MySQL vs PostgreSQL: Overview, Performance Comparison, and Use Cases

一、 数据库简介 TLDR;

1.1 MySQL

MySQL claims to be the most popular open‑source database and is one of the most widely used RDBMS applications; the "M" in LAMP stands for MySQL, and applications built on LAMP typically use MySQL.

MySQL was originally developed by MySQL AB, sold to Sun for $1 billion in 2008, and then acquired by Oracle in 2010, resulting in commercial and community editions; the community edition has faced criticism due to Oracle's control.

1.2 PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL positions itself as the most advanced open‑source database, an ORDBMS derived from the University of California's POSTGRES project, originally created in 1985 at UC Berkeley as the successor to Ingres, and is fully community‑driven.

It offers a single complete version under a permissive BSD/MIT license, allowing organizations to use, copy, modify, and redistribute the code with only a copyright notice.

Note: MySQL hierarchy: instance → database → table Postgres hierarchy: instance → database → schema → table A schema can be understood as a namespace and does not affect usage.

二、性能对比

测试环境

MySQL：

硬件配置：4核心 16GB内存

版本： MySQL 8.0

Postgres SQL：

硬件配置：4核心 16GB内存

版本：Postgres SQL 13

The benchmark used primary‑key SELECT, primary‑key UPDATE, and single‑row INSERT operations. From the results we can draw several conclusions:

In throughput, Postgres SQL outperforms MySQL by roughly 2× on SELECT, 4–5× on INSERT, and 5–6× on UPDATE.

Average latency shows Postgres SQL is several times faster than MySQL.

For hotspot row updates, MySQL achieves only about 1/8 of Postgres SQL's performance, with latency increasing about 7×.

三、适用场景，如何选择？

MySQL is simpler and therefore more popular, with richer documentation and component support, making it suitable for small‑to‑medium enterprises and personal projects due to its low entry barrier, though it is not necessarily the best choice.

Postgres SQL is gaining momentum and may soon catch up with MySQL, whose popularity appears to be declining.

MySQL适用的场景

MySQL suits simple applications such as e‑commerce, blogs, and websites; it can handle data volumes from millions to hundreds of millions, but may struggle under high‑performance demands, complex queries, or very high throughput requirements.

Postgres SQL适用的场景

Postgres SQL is better for complex data structures, advanced applications, and large‑scale datasets, though it can also be used for smaller data sets; it may face challenges with very complex query conditions due to occasional sub‑optimal index choices.

四、总结

PostgreSQL相对于MySQL的优势

Performance: Postgres SQL significantly outperforms MySQL in both latency and overall throughput.

Single‑row updates: With HOT UPDATE, Postgres offers an order‑of‑magnitude advantage.

SQL standard compliance: More complete and academically rigorous implementation.

Storage: Postgres uses heap tables, allowing larger data volumes than MySQL's index‑organized tables.

Replication: Physical replication in Postgres provides higher data consistency and lower performance impact compared to MySQL's binlog‑based logical replication.

Concurrency: Postgres's built‑in version column enables optimistic locking with repeatable‑read isolation, whereas MySQL requires explicit locking or complex optimistic‑lock implementations.

Postgre SQL之于MySQL相对劣势：

System catalog complexity makes certain administrative tasks more difficult.

Index selection can be error‑prone and lacks a straightforward FORCE_INDEX hint.

Vacuum maintenance is required and must be tuned for specific workloads.

来源：juejin.cn/post/7324362442229891124

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