Microsoft Access vs. MySQL Workbench

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Access
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Access is a database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools.
$139.99
per PC
MySQL Workbench
Score 7.5 out of 10
N/A
MySQL Workbench is a unified visual tool for database architects, developers, and DBAs. MySQL Workbench provides data modeling, SQL development, and comprehensive administration tools for server configuration, user administration, and backup. MySQL Workbench is available on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. It is available free through its Community edition, and an Enterprise edition is available for a commercial license as well, supported by Oracle.
$0
Pricing
Microsoft AccessMySQL Workbench
Editions & Modules
Microsoft Access
$139.99
per PC
Community Edition
$0
Enterprise Edition
licensed through Oracle
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft AccessMySQL Workbench
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft AccessMySQL Workbench
Features
Microsoft AccessMySQL Workbench
Relational Databases
Comparison of Relational Databases features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Access
7.7
3 Ratings
3% below category average
MySQL Workbench
-
Ratings
ACID compliance7.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Database monitoring8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Database locking8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Encryption7.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Disaster recovery7.73 Ratings00 Ratings
Flexible deployment8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple datatypes8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Database Development
Comparison of Database Development features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Access
-
Ratings
MySQL Workbench
9.2
2 Ratings
8% above category average
Schema maintenance00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Database change management00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
Database Administration
Comparison of Database Administration features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Access
-
Ratings
MySQL Workbench
8.2
2 Ratings
2% above category average
User management00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
Database security00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
Database status reporting00 Ratings7.52 Ratings
Change management00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
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Microsoft AccessMySQL Workbench
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Score 8.5 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
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Score 8.0 out of 10
ER/Studio
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Score 9.9 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 9.9 out of 10
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User Ratings
Microsoft AccessMySQL Workbench
Likelihood to Recommend
5.0
(99 ratings)
7.4
(3 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(15 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(5 ratings)
8.4
(3 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.4
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
5.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft AccessMySQL Workbench
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
As a Material Purchasing/Planning/inventory tracking application, Microsoft Access serves its purpose well. It's presentation is clean, data entry is simple and the ability to customize search fields is welcome. It does, however, come with some caveats; namely, when setting search filters and the need arises to back up a step or two, with Microsoft Access you have to reset, or "clear all", adding extra steps/time to a query.
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Oracle
It is good software when we have to connect the database of the remote server but it is not as good as phpMyAdmin. When local server is concerned, phpMyAdmin is way better because it has more cleaner UI than Workbench. Workbench is preferred only because phpMyAdmin does not support the connection of remote servers.
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Pros
Microsoft
  • Very easy to create entity-relationship diagrams for various tables and designing mock layouts.
  • Really easy to navigate as it hold[s] the classic Microsoft UI. Another good thing is that it comes with the complete MS Office Suite.
  • It is really fast when joining multiple tables no matter what type of join.
  • Works on pretty much same SQL scripts so no need to learn a new language!
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Oracle
  • Readily available too for quick and easy SQL queries
  • Maintains upgrades
  • Works across multiple OS platforms
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Cons
Microsoft
  • Microsoft Access has not really changed at all for several years. It might be nice to see some upgrades and changes.
  • The help info is often not helpful. Need more tutorials for Microsoft Access to show how to do specific things.
  • Be careful naming objects such as tables, forms, etc. Names that are too long can get cut off in dialog boxes to choose a table, form, report, etc. So, I wish they would have resizable dialog boxes to allow you to see objects with long names.
  • I wish it could show me objects that are not in use in the database for current queries, tables, reports, forms, and macros. That way unused objects can be deleted without worrying about losing a report or query because you deleted the underlying object.
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Oracle
  • There are a lot of menus, some of them aren't needed or users who only need to send queries. I had to watch a videos on youtube to learn how to use workbench. It would be great to have some videos inside software (or links to videos on youtube)
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
I and the rest of my team will renew our Microsoft Access in the future because we use and maintain many different applications and databases created using Microsoft Access so we will need to maintain them in the future. Additionally, it is a standard at our place of work so it is at $0 cost to us to use. Another reason for renewing Microsoft Access is that we just don' t have the resources needed to extend into a network of users so we need to remain a single-desktop application at this time.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Usability
Microsoft
Microsoft Access is easy to use. It is compatible with spreadsheets. It is a very good data management tool. There is scope to save a large amount of data in one place. For using this database, one does not need much training, can be shared among multiple users. This database has to sort and filtering features which seem to be very useful.
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Oracle
MySQL Workbench is useful for specifically remote databases. Remote databases generally does not have any UI and we have to connect the server via SSH and on CLI, we write the queries and it shows the data, which is quite tiering and more prone to make mistakes whereas MySQL Workbench provides cleaner way to connect and provides lot of tools, so that we do not have to write queries all the time.
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Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
I don't think the program has ever failed me. It is one of those programs where there is always a solution if you know where to look.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Microsoft
While I have never contacted Microsoft directly for product support, for some reason there's a real prejudice against MS Access among most IT support professionals. They are usually discouraging when it comes to using MS Access. Most of this is due to their lack of understanding of MS Access and how it can improve one's productivity. If Microsoft invested more resources towards enhancing and promoting the use of MS Access then maybe things would be different.
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
there is no key idea, since it is easy to implement Microsoft Access
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Oracle
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Excel is a fantastic - robust application that can do so much so easily. Its easy to train and understand. However - excel does not provide a reporting function and that is typically where we will suggest a move to [Microsoft] Access. [Microsoft] Access requires a little more knowledge of data manipulation.
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Oracle
It's like comparing a VW to an performance car like a Ferrari. If you need the performance, bells and whistles you'll want PhpStorm. If you just need to get from one place to another, MySQL Workbench will do just fine.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Not having to recreate queries or reports every time you want to use them.
  • Once an item is created and saved as part of the database, you save manpower by not having to recreate them.
  • ROI from a usability standpoint is great. Solid product with great functionality that requires low maintenance usually.
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Oracle
  • It provides good features and saves the time.
  • When we use remote server, we can connect without using ssh etc. so saves the time and easy to understand.
  • Do not have to write the queries to check the schema, so saves the time.
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ScreenShots