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InfluxDB vs MySQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

InfluxDB
Ranking in Open Source Databases
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Non-Relational Databases (2nd), Network Monitoring Software (23rd), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (24th), NoSQL Databases (3rd)
MySQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of InfluxDB is 4.2%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 9.4%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

DeepakR - PeerSpot reviewer
An open-source database that can be used to insert data
InfluxDB is generally stable, but we've encountered issues with the configuration file in our ticket stack. For instance, a mistake in one of the metrics out of a hundred KPIs can disrupt data collection for all KPIs. This happens because the agent stops working if there's an issue with any configuration part. To address this, it is essential to ensure that all configurations are part of the agent's EXE file when provided. This makes it easier to package the agent for server installation and ensures all KPIs are available from the server. Additionally, the agent cannot encrypt and decrypt passwords for authentication, which can be problematic when monitoring URLs or requiring authentication tokens. This requires additional scripting and can prolong service restart times.
Muzzamil  Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment
The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"In our case, it started with a necessity to fill the gap that we had in monitoring. We had very reactive monitoring without trend analysis and without some advanced features. We were able to implement them by using a time series database. We are able to have all the data from applications, logs, and systems, and we can use a simple query language to correlate all the data and make things happen, especially with monitoring. We could more proactively monitor our systems and our players' trends."
"The most valuable features of InfluxDB are the documentation and performance, and the good plugins metrics in the ecosystem."
"InfluxDB works as expected with excellent scalability and stability, which is critical for our application."
"The user interface is well-designed and easy to use. It provides a clear overview of the data, making it simple to understand the information at hand."
"InfluxDB's best feature is that it's a cloud offering. Other good features include its time-series DB, fast time-bulk queries, and window operations."
"While I would rate InfluxDB a ten on a scale of one to ten, users should be thoughtful about matching the engine to their specific needs."
"InfluxDB works as expected with excellent scalability and stability, which is critical for our application."
"The most valuable features are aggregating the data and integration with Graphana for monitoring."
"The initial setup was pretty straightforward. I would have worked with our IT team in terms of the initial setup."
"It's a good tool, a good database platform."
"​We use MySQL for enterprise data storage as well as part of the back-end of websites and web applications.​"
"The solution is very simple. It's easy to use. That's the most important feature."
"The speed is very good."
"The solution is free to use, which is its most valuable aspect."
"I like the JSON stuff."
"Support for enterprise-grade features like clustering, master-slave replication, even Sharding (to some extent) which is an advanced feature."
 

Cons

"The error logging capability can be improved because the logs are not very informative."
"In terms of features that I would like to see or have, in the community version, some features are not available. I would like to have clustering and authentication in the community version."
"InfluxDB is generally stable, but we've encountered issues with the configuration file in our ticket stack. For instance, a mistake in one of the metrics out of a hundred KPIs can disrupt data collection for all KPIs. This happens because the agent stops working if there's an issue with any configuration part. To address this, it is essential to ensure that all configurations are part of the agent's EXE file when provided. This makes it easier to package the agent for server installation and ensures all KPIs are available from the server. Additionally, the agent cannot encrypt and decrypt passwords for authentication, which can be problematic when monitoring URLs or requiring authentication tokens. This requires additional scripting and can prolong service restart times."
"The solution doesn't have much of a user interface."
"It is challenging to get long-running backups while running InfluxDB in a Microsoft Azure Kubernetes cluster."
"It is challenging to get long-running backups while running InfluxDB in a Microsoft Azure Kubernetes cluster."
"InfluxDB can improve by including new metrics on other technologies. They had some changes recently to pool data from endpoints but the functionality is not good enough in the industry."
"InfluxDB cannot be used for high-cardinality data. It's also difficult and time-consuming to write queries, and there are some issues with bulk API."
"The manuals or documentation could be better."
"From a user perspective, the initial setup could be simplified a bit."
"At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load."
"The GUI could improve to make MySQL better."
"The licensing of the solution is on the expensive side."
"The licensing cost of the solution is expensive, which MySQL needs to consider improving."
"The auto-tuning and NDB cluster has some limitations regarding foreign keys."
"Stability needs improvement and the backup needs to be enhanced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"InfluxDB recently increased its price. It is very expensive now."
"InfluxDB is open-source, but there are additional costs for scaling."
"We are using the open-source version of InfluxDB."
"The tool is an open-source product."
"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."
"We do have a couple of clients who choose to use the paid, enterprise version of the solution and who take full advantage of it."
"The pricing is not much expensive, it's cheap."
"There is a license for this solution. A lot of the time the solution gets bundled with other hardware or software purchases."
"MySQL is very cheap. It could be free. It also has a yearly licensing option."
"We pay a yearly subscription fee."
"The solution does not come with a licensing fee."
"We are using the free community version of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about InfluxDB?
InfluxDB is a database where you can insert data. However, it would be best if you had different components for alerting, data sending, and visualization. You need to install tools to collect data ...
What needs improvement with InfluxDB?
It is challenging to get long-running backups while running InfluxDB in a Microsoft Azure Kubernetes cluster. Replicating data for on-prem development and testing is difficult. Having a SQL abstrac...
What is your primary use case for InfluxDB?
InfluxDB is the main component in our large enterprise-scale streaming data application for maritime vessels. We collect position data from vessels around the coast once per second, put it on a Kaf...
Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?
MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...
Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?
I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...
What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?
One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ebay, AXA, Mozilla, DiDi, LeTV, Siminars, Cognito, ProcessOut, Recommend, CATS, Smarsh, Row 44, Clustree, Bleemeo
Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
Find out what your peers are saying about InfluxDB vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
864,155 professionals have used our research since 2012.