MySQL vs SQL Server comparison

Oracle and Microsoft are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. Oracle is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.3. Oracle holds a 8.5% mindshare in SQL, compared to Microsoft’s 18.6% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of Oracle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

MySQL

Read 148 MySQL reviews

7,193 Views
5,585 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

SQL Server

Read 268 SQL Server reviews

18,969 Views
14,206 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

MySQL

SQL Server

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

SQL Server and MySQL are leading competitors in the database management systems category. SQL Server appears to have the upper hand when advanced features such as performance tuning and comprehensive support are crucial for an organization, while MySQL is advantageous for its cost-effectiveness and suitability for web applications.

Features: SQL Server is renowned for dynamic resource allocation, Graphical Query Analyzer, and OLAP services that enhance performance and scalability. It provides an intuitive user interface and extensive compatibility with various tools. MySQL, being open-source, offers affordability and supports a comprehensive range of platforms, making it optimal for medium-sized web applications. It leverages a simple architecture promoting ease of use and flexibility.

Room for Improvement: SQL Server faces challenges with non-Windows system compatibility and high costs associated with additional features. Despite its robust features, there is still room for improvement in overall expense management. MySQL could enhance advanced functionalities such as active directory integration and stored procedures, which would make it more appealing for enterprise-level use while maintaining simplicity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SQL Server and MySQL both adapt to various deployment models, including on-premises and hybrid cloud. MySQL stands out for its open-source nature, offering wide accessibility for developers. SQL Server, though providing extensive resources, is sometimes criticized for slower response times from Microsoft support. MySQL primarily relies on community support, which, while helpful, can lack the dedicated service found in SQL Server's enterprise-level support.

Pricing and ROI: SQL Server is perceived as more costly, especially with added features, yet it delivers significant ROI for businesses leveraging its full capabilities. MySQL offers a more budget-friendly alternative, sometimes available at no cost, making it suitable for cost-sensitive projects. It provides excellent ROI for small to medium applications, especially where complex functionalities are not immediately necessary.

To learn more, read our detailed MySQL vs. SQL Server Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

MySQL vs. SQL Server

March 2025

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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

MySQL

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

148

Ranking in other categories

Open Source Databases (1st)

SQL Server

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

268

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of MySQL is 8.5%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQL Server is 18.6%, down from 23.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

Muzzamil Hussain

Assistant Vice President at National Bank of Pakistan

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.

Read full review

Azizul Haque

AVP, IT Division at NCC BANK LIMITED

It has eliminated all kinds of inconsistencies, and it is reliable, secure, and fast

I don't know whether SQL Server can support large organizations where the database size is more than 100 GB. It might be because of SQL Server, or it might be because of the programming of the software vendor, but a lot of people think that it is a problem with SQL Server. It can't handle a large amount of data or large data size. In terms of its usage, about 90% of our applications are running on the SQL Server database. We have around 1,600 users for our software, and all the applications are connected to the SQL Server database.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The speed is very good."

"It's a good tool, a good database platform."

"What I really like about MySQL is the opportunity to search for information and organize it any way I like."

"MySQL is easy to use, has fast performance, and it is comfortable for end-user to use. The schema level and structure we are using are very simple and easy to understand. Additionally, packaging tool development is straightforward and the data is presented in a way that is very simple to understand."

"Fully scalable and stable SQL-based RDBMS, with a straightforward and easy setup."

"MySQL is an easy-to-use solution that provides stability, reliability, flexibility, performance, security, and high availability."

"However, it is easy to scale MySQL using the functions provided with the product."

"The solution is very stable."

More MySQL pros

"The latest version supports for big data analytics. SQL Server's vector processing-based batch execution mode is now available to the entire execution of R or Python code. Since much of the work that tends to be done in R and Python involves aggregation, batch mode - which processes rows of data several at a time, can be very helpful."

"It is quite reliable in cluster configurations and has helped me to reduce downtime and improve SLAs."

"It is stable, and it works okay."

"Comparing with other database management systems that I tried in other companies, SQL Server is quite easy to install, configure, and maintain."

"The Azure SQL Server database requires almost zero maintenance and management."

"It is an extremely stable solution."

"It's a very stable solution."

"It is a stable product, and it runs seamlessly. It is not complex."

More SQL Server pros

Cons

"Clusters are hard to perform so we use no SQL alternates like MongoDB."

"It could be a little bit simpler to use."

"It could be more secure."

