MySQL
Widely used open-source relational database management system, now developed by Oracle.
Commenters like MySQL for being simpler to operate than Postgres, with no VACUUM or connection pooler needed,123 and for good performance on transactional workloads.456 The most common complaint is its quirks and footguns,789 including a query planner one production user says still needs index hints.10
Why people recommend it
Simplicity · 3
Seen as simpler than Postgres for many needs and easier to run operationally.
“for many simple needs MySQL is simpler than Postgres, with similar performance and consistency.”
“MySQL was generally faster, and while MyISAM was a bit limited Innodb was pretty powerful”
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“MySQL for all its warts seems easier to run operationally and has a better scaling story(Vitess) than PostgreSQL.”
Performance · 3
Described as fast, with one user getting 20fps over 82 million rows using rollup tables.
“it is now fast enough to give me 20fps no matter the viewed range”
“MySQL was generally faster, and while MyISAM was a bit limited Innodb was pretty powerful”
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“for many simple needs MySQL is simpler than Postgres, with similar performance and consistency.”
No VACUUM · 2
Avoids Postgres-style VACUUM and xid issues and often needs no connection pooler.
“for many simple needs MySQL is simpler than Postgres, with similar performance and consistency.”
“MySQL was generally faster, and while MyISAM was a bit limited Innodb was pretty powerful”
Scaling story · 2
Credited with a better scaling story than PostgreSQL through Vitess.
“MySQL for all its warts seems easier to run operationally and has a better scaling story(Vitess) than PostgreSQL.”
“as a heavy Vitess/MySQL user”
Transactional data · 2
Called a good fit for users, products, orders and similar transactional data.
“Traditional databases(mysql, postgres) are perfect for transactional data.”
“But it always worked well for me. Like I said I got used to its quirks.”
Postgres alternative · 2
Mentioned as a destination when moving off Postgres or Oracle.
“Why Uber Engineering Switched from Postgres to MySQL”
“everyone who could switched to alternatives like MySQL or Postgres.”
Caveats and dissent
Footguns · 3
Users report quirks, warts and repeated footguns.
“Every time I've touched MySQL I've found a new footgun.”
“But it always worked well for me. Like I said I got used to its quirks.”
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“MySQL for all its warts seems easier to run operationally and has a better scaling story(Vitess) than PostgreSQL.”
Query planner · 1
One production user relies on index hints because the query planner still does not work for them.
“we use the index hints 100% of the time because the query planner (still) doesn't work”
Event data · 1
Not designed for tracking high-volume event data.
“Traditional databases(mysql, postgres) are perfect for transactional data.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- PostgreSQL for Everything 2 mentions
- DuckDB Internals: Why Is DuckDB Fast? (Part 1) 2 mentions
- UUIDv7: Timestamps aren’t time-ordered and other oddities 1 mention
- A new write and space optimized storage engine for MySQL is here 1 mention
- How to keep enjoying programming in a world of LLMs 1 mention
- Compressing a flag to 11 bits 1 mention
Data: mysql.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 23
“I use this pattern in mysql.”
“Why Uber Engineering Switched from Postgres to MySQL”
“reads one of the MySQL replicas”
“we used to use TINYINT in MySQL to store boolean flags”
“as a heavy Vitess/MySQL user”
“I used to write all my work apps in plain jane PHP/MySQL”
“for many simple needs MySQL is simpler than Postgres, with similar performance and consistency.”
“MySQL was generally faster, and while MyISAM was a bit limited Innodb was pretty powerful”
“I have had hours of fun with postgres and mysql in particular.”
“we use the index hints 100% of the time because the query planner (still) doesn't work”
“But it always worked well for me. Like I said I got used to its quirks.”
“So I had to migrate the production db under live load from sqlite to mysql”
“Traditional databases(mysql, postgres) are perfect for transactional data.”
“a full rewrite with MySQL + Perl DBI was what we chose”
“it is now fast enough to give me 20fps no matter the viewed range”
“I mainly use MySQL or PostgreSQL.”
“The site has been built with some pretty unremarkable tech stack Java / Spring / Mysql / HTMX”
“blame MySQL”
“we had to use MySQL for our primary copy”
“MySQL for all its warts seems easier to run operationally and has a better scaling story(Vitess) than PostgreSQL.”
“Connects to local mysql server, pulls the values and then assembles it.”
“Every time I've touched MySQL I've found a new footgun.”
“everyone who could switched to alternatives like MySQL or Postgres.”