Feature Comparison

FeatureMySQL 8.xPostgreSQL 16
Window functionsYes (since 8.0)Yes — more complete
CTEs (WITH clause)Yes (since 8.0)Yes — including recursive
JSON supportJSON type (slower)JSONB (binary, indexed, fast)
Full-text searchBuilt-in (limited)Built-in tsvector (powerful)
ArraysNo native arraysNative array type
Custom data typesLimitedExtensive — enum, composite, domain
GeospatialSpatial extensionsPostGIS — industry standard
Table inheritanceNoYes
UPSERT syntaxINSERT ... ON DUPLICATE KEYINSERT ... ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE
Partial indexesNoYes
Materialized viewsNo nativeYes
Foreign Data WrappersNoYes — query external data sources
Stored proceduresYesYes — multi-language (PL/pgSQL, Python, etc.)
LicenceGPL (Oracle-owned)PostgreSQL Licence (BSD-like)

PostgreSQL Strengths

JSONB — The Document/Relational Hybrid

PostgreSQL's JSONB type stores JSON in a decomposed binary format that supports GIN indexing and fast operators. This enables document-style storage alongside relational data — without a separate MongoDB cluster.

PostgreSQL JSONB queries -- Store JSON document CREATE TABLE products ( id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, attributes JSONB ); INSERT INTO products VALUES (1, 'Laptop', '{"ram": 16, "storage": "512GB", "tags": ["electronics", "computing"]}'); -- Query JSON fields (indexed): SELECT * FROM products WHERE attributes->>'ram' = '16'; SELECT * FROM products WHERE attributes @> '{"tags": ["electronics"]}'; -- Create GIN index for fast JSON queries: CREATE INDEX idx_products_attrs ON products USING GIN(attributes);

Advanced Query Features

PostgreSQL window functions -- Running total of sales per user (window function) SELECT user_id, order_date, amount, SUM(amount) OVER (PARTITION BY user_id ORDER BY order_date) AS running_total, RANK() OVER (PARTITION BY user_id ORDER BY amount DESC) AS rank_by_amount FROM orders; -- Recursive CTE — traverse a category tree WITH RECURSIVE category_tree AS ( SELECT id, name, parent_id, 1 AS level FROM categories WHERE parent_id IS NULL UNION ALL SELECT c.id, c.name, c.parent_id, ct.level + 1 FROM categories c JOIN category_tree ct ON c.parent_id = ct.id ) SELECT * FROM category_tree ORDER BY level, name;

MySQL Strengths

MySQL's main advantages in 2026:

  • Universal hosting support: Every shared hosting provider, budget cloud offering, and managed database service supports MySQL. PostgreSQL is available on managed platforms but MySQL is more universal on budget hosting
  • WordPress ecosystem: WordPress, WooCommerce, Drupal, Joomla, phpBB — the entire PHP CMS ecosystem is built on MySQL. Migrating to PostgreSQL would require significant effort
  • Simpler replication: MySQL's binary log replication is mature and well-documented, with abundant tooling (Percona XtraBackup, etc.)
  • Existing team expertise: MySQL has been dominant for 20+ years. Teams and documentation availability are strong
  • Read speed on simple queries: For high-traffic read workloads with simple SELECT queries, MySQL InnoDB's performance is excellent

When to Choose Which

ScenarioRecommendation
New project, no constraintsPostgreSQL — more features, better defaults
WordPress / PHP CMSMySQL — ecosystem lock-in
Complex queries, analyticsPostgreSQL — window functions, CTEs
JSON/document storagePostgreSQL — JSONB is far superior
Geospatial applicationPostgreSQL + PostGIS
Maximum hosting compatibilityMySQL — available everywhere
Oracle licensing concernsPostgreSQL or MariaDB
Existing MySQL codebaseStay with MySQL unless there's a compelling reason

PostgreSQL is the Default Choice for New Projects

In 2026, PostgreSQL has largely closed the gap on MySQL's ease-of-use advantages. Managed PostgreSQL is available everywhere (AWS RDS, Supabase, Neon, Railway, Render). For any new project without a specific reason to use MySQL, PostgreSQL is the recommended default — it gives you more options as your project grows.

MariaDB vs MySQL

MariaDB is a community fork of MySQL created by MySQL's original developers after Oracle's acquisition. It is GPL-licensed (no Oracle dependency), compatible with most MySQL SQL syntax, and offers some features MySQL lacks (Aria storage engine, improvements to JSON). If you choose MySQL for a project and are concerned about Oracle's stewardship, MariaDB is a drop-in alternative.

How We Research and Update This Guide

We test the underlying formula or workflow, compare outputs with reliable references, and revise examples whenever the page content changes.

  • The workflow or formula is tested directly in the tool and compared against independent reference examples.
  • Examples are kept practical so readers can verify the result without hidden assumptions.
  • Pages are revised whenever the interface, calculation flow, or surrounding guidance materially changes.

Frequently Asked Questions — MySQL vs PostgreSQL