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Real User
Top 5
Good service provider, agile and quick deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup was easy. I work in an agile way, which means coding and deploying quickly."
  • "MySQL's performance requires attention. For optimal performance, one should review and sometimes revise the code, particularly when using server-side scripting."

What is our primary use case?

I've used MySQL in the past for a variety of tasks. 

I once used MySQL when I created a PostgreSQL database for club management tasks. This included handling registrations, events, and mailing notifications for payments and event details. It served as a source service provider.

What is most valuable?


What needs improvement?

The response time for support could be faster. 

MySQL's performance requires attention. For optimal performance, one should review and sometimes revise the code, particularly when using server-side scripting. To optimize performance, it's crucial to pay attention to your code. Sometimes, you may need to review your code to ensure it's efficient and doesn't unnecessarily access the database multiple times.

The performance issues I encountered were not due to MySQL itself but were related to my coding approach.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using MySQL for ten years. 

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MySQL
August 2025
Learn what your peers think about MySQL. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For my use case, it is okay. Basically, it's just me for development. Previously, all clients or members of the club accessed it. When there was an event, maybe 30 to 40 people would try to access the system simultaneously.

I'm using SiteGround for hosting the website and its servers. I've chosen a package with more than enough CPU and memory to avoid trouble.

How are customer service and support?

I've used technical support for several times. Most of the time, it was quite okay with quick responses. Once, I had performance issues. It took some time to convince them, but they guided me on improving performance by changing some database functions in MySQL. It was a longer process, but it was eventually resolved.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy. I work in an agile way, which means coding and deploying quickly. We had a few internal users but many external users accessing the website, though not the back office.

The back office was developed over years. It's not just about having an idea and executing it; it's more about testing and adapting the process, unlike the waterfall method, where you end up with something that may not be immediately usable.

What about the implementation team?

As the main user, our deployment process wasn't as strict as in a big company. I conducted tests, had a testing process with use cases to review, and then deployed. It was less rigid than in larger companies, where there are separate testing and development environments.

What was our ROI?

I  have seen value and impact from using MySQL

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't pay for a license. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

With my previous employer, we used Oracle.

What other advice do I have?

Don't just use MySQL on its own. Always use it with other software around it. MySQL is very stable, but pay attention to the software you use with it, whether you develop everything from scratch or use open-source systems like CMS.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. I would recommend using the solution. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
CharlesBrewer - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at NaMax Limited
Real User
Top 5
A reliable, free, and easy-to-use solution
Pros and Cons
  • "For starters, it's free, which is always nice, and it's also pretty straightforward to use. It's a nice conventional database."
  • "The workbench could be improved. In particular, error messages can be improved, which are horrific and completely unhelpful. I'd like to see improved parsing of errors. When you write SQL and it crashes, it usually is something completely irrelevant and not helpful. I've started to use GPT 3.5 for finding out how to do things. I got to do something a bit different, and that I found to be very useful. If there was some way to tie it into one of the new AI tools, that would probably be a good idea."

What is our primary use case?

Mostly, we're using it as a database behind a machine learning application.

What is most valuable?

For starters, it's free, which is always nice, and it's also pretty straightforward to use. It's a nice conventional database. We don't need the sort of flexibility that you get with most SQL databases and stuff like that, so we are happy with a good old-fashioned relational database. It's totally good for that.

It works. It's reliable. We haven't done any configuration management for probably about two years, but as far as I remember, that was pretty straightforward as well. It's doing what it needs to do as far as we're concerned.

What needs improvement?

The workbench could be improved. In particular, error messages can be improved, which are horrific and completely unhelpful. I'd like to see improved parsing of errors. When you write SQL and it crashes, it usually is something completely irrelevant and not helpful. I've started to use GPT 3.5 for finding out how to do things. I got to do something a bit different, and that I found to be very useful. If there was some way to tie it into one of the new AI tools, that would probably be a good idea. There were a couple of things that I've found difficult to do in the past, and I remember they were fiddly. I set them into ChatGPT, which is GPT 3.5, and it gave first-class answers.

