head to head · open source
Prometheus vs mysql
Prometheus has 66,109 GitHub stars, 10,839 forks, 890 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mysql has 15,284 stars, 2,334 forks, 57 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Prometheus leads on adoption by 333% (66,109 vs 15,284 stars). Prometheus is written in Go under Apache-2.0; mysql is written in Go under MPL-2.0. Prometheus has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, mysql 15%. mysql was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Prometheus | mysql | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 66K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Prometheus if
- You weight community size — 66K 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 Prometheus
Prometheus is an open source monitoring system and time series database, part of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation ecosystem. It collects metrics from configured targets at defined intervals, evaluates alerting rules, and visualizes results. Designed for reliability in dynamic environments, it operates without reliance on distributed storage, ensuring each server node functions independently.
read the full Prometheus overview →
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 Prometheus or mysql more popular?
Prometheus has 66,109 GitHub stars and mysql has 15,284. Prometheus has the larger community by that measure.
Are Prometheus and mysql free?
Both are open source. Prometheus is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mysql under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Prometheus and mysql?
Prometheus 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, Prometheus or mysql?
Choose Prometheus if you want the larger community (66,109 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.