"We require more ease of use, scalability, and high availability. These are some of the critical features that we use and look for in a product. It should be easier to manage clusters. Scalability is very important for us because our projects and concurrency requirements are quite big. We also require high availability of the server, application, and other things. It should also have more performance-based features or enhancements from the performance point of view. When we divide a database, it should be able to handle the queries very fast."

"MySQL could be improved by adding more automation."

"When I run into issues, I really have to research how to fix them."

"They should come up with a better solution than the NDB cluster for better scaling. If they could come up with a better solution for write scaling, apart from the NDB cluster, which is supported by all open source communities, that would be great. Although the NDB cluster, I believe, is an open-source tool, it's not widely supported as a solution."

"It can have better monitoring. In addition, the enterprise manager should be able to cater to more than one virtual machine. Currently, you need one license per server. It seems a bit too much to get one license for one enterprise manager. I hope the enterprise manager for MySQL can accommodate more virtual machines for MySQL."

More MySQL cons

"SQL Server is an expensive solution"

"Technical support could be better."

"The treatment of database storage could be improved."

"There are a lot of improvements in the cloud space about which we open a case with Microsoft every now and then. These improvements are not in terms of features or functionality. They are more related to their own compatibility or connectivity on which they keep on working to improve the product."

"In some cases it is quite difficult, like the lack of ease of the replication and other issues. They have to improve on that. They do not have features like "always on," which is complicated."

"The solution could offer better integration with other solutions - specifically Microsoft."

"The solution is expensive. The licensing costs are high."

"The tool is expensive."

More SQL Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"MySQL is a free and open-source solution."

"It is an open source platform."

"MySQL is a cheap solution."

"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."

"The pricing falls within the moderate range."

"I don't pay for a license."

"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."

"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."

More MySQL pricing and cost advice

"We're looking at alternative solutions because we think Microsoft's licensing costs have been expensive."

"The price of the solution could be cheaper."

"I would rate the tool's pricing a six out of ten. It is not extremely cheap but also it's not the most expensive product."

"The price of SQL Server could be reduced, the license is expensive. We have an annual subscription."

"For smaller companies, they find this solution expensive."

"We are on a monthly subscription and the price could improve. However, the price has worked out well in some deployments. The problem is you never know what kind of services been installed and you have to be in touch with many people, such as which servers are active or which are not. I did face a couple of issues in terms of subscriptions and the pricing model. They have improved over time."

"The price of SQL Server could be better in the African market. The licensing model needs to be improved, it is confusing."

"There is a license required for this solution. One of the problems is for smaller businesses to purchases a license because it is expensive for a lot of them to afford."

More SQL Server pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

53%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

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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...

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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...

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Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?

SQL Server is fairly priced because it has various editions, depending on the number of users, servers, or core packs you are using. If you compare the product to others in this category, the price...

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Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?

SQL Server has helped my organization through partitioning to distribute the workload, as it splits them up into smaller pieces so the machines can easily deal with it. However, this comes with a h...

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Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?

My company connects through SQL Server authentication. We have company Windows accounts, but we do not want to connect the two, out of security concerns and to keep things separated for our own pur...

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Comparisons

Firebird SQL vs MySQL

Compared 28% of the time

PostgreSQL vs MySQL

Compared 16% of the time

SAP HANA vs MySQL

Compared 8% of the time

MariaDB vs MySQL

Compared 6% of the time

Oracle Database vs MySQL

Compared 5% of the time

More MySQL Competitors

SAP HANA vs SQL Server

Compared 15% of the time

MariaDB vs SQL Server

Compared 14% of the time

IBM Db2 Database vs SQL Server

Compared 11% of the time

LocalDB vs SQL Server

Compared 9% of the time

Tableau vs SQL Server

Compared 3% of the time

More SQL Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MySQL

March 2025

Download MySQL product report

Buyer's Guide

SQL Server

March 2025

Download SQL Server product report

Also Known As

No data available

Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL

Overview

MySQL is a cost-efficient and scalable relational database management system widely used in web, mobile applications, and academic projects.

MySQL is utilized for backend operations, data analysis, reporting, financial transactions, and ERP databases. It supports deployment on local servers, Cloud, and Kubernetes. Its free, open-source nature along with strong community support make it popular among companies. MySQL's compatibility with multiple platforms and programming languages enhances its appeal. While it remains stable and easy to use, areas such as replication, clustering, and backup require improvement to better serve enterprise applications. Enhanced security, error messages, and monitoring tools are also desired for a better user experience.

What are the most important features of MySQL?