I find it clunky. It just doesn't feel very modern. It feels as if you have to go through multiple steps to get to places, and it's not clear, but operationally, I find it fine.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for about five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's reliable. I never lost any data, which you anyways shouldn't. I'd rate it a ten out of ten in terms of stability because we never had the slightest problem. We are not in a challenging environment, but I haven't had any problems.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We've had absolutely no limitations. However, we haven't got enormous data. It's not very vast, so scalability hasn't been an issue. At our level, it's not even a question. It's absolutely perfect. I'd rate it an eight out of ten in terms of scalability, which I describe as very good

How are customer service and support?

I've never contacted them, but technical support within the environment itself isn't good. I'd rate it a three out of ten, but now if I can use my own technical support with GPT 3.5, it comes up to about an eight out of ten. It's a kind of hybrid support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We weren't using a similar solution previously. We would prototype from things like Excel or straight-off .TXT files. I had some experience and so did my business partner, and we just decided this looked like the right answer.

How was the initial setup?

That was pretty straightforward as I remember. It was a while ago now, but I don't remember any difficulties at all. I'd rate it a nine out of ten in terms of the ease of setup. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's free.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did look at MongoDB, but it wasn't what we needed, so we decided we go with something a little more conventionally established, and MySQL absolutely fitted the bill. We didn't need anything else. We got some colleagues who used Oracle, but it's expensive and quite difficult to use. 

What other advice do I have?

If you don't have any unusual requirements or absolutely vast databases, it's ideal. We certainly have no problems at all. It just works.

Overall, I'd rate it a nine out of ten. Nothing is perfect, but it's as good as we could have asked for.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
MySQL
August 2025
Learn what your peers think about MySQL. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
866,561 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer2089122 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Consultant at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
The best choice for new database management users and smaller data to 60K
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution helps us perform with our databases and extract data."
  • "Clusters are hard to perform so we use no SQL alternates like MongoDB."

What is our primary use case?

Our company uses the solution to extract data from databases. We perform the create, read, write, and operations in databases.  

The number of users depends on the project. If there is a demand, then people good with SQL will jump in on projects. 

What is most valuable?

The solution helps us perform with our databases and extract data. 

The solution is free. 

What needs improvement?

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

The solution should manage large data sets better because data that is around one lakh or two lakh fails to load. In these cases, we use no SQL structures like MongoDB. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is decently, but not largely scalable. It works very well and is comfortable with 50K or 60K of data. If you have large-scale data, then the solution is slower and has some errors. 

How are customer service and support?

I have not needed technical support. 

How was the initial setup?

The setup is pretty easy. All resources are available on YouTube so configuration is quite easy. 

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution in-house and setup was pretty fast. You just set up the application, create queries, and connect with the front end or whatever you are trying to do. 

If you are handling large data, then it is a good idea to maintain the solution weekly because it will be better. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is open source so is free. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

The solution is good for smaller data or new users. If you are maintaining large data and want to build a fully-furnished application, then you have to use something else like PostgreSQL. 

What other advice do I have?

If you are new to database management, then the solution will be the best choice. 

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Guruprasad Gonjare - PeerSpot reviewer
Director Cloud Architecture at LTIMINDTREE
Real User
Highly recommend solution for OLTP applications
Pros and Cons
  • "Compared to other databases, MySQL is cheaper and we were using the community edition which was free of cost. ML is fully integrated with the database in HeatWave. It has also many other features. MySQL is a far better solution in terms of pricing."
  • "I would like to see more integrations of the solution with other platforms and improve the support on different data types."

What is our primary use case?

We use MySQL for OLTP applications. HeatWave is used more on the SnowFlake and DSS side of the application.

What is most valuable?

Compared to other databases, MySQL is cheaper and we used the community edition which was free of cost. ML is fully integrated with the database in HeatWave. It also has many other features. MySQL is a far better solution in terms of pricing.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see more integrations of the solution with other platforms and improve the support on different data types.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for more than 12 years. I am using the solution’s latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability around seven to eight. They should improve the stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would give a rating of eight out of ten for the solution’s scalability. We have a large user base for the solution which is more than 30.

How was the initial setup?

MySQL is easy to set up if you have the PaaS service on your cloud infrastructure. If the setup is normal, then the overall deployment process is easier. However, if there is a need for clustering, then we will need an SME and assets.

