What are the key differences in a MariaDB vs MySQL comparison?

MariaDB or MySQL – which database management system has the edge? Initially, MariaDB aimed to create a drop-in replacement with strong open-source community standards, but now both projects follow completely different development goals. Discover what sets them apart with us.

An overview of the key features of MariaDB and MySQL

MySQL is a proven database management system available as open-source software, complemented by numerous enterprise extensions. The MariaDB development team, led by Michael Widenius, has improved MySQL’s core software by incorporating a variety of new features. Who might consider switching from MySQL to MariaDB? The table below highlights the key differences between both DBMS.

The development of MySQL and MariaDB

A key figure behind MariaDB and MySQL is Finnish software developer Michael ‘Monty’ Widenius. Together with the Swedes David Axmark and Alan Larsson, Widenius founded the joint-stock company MySQL AB, which released the first version of the open-source database management system (DBMS) MySQL in 1995. This culminated in the sale of the software project to Sun Microsystems in 2008. In 2009, Widenius left the software project along with other MySQL core developers and focused on developing the MySQL fork MariaDB. The development team feared that Oracle would face a conflict of interest if the company developed the open-source software MySQL alongside proprietary database software.

The development of the MySQL fork initially took place through Monty Program AB, founded in 2009. This merged with SkySQL in 2014 to form the MariaDB Corporation. The Community Project MariaDB Server is developed by the MariaDB Foundation. MariaDB strongly focuses on open development. Two principles are at the forefront:

• The source code of program parts under development is available through public repositories.
• All development steps are publicly documented.

Comparison of MariaDB vs MySQL

The database management systems MySQL and MariaDB are based on the same software core. MariaDB is a fork (a split) from MySQL 5.1, but over time, it has developed into an independent database management system. We compare the differences between the current MariaDB and MySQL GA versions (General Availability) MySQL 8.0.43 and MariaDB 11.8.2.

Database structure

The development of MariaDB aims to maintain full compatibility with MySQL’s database structure, APIs, and configuration files, offering users a seamless drop-in replacement. An upgrade from MySQL to MariaDB or vice versa should be just as easy as an upgrade between two different MySQL versions.

In principle, both database management systems are based on the same database structure. Both systems adhere to the relational database model. However, for administrative tasks and backups, starting with MariaDB version 10.5, mariadb-dump and mariadb-admin are used instead of mysqldump or mysqladmin as in MySQL.

Database engines

MariaDB aims to differentiate itself from MySQL in the future primarily through flexibility. Users have access to a consistently growing number of alternative database engines for special use cases, in addition to the standard engines supported by MySQL.

A database engine is a storage subsystem that enables the database management system to create, read, update, and delete data in database tables – see CRUD.

The following table shows the available database engines for MySQL 8.0.43 and MariaDB 11.8.2 (according to the documentation).

Database queries

In practice, MySQL and MariaDB are virtually identical. Both DBMS strive for full compatibility with the SQL database language, allowing users to use the same SQL statements to create, update, retrieve, or delete database entries.

Performance

Does MariaDB offer better performance compared to MySQL? Benchmark tests like the DBT-3 suggest it might. An important factor is the database engine being used. Both developer communities provide benchmark tests for setups with different database engines on their respective project websites.

MariaDB scores here not only with a wide selection of alternative database engines, but it also offers an efficient optimiser for SQL queries. Starting with version 10.0.1, MariaDB no longer relies on internal statistics of the respective database engine for query optimisation, but on engine-independent table statistics. These are stored as conventional tables in the database and allow for gathering and evaluating significantly more data to determine an optimal plan for executing SQL statements.

High availability

Both MySQL and MariaDB are suitable for scenarios with distributed databases. To offer users highly available systems with linear scalability, both software projects provide cluster solutions:

• MySQL Cluster
• MariaDB Galera Cluster

MySQL Cluster is an ACID-compliant real-time database with a multi-master architecture and no single point of failure. It offers up to 99.9999% availability, horizontal scaling on standard hardware, auto-sharding, as well as SQL and NoSQL interfaces.

MariaDB Galera Cluster has been directly integrated since version 10.1. It also features a multi-master architecture and exclusively uses InnoDB (or XtraDB). MaxScale is also employed for distributed databases. The configurable proxy for load balancing provides features like failover, caching, read/write splitting, and DoS protection. Plugins provide the ability to customise and filter database access.

