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

"We use the basic features of MySQL. The interface that allows us to see the parameters of the server is good."

"My main reason for using MySQL for this small customer database company and for some kinds of scientific projects was that I had to do the installation myself. I didn't have a database administration team behind me. Therefore, I was looking for something very easy to handle. MySQL is easy to install, connect, and do all such things."

"The solution is free to use, which is its most valuable aspect."

"This is a lightweight product that is not demanding on the resources, which is what I think gives it the edge."

"I like the JSON stuff."

"The ML modules in MySQL are advantageous since they make data handling easy and quick at MNQM."

"One of the best features is this solution is easy to use."

"The most valuable feature of MySQL is the informative error outputs of command line interface."

More MySQL pros

"The solution has the capability to scale."

"It is stable, and it works okay."

"The solution is easy to use, has rich feature sets, and is business-oriented."

"It is easy to use and easy to perform a backup."

"The Always On tool improves the SQL server availability."

"The solution is configurable."

"Very easy to use, and it's very democratic in the enterprise."

"The solution can be deployed in a few minutes."

More SQL Server pros

Cons

"It isn't as reliable as an SQL Server."

"On the database side, it should be really lightweight, and the data structure should be like MongoDB."

"The licensing cost of the solution is expensive, which MySQL needs to consider improving."

"The solution is expensive."

"Its performance should be better. When we use big data, it is slow in performance. We should be able to use mirroring for improved performance."

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

"Stability needs improvement and the backup needs to be enhanced."

"I would like to see the automatic backup feature in the solution as well. Data is very important and we need to preserve it in a safe place. It would be good if MySQL can back up the data automatically."

More MySQL cons

"There should be more security updates for the product."

"Linux-based editions are not yet proven to be on par with Windows deployments."

"I would like to see the integration with other platforms improved in the future."

"SQL is a highly unstable server - there are patch updates on the Windows server every week, which is why we only use it for non-critical systems."

"The integration could be better. They are not open-source, so the integration with other platforms is not that easy."

"Price could be cheaper, and access to reporting tools should be better."

"The upgrades are unstable."

"Could have additional security."

More SQL Server cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"MySQL Enterprise Support is not cheap, though might still be cheaper than Oracle or SQL Server. They may not have local support depending on where you’re based, but there are many smaller agencies out there that will readily provide support. You’ll need to spend some time looking around."

"We are using the free community version of the solution."

"There is no cost involved, no licensing fees."

"MySQL is cheaper than Microsoft SQL Server."

"It is open-source."

"The pricing is not much expensive, it's cheap."

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

"I am not paying, but I am not sure about the exact licensing requirements."

More MySQL pricing and cost advice

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten."

"It is expensive, especially when you have open-source products that are just about as functional and they're free. They might want to consider re-evaluating their pricing. We purchased it in retail. It was somewhere in the neighborhood of 9,000. There is just the standard licensing fee. If they migrate this product the way they're trying to do everything else, eventually, it is going to be subscription-based, which is going to suck, but that's the way the industry is going, so it is what it is."

"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."

"SQL Server is expensive if you use the advanced SQL version, but if you use the standard version, it's not expensive."

"The cost is high and because it's an expensive product, we are in the process of moving towards open-source solutions."

"You need to pay for the license. It most probably has per-core licensing."

"The price of SQL Server is great. In my company, SQL Server is part of the Microsoft Suite, we don't have to pay for any additional license costs, it's quite cost-effective for us."

"The price of the solution is very expensive. If I went with the cloud version of SQL a license would cost me approximately 11,000 Riyals per month."

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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

Free Report: MySQL vs. SQL Server

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