Free and Open-Source: No licensing costs, perfect for budget-conscious projects.
Compatibility: Works with multiple platforms and programming languages.
High Performance: Efficient performance across large datasets.
Scalability: Easily scales to meet growing business needs.
Clustering and Replication: Ensures data availability and redundancy.
Easy Installation: Quick setup process on various operating systems.
Community Support: Extensive resources and community assistance.
Cross-Platform: Operates seamlessly on different operating systems.
Data Management Interface: Simplifies data handling and manipulation.

What are the benefits of using MySQL?

Cost Efficiency: Reduce expenses with a free, open-source database.
Scalability: Adapt to increasing data demands effortlessly.
Performance: Handle large datasets with ease and speed.
Community Support: Access a vast pool of knowledge and resources.
Flexibility: Integrate with various platforms and languages for diverse use cases.
Data Reliability: Clustering and replication for high data availability.

In multiple industries, MySQL supports internal applications, billing systems, academic teaching purposes, and ERP databases. Companies leverage MySQL for Cloud and local deployments, ensuring effective data manipulation and backend operations in diverse projects. Its role in financial transactions and reporting further emphasizes its versatility.

Oracle

SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) by Microsoft. The product's main purposes are to store data and retrieve it as requested by other software applications - on the same computer or on another computer across a shared network. The solution is built on top of Structured Query Language (SQL), which is a standardized programming language used for relational database management.

The product is tied to Transact-SQL (T-SQL), which is an implementation of SQL from Microsoft that adds several proprietary programming extensions to the standard language. SQL Server is built similarly to other RDBMS products, as its structure is a row-based table that connects related data elements in different tables to one another. One of its most important components is the SQL Server Database Engine, as it controls data processing, storage, and security. Beneath the Database Engine is the SQL Server Operating System, which is used for memory and I/O management, locking data to avoid unneeded upgrades, and job scheduling.

The solution has four editions with different sets of services and tools. They include:

SQL Server Developer
SQL Server Expression
SQL Server Standard
SQL Server Enterprise

The first two are available for free and are typically utilized by smaller companies, as they work with fewer functions and storage. The second two editions are generally used by bigger organizations and enterprises and offer more features.

The solution has several functions through which users can facilitate different data-related processes. These include:

Aggregate functions: These functions are used to calculate one or more values and return a single value.
Window functions: Window functions calculate an aggregate value based on a group of rows and return multiple rows for each involved group.
Date functions: These functions allow clients to handle data and time data efficiently.
String functions: Through the string functions, SQL Server processes an input string and returns a string or numeric value.
System functions: The system functions of the product return objects, values, and settings.

SQL Server Services

SQL Server has a wide range of add-on services that provide additional benefits beyond database management. These services include:

Machine learning: SQL Server machine learning services allow users to do machine learning and data analytics within the product.
Service broker: This feature is a part of the database engine and offers messaging and message queuing for applications on the platform.
Replication: This feature consists of transaction replication, merge replication, and snapshot replication.
Analysis: SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) adds online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining capabilities to SQL Server databases.
Reporting: This feature supports the development of custom reporting applications.
Notifications: This feature generates data-driven notifications which are sent to subscribers of Notification Services.
Integration: This SQL Server feature provides capabilities for data integration, data import, and data warehousing.
Full-text search: Through this feature, users can utilize specialized indexing and query for unstructured text stored in the solution.
Visual studio: This feature supports data programming with SQL Server.
Azure Data Studio: This is a cross-platform query editor that can be downloaded and used alongside SQL Server.

SQL Server Benefits

The solution has many benefits for users. These include the following:

The platform ensures a consistent experience across other platforms while being fast and agile.
Through the built-in intelligence features, users can understand their data better.
The solution has enterprise-level security, which ensures the smooth and safe performance of users' data.
SQL Server offers the ability to retrieve large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.
The product installation process is fairly easy, and it offers a user-friendly interface.
SQL Server offers improved data storage and retrieval functions through frequent upgrades.
The solution reduces the risk of database server attacks, since it is not an open-source database.

Reviews from Real Users

A president at a consultancy evaluates SQL Server as a veteran solution with critical log shipping feature.

Harkamal S., a user at a manufacturing company, rates SQL Server with a high mark because it is a stable, scalable, and easy-to-deploy solution that pretty much covers everything.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.

Microsoft SQL Server is used by businesses in every industry, including Great Western Bank, Aviva, the Volvo Car Corporation, BMW, Samsung, Principality Building Society, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.

Buyer's Guide

MySQL vs. SQL Server

March 2025

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