories are published for Community Edition. Data can be exported with standard dump and replication tools. Certifications for the HeatWave service are not stated on the pages reviewed.

Integrations the vendor names (12):

• MySQL Workbench
• MySQL Shell
• MySQL Router
• ODBC connector
• JDBC connector
• .NET connector
• PAM authentication
• Windows Active Directory
• Oracle Enterprise Manager
• MySQL HeatWave
• OCI Marketplace
• Linux, Unix, Mac and Windows

Closest by traits, not by rank: 5 products from the same list that overlap most with MySQL.

A full write-up exists: MySQL alternatives, with reasons buyers leave and what moving involves.

• SQLite (#3 of 22): SQLite is a library that keeps the whole database in one file inside your application, so there is no server to patch. Its own guidance says it suits embedded devices, local application data and small sites, and that a client/server engine fits better when many machines write at once. Support is sold from 1,500 US dollars a year. Switch if the MySQL server was only ever holding data for one application on one machine. (United States)
• Apache Cassandra (#7 of 22): Cassandra is an Apache Software Foundation project under Apache Licence 2.0 and sells nothing itself. Every node behaves alike, and capacity grows by adding nodes. Its project page says there is little point in running one node, and CQL queries read a single table, so tables are designed around the queries you expect. Switch if write volume has outgrown one MySQL primary and you can design data around known queries. (United States)
• Oracle Database (#11 of 22): Oracle Database is the same company's commercial engine, now branded Oracle AI Database 26ai. A free edition allows 2 CPU threads, 2 GB of RAM and 12 GB of user data, and larger use runs on a licence priced in a separate list. Choosing it keeps the owner of MySQL as your vendor and changes only the product. Switch if you want to stay with Oracle as a supplier but need features beyond MySQL Enterprise. (United States)
• Amazon DynamoDB (#12 of 22): DynamoDB runs only on AWS and bills reads and writes either per request or as provisioned capacity, plus storage. The free tier gives 25 GB and covers about 200 million requests a month. Access is by key, not by SQL joins, and tables can be exported to S3, but application code written for MySQL has to be rewritten for it. Switch if your workload is key-based lookups at high volume and you are content to live inside AWS.
• Google Firestore (#16 of 22): Serverless document database on Google Cloud with an optional MongoDB-compatible API. Watch out: runs only on Google Cloud.

When MySQL is still the right call: MySQL is still a sensible default when the application was built for it and runs well. The Community Server is GPLv2 with source on Oracle's GitHub, the 8.4 long-term support series gives a stable target, and the HeatWave service runs on OCI, AWS and Azure for teams that want a managed option from the same vendor. Drivers, hosting panels and developer habits assume MySQL almost everywhere, so a move has to buy something specific, such as a different owner, a different licence or a different data model.

Read from the vendor’s own pages on 5 November 2026.

• mysql.com/about: description, owner
• mysql.com/products: editions, HeatWave
• mysql.com/products/enterprise: Enterprise features, support
• mysql.com/products/community: Community features, GPL, platforms
• dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/8.4/en/introduction.html: dual license, release tracks, manual

Feature lists tell little, so positions rest on setup effort, the true price, portability and fit. The result for MySQL: #9, out of 22 ranked. The editorial process sets out how facts are gathered and how commercial links are handled.