PostgreSQL vs. MySQL: What is the Difference?

Written by Sonia Mathias on May 11th, 2022 ・ Views ・ Report Post

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If you're starting a new development project, then choosing a database management system is one of the crucial decisions you have to make, right?

Well! Often most of the DBMS work the same, but some key differences can either scale your efficiency or degrade it.

We have some pretty stable options if we're to go into complete enterprise solutions. In that case, we would be going with popular Relational Database Management Systems RDBMS such as Oracle and SQL Server.

But when it comes to development, we like to address the core problem and find the most efficient solutions. So, that's why we're going to suggest you something better; an open-source RDBMS.

Here, the two significant players we're looking at are PostgreSQL and MySQL. They have developed a name for themselves in the past decades, but they have also caused confusion between those choosing their first RDBMS as they are neck to neck when it comes to features and all other related stuff.

To declutter it all and give you a better idea of what you should work with, let's look at a close comparison between the two. Source

What Is MySQL and How It's Different From PostgreSQL?

When building a digital product, relying on a database management system is more than necessary. In a world driven by data, the more efficiently you process and manage your data, the more chances that you'll scale faster.

That's precisely where a DBMS chimes in with all of its features that can help us solve problems related to transacting data in larger quantities.

Now, MySQL and PostgreSQL are no different, and if we're talking in layman's terms, they both represent a kind of Database Management system only. But there are some key differences.

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MySQL is an RDBMS released one year before PostgreSQL, in 1995. But this one-year gap in release date comes with many differences in their core functioning.

For starting, while MySQL is a simple RDBMS application, PostgreSQL is an Object-Relational DBMS. This gives it a bit of an edge over MySQL, such as extensive support from any object-oriented programming language. Moreover, it also supports all the properties of an object-oriented system, such as classes, inheritance, and more.

There's no match for MySQL in terms of data read speeds even though PostgreSQL boasts itself as the 'Most Advanced open-source Object-Relational DBMS in the world.' Well! There's a reason why MySQL is one of the most popular RDBMS globally, and it's primarily because of this one feature.

But if we're looking at both of them in terms of efficiency, PostgreSQL fills this one gap by supporting congruence and being efficient when working with large amounts of data - unlike MySQL.

Well! That's pretty much it for a basic understanding of both systems. We'll move to the actual advantages they bring to the table with their implementation. Let's take a look into that.

PostgreSQL V/S MySQL: Which One You Should Go For?

To understand both systems, we have compiled a detailed outline of significant differences between the two. Take a look at the following comparison of PostgreSQL v/s MySQL on different metrics to know more.

  • Performance: This domain will have a higher impact on your project development, but to tell you the truth, you won't notice any difference in performance with either of them. Today, after a lot of development, both these RDBMS are at a point where the difference in performance is negligible. Yes! There can be specific features that may increase or decrease efficiency but not the execution.
  • Concurrency Control: Due to the implementation of Multiversion Concurrency Control (MVCC), PostgreSQL is better at handling multiple commands at once to facilitate numerous transactions. This means that while MySQL will be handling only one transaction at a time, PostgreSQL can do a lot more of them, which makes it quite efficient when working with loads of data where there's a need for multiple transactions simultaneously.
  • Third-Party Support:We've already told you that MySQL is one of the most popular RDBMS known to programmers, and this gives an unfair advantage to it when it comes to third-party support. Unlike PostgreSQL, which has a lot less support and plugins being developed due to lack of exposure, you can find a handful of the same for MySQL.
  • Supported Data Types:PostgreSQL supports multiple data types such as an array, hstore, IP address data type, user-defined type, and many more. Whereas MySQL only supports the SQL-standard types. This gives the extra ability to PostgreSQL to work with possibly more diverse data sets in compassion to the other one.
  • ACID Properties: Suppose you're confused about what ACID is, its Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability concerning databases. If a transaction in the database has all these four criteria, it's called to be an ACID transaction. In PostgreSQL, we can have ACID transactions when using the single storage engine, while in MySQL, we have to use InnoDB and MyISAM as storage engines to use ACID properties for transactions.
  • Security: PostgreSQL takes an edge over MySQL as it has data integrity at the transaction level instead of a broad level when it comes to security. It is considered more secure, and data corruption is more diminutive.
  • Ease Of Use: PostgreSQL functions better than MySQL after the initial installation due to various factors. If you want to upgrade the efficiency of MySQL, then also you can have third-party plugins and extensions added to MySQL, but again it's an added hassle, which is why PostgreSQL leaps when it comes to ease of use.
  • Customization: In PostgreSQL, you can have your data types, operators, and index types apart from supporting various data types. So, room for customization is much higher as compared to MySQL.

Check out more differences Here.

Conclusion: In this article, we've covered all the major comparison points between MySQL and PostgreSQL to conclude which one is better. But it all comes down to personal preference, whether you want to go with the popular choice or the advanced one.

Most of the points are clear that PostgreSQL is more functional than MySQL, but the sheer popularity of the latter one makes it the industry standard. This again makes it much more usable due to all the third-party support, community support, and whatnot.

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