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MySQL vs SQLite 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

MySQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
150
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (5th)
SQLite
Ranking in Open Source Databases
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MySQL is 9.2%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQLite is 5.4%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
MySQL9.2%
SQLite5.4%
Other85.4%
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

Prabir Kumar Kundu - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers robust security and availability with impressive replication capabilities
Regarding their documentation and interface, there is room for improvement. Documentation is definitely required when running multiple databases on a cluster system. The load balancer, MySQL LB, which is used to connect to the application, lacks clear documentation. When there are multiple application servers connecting to the MySQL cluster and going through the MySQL load balancer, the documentation is not user-friendly. It's there, but only technical persons with deep knowledge of the MySQL database can implement it. Most of the community users or ISVs who use MySQL don't have many technical persons or DBA experts, so they face some challenges for the high availability of connecting high available databases from high available applications. That documentation should be simplified.
Neeraj Tiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
Pretty easy to execute my SQL queries but issues while uploading and importing my dataset
It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries. Since I was a beginner, it was comfortable for me to learn SQL using SQLite. However, when I used it for my professional work and for my assignments, I found some complications. Maybe I'm not proficient with it, that's why. The main benefit for me was learning. Since I was new to SQL, SQLite helped me understand how to work with structured data.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The one interesting thing about this product is that it is open source. It comes from an open source product. MySQL has been positioned as open source, but it also provides support."
"MySQL has cross-platform support for multiple operating systems. The backups on a Linux machine can be restored on a Windows machine, and vice versa."
"The connectivity with PHP is quite good."
"This is a lightweight product that is not demanding on the resources, which is what I think gives it the edge."
"It is easy to use. It is simple to implement, which makes it suitable for our projects because we have deadlines. MySQL is also open-source, which is another plus point."
"A lot of the software components have been trialed and tested for often more than 10 years."
"It is pretty simple to use and I don't have anything really bad to say about it."
"For starters, it's free, which is always nice, and it's also pretty straightforward to use. It's a nice conventional database."
"The product is lightweight and highly scalable."
"Sometimes, you want data to persist within the app even when there's no internet connectivity. To avoid showing blank screens, we can use SQLite to store data locally and then sync it with the cloud database when connectivity is restored."
"SQLite’s most valuable feature is the ability to store granular-level backups of databases."
"I use Flutter Technology with the JSF plugin."
"I haven't encountered any problems in my use cases. So, it has been a stable product for me."
"It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries."
 

Cons

"I would like to improve the solution’s pricing for licenses."
"I feel that some tools which make it easier to create queries or make it easier for other functions would be really interesting to see."
"At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load."
"We want to continue using MySQL but it merged with Oracle and the scalage changed."
"The technical support should be more knowledgeable and available worldwide."
"The manuals or documentation could be better."
"The replication needs improvement. It's becoming a native cloud product like Oracle DB or Cockroach DB."
"I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. It does break down a little at times."
"I primarily use SQLite for small-scale applications due to its limitations in storing large amounts of data. For larger-scale projects, I typically opt for MySQL or other alternatives. Storing a large number of dates in SQLite can significantly impact its performance."
"Compared to other tools, the performance was less effective than that of Microsoft Access."
"A potential drawback is that the database file stored within the application's local storage could be accessible to users."
"It could have a user-friendly GUI and better intelligence features."
"There are some difficulties on the server side. When syncing data with databases like SQL Server or Oracle, SQLite requires a kind of double effort."
"The performance could be better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a licensing cost because we are going for a proprietary product. There are some other versions for which there is no licensing cost."
"We are using the licensed version of MySQL."
"MySQL is a cheap solution."
"The solution’s pricing depends on customer requirements. A license is not required for the community edition."
"I use the open-source free community version."
"We're using the open-source version right now, which is free. I do see some value in some of the more enterprise functions. We're using the open-source version right now, and I was interested in the MySQL Enterprise version really for the tools that they provide, but we decided not to make the purchase."
"I think that MySQL is a premium product."
"I would rate the solution’s pricing a six out of ten. The solution is not cheap but it’s a fair value. The pricing depends on the use cases of our customers. Some of our customers use the community edition which is license free and a good fit for their use cases. However, we encourage our bigger customers to sign up because of the scalability issues. The paid versions get direct technical support from Oracle."
"It's a good value."
"I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten."
"The tool is open-source."
"It's not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business73
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise61
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

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...
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...
What do you like most about SQLite?
It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries.
What needs improvement with SQLite?
There were some complications. For example, you have to upload the dataset into SQLite, and once it's uploaded, you might find difficulties working with it.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
Oracle, Bloomberg, Bentley, Mozilla
Find out what your peers are saying about MySQL vs. SQLite and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
866,391 professionals have used our research since 2012.