You need to install an RPM on-premises to get the database. We need to tweak some parameters at the InnoDB. We have to create the cloud service on the Oracle cloud infrastructure.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution’s pricing depends on customer requirements. A license is not required for the community edition.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the overall solution an eight out of ten. However, compared to other open-source databases like PostgreSQL, I would rate it a nine out of ten. Compared to Oracle, I can give a rating of around seven to eight. We are using MySQL’s HeatWave. The maintenance of the solution is based on its complexity. In the normal scenario, one resource is good enough for maintenance and deployment. The older versions had an issue with stability. The issue has improved with the newer versions.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
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PeerSpot user
Sr. Tech Systems Architect at Intuitive
Real User
Top 20Leaderboard
Free, open-source, and easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "Improvements are required in character set support, scalability, and big data sets."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case for MySQL is to develop web applications, proof of concept projects with data collection, data manipulation, and data reporting on both Windows and Linux platforms. 

We also use MySQL to store the data that we receive from different projects and build data models. We can also develop reports out of it.

MySQL is used for small application use only and not used for enterprise-level business applications.

MSQL is free open-source software. This is the most valuable aspect for any company as it helps to reduce the cost.

How has it helped my organization?

MySQL is easy to use and, with basic knowledge of SQL, users can easily build SQL Statements. It helps to reduce project cost for development projects. It also supports a large number of embedded applications.

The backup and recovery features are easy to use without any complexity. Users who don’t have much knowledge of databases can easily use these features.

MySQL offers password encryption and offers a good data security layer to protect data.

MySQL platform independence helps the development and user community.

What is most valuable?

MySQL is a relational database and it is easy to install, handle day-to-day activities, and manage backups. It is compatible with a lot of other shared database solutions.

MySQL Workbench is the graphical user interface tool and it helps with development, data modeling, data migration, and day-to-day administration.

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.

MySQL supports multiple window displays and it is useful for developers and users who don’t have much database knowledge.

What needs improvement?

Improvements are required in character set support, scalability, and big data sets.

There is a lack of advanced features such as SQLServer, PostgreSQL, etc. I would like to see minimum reporting services and analytics features in the next release.

MySQL doesn't have many tools to monitor performance and fix issues easily.

The graphical user interface needs to be improved. It would be nice to have drag and drop on tables to create relationships between them. Other relational databases have these basic features. It helps during development to have these on hand.

It needs improvement in high availability and scalability features. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for more than ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

MySQL is good for small to medium sizes. Also, it has built-in security features. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good.

How are customer service and support?

The support may be limited for users who are not on cloud and needs improvement.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not previously use a different solution.

How was the initial setup?

MySQL is easy to setup and offers HA and scalability features. 

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution in-house.

What was our ROI?

Its free open source availability provides good ROI. MySQL commercial version cost is higher than other open source databases. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

MySQL is free open-source software. This is the most valuable aspect for any company. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We looked at an SQL Server and Mongo DB.

What other advice do I have?

It supports wide range of languages and cross-platform support. Also the newer versions of MySQL offers lot of new features. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Anand Viswanath - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Unimity Solutions
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
The performance is optimal, the speed is very good, and there are no delays in fetching data
Pros and Cons
  • "The speed is very good."
  • "At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load."

What is our primary use case?

We use the tool in projects with customer records in the database. There will be a front-end application to search and find specific data from the tool. In another project, there are product listings, and the front end fetches data from the tool and shows it in a gallery or list view on the web page or mobile application.

How has it helped my organization?

We used MySQL in a project for a nonprofit museum. They have a lot of donors. They have a large repository of customers who give donations. They categorize the customers based on the money they give, such as steward level, platinum level, and diamond level. The client may send out an invite for an event for a certain group of customers, such as the patrons who donate the most. MySQL helped us in that project.

What is most valuable?

The optimized process is valuable. I have seen websites that take ages to load and show the data. Many web applications with lakhs and lakhs of data will take forever to show specific results. The database performance is optimal for the application we developed. The speed is very good. There were no delays in fetching data from the back end and showing it on the front end.

What needs improvement?

At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load. We had to depend on manual scaling. It led to website crashes in the past.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for projects running for the past five years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is one area in which we are very cost-sensitive. We always closely monitor the charges to increase the server scale. It will help us use more space in the DB if there is an economical way for us to pick up larger servers. We have more than six lakh end users.

How was the initial setup?

Most of our projects are on the cloud. A very small number are on the client's premises.

What was our ROI?

We are continuing to use the tool because it's been cost-effective. It's producing revenue for us. It's a beneficial solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The tool is open source. We choose open-source software mostly. We integrate a very limited number of licensed software.

