SQL Server vs MySQL - A quick comparison

SQL Server and MySQL are two of the most popular relational database management systems that are widely used by various large enterprises around the world. In this post, we are going to take a quick look at the main differences between the two database management systems and see which one is more suitable for your business.

1. Licensing model

MySQL is a free and open source relational database management system. It also has a paid Enterprise Edition offered by the parent company Oracle.
SQL Server (or MS SQL Server) is a commercial database system developed and owned by Microsoft.

2. Supported operating system

Originally, SQL Server was available on Windows only as it’s the child product of Microsoft. Now you can also get it run on Linux and macOS via Docker, even though it’s limited in term of features and functionalities.
MySQL can run on multiple platforms including FreeBSD, Linux, OS X, Solaris, Windows.

3. Supported programming languages

SQL Server supports these languages: C#, C++, Delphi, Go, Java, JavaScript (Node.js), PHP, Python, R, Ruby, Visual Basic.
MySQL offers a greater support than SQL Server with a variety of programming languages: Ada, C, C#, C++, D, Delphi, Eiffel, Erlang, Haskell, Java, JavaScript (Node.js), Objective-C, OCaml, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Scheme, Tcl

4. Storage Engine

MySQL 8.0 has a pluggable storage engine architecture with support for MyISAM, InnoDB, Merge, Memory, Archive, Cluster, while SQL Server uses only its own proprietary storage engine (SYBASE) which is a bit slower than MySQL’s default MyISAM. This makes MySQL more flexible than SQL Server and offers more performance and programming options to developers.

5. Partitioning methods

In SQL Server, tables can be distributed across several files (horizontal partitioning), sharding through federation.
MySQL supports horizontal partitioning, sharding with MySQL Cluster or MySQL Fabric.

6. Some other features

Unique Query Cache (stores query and result set): MySQL supports and SQL Server doesn’t.
Replication: MySQL uses a master/slave paradigm which is easier to run than the publish/subscribe model used in SQL Server.
Security: MySQL has no concept of roles or external authentication, and its data auditing abilities are quite weak compared to Microsoft.
Development capabilities: MySQL is definitely not as feature rich as T-SQL of SQL Server in term of development capabilities.
Ease of use: It’s easier and faster to install MySQL, and it also takes a fairly small memory usage compared to SQL Server.

So, which database to use?

The answer all comes down to your needs and requirements.

SQL Server is better with:

Windows apps. Because SQL Server works natively with .NET applications.
A generous budget and a wide scope of needs, given that Microsoft SQL Server offers additional functionality from MySQL and have greater confidence in the market development.

MySQL is better with:

Most web-based applications.
Multiple-platform environment support.
Low cost. Because it’s free and you can use for as many applications as you want without obtaining one license for each app. Even though MySQL has an enterprise edition with paid support, it’s generally a cheaper solution than SQL Server.

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