head to head · open source
TiDB vs mysql
TiDB has 40,542 GitHub stars, 6,242 forks, 6,976 open issues and last shipped today. mysql has 15,284 stars, 2,334 forks, 57 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TiDB leads on adoption by 165% (40,542 vs 15,284 stars). TiDB is written in Go under Apache-2.0; mysql is written in Go under MPL-2.0. TiDB has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, mysql 15%. TiDB 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
| TiDB | mysql | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick TiDB if
- You weight community size — 41K 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 TiDB
TiDB is an open source, cloud native, distributed SQL database written in Go and licensed under Apache 2.0, aimed at teams that need ACID transactions, real time analytics, and vector search at scale without data silos.
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 TiDB or mysql more popular?
TiDB has 40,542 GitHub stars and mysql has 15,284. TiDB has the larger community by that measure.
Are TiDB and mysql free?
Both are open source. TiDB is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mysql under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between TiDB and mysql?
TiDB 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, TiDB or mysql?
Choose TiDB if you want the larger community (40,542 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.