What other advice do I have?

I have not seen any incident with a security violation or data breach. I have not contacted the technical support team. The infrastructure team contacts the technical support team regarding server-related issues. There is a LAMP stack. The Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP combination seems to be working well for enterprises' modern web applications.

Overall, the integration works well. However, initially, we worked with a third-party integration team to fix the APIs, query, and response code. Initially, some technical work will be needed. Once it is done, the integration turns seamless.

Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Maher Shahzalal - PeerSpot reviewer
Backend developer at Alphatraduction
Real User
Dynamic workflows but lacks stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The relations in the database, the dynamic workflow, and the ability to connect with all columns. It's useful for e-commerce."
  • "I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. It does break down a little at times."

What is our primary use case?

My primary use case for MySQL is with my products or websites for clients, and it helps me maintain relations with the best.

What is most valuable?

The relations in the database, the dynamic workflow, and the ability to connect with all columns. It's useful for e-commerce.

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in terms of the stability of the solution. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using MySQL for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. It does break down a little at times. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability a seven out of ten. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup depends. For example, when working with e-commerce sites, it can be difficult to connect, and there may be failures. However, for other sites, it's easy.

What about the implementation team?

Our organization is using MySQL by having it hosted through a hosting provider.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is free. It is an open-source platform. 

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate MySQL a six out of ten. I recommend MySQL for small organizations and companies. For bigger organizations, one may need to consider other options.

You can also consider your project, budget, and organization while opting for MySQL. If it's a government or private project and what the product is. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Deepak Sahu - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
A powerful tool that can perform multiple analyses and reveal hidden insights in datasets to its users
Pros and Cons
  • "MySQL is a scalable tool. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...The solution's technical support is good. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten."
  • "There should be an arrangement for end-users to get trained to use the tool...Improvement-wise, a graphical interface could be added for new users, eliminating the need to memorize the complex syntax."

What is most valuable?

MySQL can handle multiple rules of a database within seconds and extract required information for the business case, especially with well-optimized queries.

What needs improvement?

There should be an arrangement for end-users to get trained to use the tool. End-users don't know many things which MySQL offers to its users. So, there is a need for the end-users to upgrade themselves. Also, the tool is already good the way it is currently owing to its features like multithreading which helps with the queries quickly. In short, if one goes for the complex part, if one uses it for a very specialized case, then that person needs to write a very complex query involving multiple tables, multiple joints, and multiple conditions based on whatever scenario one uses.

Improvement-wise, a graphical interface could be added for new users, eliminating the need to memorize the complex syntax.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used MySQL for five and a half years in my company, but I have used the tool for around ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

MySQL is a stable tool. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

MySQL is a scalable tool. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten. My whole company directly or indirectly uses the tool since we are involved in analytics. My company is an enterprise-sized one.

How are customer service and support?

The solution's technical support is good. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Since everyone in the industry we are a part of uses MySQL servers, we have also used the same.

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup depends upon the use cases. If you're using it for a simple thing, it's a simple process. But, my problems and statements are quite complex, and I use them to get information, like how the customers perform based on cohort analysis. Also, my use cases are complex, so I have to write complex queries. Overall, the setup process depends upon the scenario.

The installation process is not difficult since it gets pre-installed in all the machines after it is done once. Since the installation process is neither very easy nor difficult, I can rate it somewhere around seven out of ten.

The IT Department handled the deployment process in my current company. Based on my experience deploying the solution in my previous company, its deployment was not difficult. Since everything was already deployed in my current company, we are using the tool as front-end users. When planning to start using the solution, we need to launch SQL server before using it. Also, based on whatever datasets are there, we need to get the permissions for those data sets, after which we are good to go.

MySQL requires maintenance, while the IT department handles the maintenance of SQL server. I am not involved in managing the upgrading part of the tool. Every year, MySQL keeps releasing new versions with new functionalities.

What other advice do I have?

My suggestion to those planning to use the solution is to learn about it and utilize it for their specific scenarios. It is a powerful tool that can perform multiple analyses and reveal hidden insights within multi-million or billion-row datasets that may not be immediately visible to the human eye. The tool also offers many use cases for machine learning. I encourage users to plan and explore the tool to discover its full potential. I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free MySQL Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: August 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free MySQL Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.