There had often been talks and some times flame wars when there had been comparison between MySQL and PostgreSQL. Each database has its own strength and weaknesses. As an initiative, I thought to do a little research on this topic and to list down the common points gathered in a tabular format.
| Comparison | MySQL | PostgreSQL | |
License |
GPL/proprietary license. Those not wanting to abide to those terms may buy a proprietary license from MySQL Inc. |
BSD-like license |
|
Redistribution |
Any redistribution of the binaries must be accompanied by the source code from which they are derived, whether original or modified |
Binaries and source code are available free of charge |
|
SQL Standard compliance |
MySQL had many problems with SQL standard compliance. It was only from ver. 4 they started supporting transactions/foreign keys. Cases of data loss in |
In comparison, PostgreSQL complies to SQL standard and has extensive list of features to support |
|
| Speed | MySQL''s main concentration was on speed when it was developed. Even then, it happens only if there is low level of concurrent users. When the load increases it has a drastic impact on MySQL |
Postgre adheres to ACID model and scales well when the number of concurrent users increase. |
|
Support |
User base for MySQL is more and there are more web hosting companies offering MySQL in comparison. Hence there are more forums to solve your problems when in need. |
PostgreSQL has equivalent number of mailing list offering support and a list of commercial companies offering their services |
|
| Interface | phpMyAdmin |
phpPgAdmin |
The list will continue to grow …