Quick comparison
| # | App | Pricing | Verified price | Open source | Platforms | Verified facts | Score |
|---|
| 1 |  MySQL | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, Windows, macOS +1 | 4 of 4 | 64.8 |
| 2 |  MariaDB | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, Windows, macOS +1 | 4 of 4 | 61.8 |
| 3 |  PostgreSQL | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, macOS, Windows +1 | 5 of 5 | 59.4 |
| 4 |  FoundationDB | Open source | — | Yes | Linux, macOS, Self-hosted | 5 of 5 | 57.5 |
11. MySQLTop pick
Best for: Web developers who want the most widely hosted SQL database, especially for PHP and WordPress apps.
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted
Why switch from TiDB
The original single-server engine, simpler to run when one primary and replicas are enough.
Pros
- Supported by nearly every host, cloud and framework
- Free GPL Community Edition with replication and clustering
- Official GUI in MySQL Workbench
Cons
- Some features are reserved for paid Enterprise editions
- Controlled by Oracle rather than a community foundation
- Fewer advanced data types and SQL features than PostgreSQL
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
2Best for: Teams running MySQL-style apps who want a community-governed, GPL database server.
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, Windows, macOS, Self-hosted
Why switch from TiDB
MySQL-compatible fork with Galera clustering, familiar to MySQL admins and free to run.
Pros
- Largely MySQL-compatible, so migrations are usually easy
- Governed by a foundation rather than a single vendor
- Regular LTS releases and built-in vector search
Cons
- Has drifted from recent MySQL versions in some features
- Several release tracks (LTS, rolling, preview) can confuse
- Smaller extension ecosystem than PostgreSQL
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.377
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
3Best for: Developers and teams who want a free, standards-minded relational database that scales with their app.
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, macOS, Windows, Self-hosted
Why switch from TiDB
Mature open-source relational database with a vast extension ecosystem, run on a single primary.
Pros
- Strong SQL standards support and full ACID transactions
- Rich types: JSONB, arrays, ranges, plus PostGIS for maps
- Highly extensible with custom types and functions
- Permissive licence and community governance, not one vendor
Cons
- Running replication, failover and major upgrades yourself takes expertise
- Connection handling often needs a pooler under heavy load
- No official GUI; you pick a separate client
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.369
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified- License
- PostgreSQL License (BSD/MIT-like)
- Checked Nov 8, 2026postgresql.org(opens source in a new tab)
- Origins
- 1986, UC Berkeley POSTGRES project
- Checked Nov 8, 2026postgresql.org(opens source in a new tab)
- ACID-compliant
- Since 2001
- Checked Nov 8, 2026postgresql.org(opens source in a new tab)
- JSON support
- JSON/JSONB
- Checked Nov 8, 2026postgresql.org(opens source in a new tab)
- Platforms
- Linux, macOS, Windows, BSD, Solaris
- Checked Nov 8, 2026postgresql.org(opens source in a new tab)
4Best for: Infrastructure teams building their own data layers on a strongly consistent distributed store
Open sourceSelf-hostableLinux, macOS, Self-hosted
Why switch from TiDB
Lower-level distributed transactional store for teams who want to build their own data layers.
Pros
- ACID transactions across a distributed cluster
- Free and open source under Apache 2.0
- Heavily tested with deterministic failure simulation
- Official bindings for C, Python, Ruby, Java and Go
Cons
- Low-level key-value API; queries and schemas need layers on top
- No official managed cloud service or vendor support plan
- Current Windows packages are not offered for recent versions
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.363
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula