Why Many Developers Prefer SQL Server Over MySQL: Performance, Features, and Tooling

Recently a Zhihu question sparked a debate: "Is SQL Server really inferior to MySQL?" The discussion gathered diverse opinions from several users.

01 One contributor argues that MS SQL outperforms MySQL in many aspects, noting that row‑level locking was available in SQL Server since version 7, while MySQL only gained it with InnoDB, and that MySQL only added instant column addition in version 8.0.

02 Another user recalls early criticisms of MySQL’s lack of foreign keys, stored procedures, and views, which were later added, and points out that MySQL’s support for window functions and CTEs arrived more than a decade after PostgreSQL.

03 A third comment emphasizes MySQL’s free, lightweight nature, making it suitable for beginners and small‑site deployments, whereas SQL Server is positioned alongside Oracle as a premium, enterprise‑grade product.

04 Performance is highlighted: MySQL struggles when a single table reaches tens of millions of rows, while SQL Server comfortably handles tables with billions of rows, with an example of a 2.1‑billion‑row table that remained fast.

05 Backup and restore are described as easier with SQL Server, especially using backup files or attaching databases, whereas MySQL and Oracle rely on slower import/export methods for large datasets.

06 Additional advantages of SQL Server include seamless integration with C# and Visual Studio, a powerful graphical management studio, and a rich ecosystem of third‑party tools for data recovery, though the cost of licensing is a notable drawback.

07 The free Express edition of SQL Server is mentioned, with its limits: single CPU (or up to four cores), 1 GB RAM, and a database size of 4 GB (10 GB in newer versions).

Overall, the contributors agree that while MySQL’s free model makes it popular, SQL Server offers superior performance, richer feature sets, and tighter tooling for enterprise development, albeit at a higher price.