MySQL is a relational database used behind websites and business applications. Community Edition provides a downloadable GPL database with transactions, replication and JSON support. Oracle also sells commercial editions and cloud services. A shortlist should identify the actual edition and application support requirement, rather than treating every product carrying the MySQL name as the same purchase.
MySQL
Explore the official product
See the vendor’s current capabilities, product information and plan details.
PostgreSQL is an object-relational database for applications that need SQL transactions, relational constraints and extensible data types. It also supports JSON documents and an extension ecosystem including geospatial tools. Teams can run it themselves or buy a managed service from a hosting provider; the database licence does not include somebody operating backups and upgrades for them.
MariaDB Server is a relational database originating from MySQL, with SQL access and its own development path. Community Server is GPLv2 software; commercial enterprise services are a separate offering. It is relevant for teams whose application or hosting stack supports MariaDB, but a modern MySQL migration needs version-specific checks for authentication, SQL behaviour and operational tooling.
Vendor-described capabilities; availability can depend on the plan.
✓SQL database and InnoDB transactions
✓Replication and high-availability tooling
✓Native JSON data type
✓Stored procedures, triggers and views
✓Connectors and administration tools
MySQL pricing considerations
Free Community Edition
Community software, commercial Standard/Enterprise subscriptions and hosted services have different terms. Include infrastructure and support in the deployment budget.
MySQL Community Edition is freely downloadable under GPL terms. This does not include paid Enterprise features or managed hosting.