Easy to set up, maintain, and use. Can't beat MySQL.
Overall Satisfaction with MySQL
We use MySQL as the database for all of our products and websites. We have two software as a service (SaaS) products that are set up using master/slave replication and several WordPress sites that also use MySQL as a backend. We're very happy with how easy it is to set up, configure and operate MySQL databases. We use the MySQL Community Edition.
Pros
- It's very dependable. I know how to get it running and keep it running. I don't have to worry about it going down in the middle of the night.
- For our needs it's fast. Every new version seems to run faster.
- Easy. MySQL has been around for a long time. There is a ton of documentation and tools to make using it effortless.
Cons
- Setting up replication takes some effort. It's not bad once you've done it, but I still need to reference the documentation every time I need to set up a new slave.
- Oracle owning MySQL means that they don't put everything into the community edition because they want to sell licenses to their commercial editions.
- Might not be the best performance at very large scales.
- The community edition is free so you can get up and running quickly.
- It's easy to find developers who know how to use it.
- It's quick and easy to install and use.
A colleague had recommended PostgreSQL to me but I found it was difficult to manage users. Perhaps I am just more familiar with the way MySQL works, but I quickly gave up since I also had no idea how I'd set up replication. MySQL is just incredibly easy to use with little or no experience.

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