Security

Both MySQL and MariaDB offer encryption features for data at rest. MySQL implements encryption of data stored in the database using the database engine InnoDB at the tablespace level. Encryption of individual database tables is not possible.

Tablespaces are logical storage units of relational database engines like InnoDB, which contain all data of the database system. Each tablespace includes at least one datafile—a physical file of the underlying operating system where both database tables and indexes are stored.

Since version 10.1, MariaDB offers significantly more differentiated encryption features. These include data-at-rest encryption at the following database levels:

• InnoDB tablespaces
• InnoDB tables
• InnoDB log files
• Aria tables
• Temporary files
• Binary log data

MariaDB also offers a feature with rolling encryption keys that allows you to set an expiration date for encryption keys.

Both database management systems support the Key Management Service (KMS) from Amazon Web Services (AWS) via plugin, as well as SSL-encrypted connections. For user authentication, MySQL and MariaDB also rely on a plugin system. The MySQL development team provides users with two authentication plugins, sha256_password and caching_sha2_password. The latter offers server-side caching in addition to standard authentication via Secure Hash Algorithm, enabling faster re-authentication. MariaDB also used SHA-1 with the Secure Hash Algorithm up to version 10.1.21. Since version 10.1.22, the ed25519 plugin has been employed. Ed25519 is an EdDSA signature scheme that combines SHA-2 with Curve25519.

A unique feature of MariaDB in the field of database security is the role-based access control Role Based Access Control, RBAC, which has been natively implemented in the DBMS since version 10.0.5. It significantly simplifies the management of access rights and reduces errors in manual rights assignment. However, MySQL has caught up with this feature: Since MySQL 8.0.0 (2018), MySQL also supports roles as part of its user and rights management functions.

Ecosystem

With the dual licensing system, Oracle pursues an open-core strategy with MySQL. While the core program MySQL is available free of charge as a community edition with public source code, various extensions for the database management system are offered only in combination with one of the commercial editions. However, thanks to a strong connection with the open-source community, the MariaDB development team is able to implement interfaces to open-source alternatives to most proprietary MySQL products in MariaDB.

Support

Professional support is available for both MySQL and MariaDB only for paying customers. MySQL provides 24/7 support, patches, updates, technical advice, and remote troubleshooting through the paid Oracle Premier Support license.

The MariaDB Corporation also provides 24/7 support, security updates, performance consulting, and migration assistance under a subscription - even for MySQL. Since many original MySQL developers now work at MariaDB, the company boasts deep expertise in both systems.

Documentation and community

MySQL is owned by the Oracle Corporation, which publishes extensive documentation of all open-source MySQL projects on the official MySQL website. Additionally, the user community has the following options to learn about MySQL:

• MySQL Events
• MySQL User Groups

Responsibility for the documentation of MariaDB lies with the MariaDB Foundation, which relies on the user community. Those who wish to contribute to the development and documentation of MariaDB servers or open-source applications in the MariaDB ecosystem can find relevant information on the MariaDB Foundation website.

What use cases are suitable for MariaDB or MySQL?

MariaDB is well-suited for internal business applications that you want to operate without license costs. Many companies use MariaDB in web platforms, content management systems, or as a database for reporting and analysis. In distributed systems with many simultaneous read and write accesses, MariaDB also shows strengths. If you are working on Linux servers or want to replace a MySQL installation, you benefit from compatibility and extensibility.

MySQL showcases its strengths in large, stable production systems. Typical use cases include online shops, booking systems, SaaS platforms, or financial applications with high requirements for availability and transaction security. If you’re operating applications in the cloud—such as on AWS, Google Cloud, or Oracle Cloud—you often directly resort to MySQL. MySQL is also the right choice for highly structured JSON processing or when you need SLA-backed support.

Conclusion to the MariaDB vs MySQL comparison

MySQL is a mature database system with widespread use. However, many enterprise features like monitoring, backup, and security are only included in paid editions. MariaDB was developed as a fork of MySQL and has established itself as a fully-fledged open-source alternative. Many Linux distributions use it by default. Exclusive features like MaxScale and ColumnStore demonstrate its growing independence.

The decision between MySQL and MariaDB ultimately depends less on the name and more on which system better fits your application scenario.