head to head · open source
etcd vs mysql
etcd has 52,270 GitHub stars, 10,506 forks, 351 open issues and last shipped today. mysql has 15,284 stars, 2,334 forks, 57 open issues and last shipped yesterday. etcd leads on adoption by 242% (52,270 vs 15,284 stars). etcd is written in Go under Apache-2.0; mysql is written in Go under MPL-2.0. etcd has attracted 20% as many forks as stars, mysql 15%. etcd was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (database, go), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| etcd | mysql | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick etcd if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mysql if
- You want the mysql feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and mysql fits your workflow better
About etcd
etcd is an Apache 2.0 licensed, Go written distributed key value store that holds the most critical data of a distributed system in a Raft replicated log, aimed at the platform and infrastructure engineers who must keep that control plane data consistent and available.
About mysql
Go MySQL Driver is the pure Go MySQL driver that implements the database/sql interface for Go applications, and it is aimed at Go developers who need to connect services to MySQL, MariaDB, or TiDB without cgo or C bindings.
read the full mysql overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is etcd or mysql more popular?
etcd has 52,270 GitHub stars and mysql has 15,284. etcd has the larger community by that measure.
Are etcd and mysql free?
Both are open source. etcd is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mysql under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between etcd and mysql?
etcd is written in Go and mysql in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, etcd or mysql?
Choose etcd if you want the larger community (52,270 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose mysql if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.