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Software · head to head

.NET vs MySQL

.

.NET

Software

Free, cross-platform, open source developer platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MySQL logo

MySQL

Software

The world's most popular open source database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: .NET .NET 8 and .NET 9 both reach end of support on 10 November 2026, per dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy (Aug 2026), forcing an upgrade to .NET 10 by that date; MySQL hot online backup is not in the free Community Server; MySQL Enterprise Backup is a paid Enterprise Edition component

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which .NET and MySQL actually diverge.

Attributes where .NET and MySQL differ
Attribute.NETMySQL
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsWebWindows, Macos, Linux, Unix
FoundedUnknown1995

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in .NET

Nothing recorded that MySQL does not also cover.

Only in MySQL

  • ACID compliance
  • SQL support
  • Multi-version concurrency control
  • Replication
  • Partitioning
  • Stored procedures
  • Triggers
  • Views

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

.NET

No use cases recorded yet. See the .NET review.

MySQL

  • Web application backendnot .NET
  • E-commerce platformsnot .NET
  • Content management systemsnot .NET
  • Data warehousingnot .NET
  • Business applicationsnot .NET

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

.NET

  • .NET 8 and .NET 9 both reach end of support on 10 November 2026, per dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/platform/support/policy (Aug 2026), forcing an upgrade to .NET 10 by that date
  • Standard Term Support releases get only 2 years of patches versus 3 years for Long Term Support releases, per Microsoft's own support policy page, so teams on an STS release face a shorter upgrade cycle

MySQL

  • Hot online backup is not in the free Community Server; MySQL Enterprise Backup is a paid Enterprise Edition component
  • Transparent Data Encryption, data masking and de-identification are Enterprise Edition only
  • MySQL Enterprise Firewall, which guards against SQL injection, and MySQL Enterprise Audit are both paid components
  • External authentication against PAM or Windows Active Directory requires MySQL Enterprise Authentication
  • The thread pool ships as MySQL Enterprise Scalability rather than in the community build

Pricing, plan by plan

.NET

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the .NET review.

MySQL

Free
  • Community EditionFree
    • Open source license
    • Full SQL support
    • InnoDB storage engine
  • Standard Edition$2000/year
    • Commercial license
    • Oracle Premier Support
    • MySQL Enterprise backup
  • Enterprise Edition$5000/year
    • Advanced security
    • MySQL Enterprise Monitor
    • High Availability

Which should you pick?

Choose .NET if

  • You want to start without paying.
.NET review

Choose MySQL if

  • You need acid compliance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Unix.
  • You also want sql support.
MySQL review

Questions people ask

Is .NET or MySQL better?
Neither clearly leads. .NET starts at Free and MySQL at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, .NET or MySQL?
.NET starts at Free and MySQL at Free.
Does .NET or MySQL run on more platforms?
.NET runs on Web. MySQL runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Unix.
Can I use .NET for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What can .NET do that MySQL cannot?
MySQL covers ACID compliance, SQL support, Multi-version concurrency control, Replication.
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