MySQL vs MariaDB

Versions, support lifecycles and key facts side by side. Dates update automatically from the release data.

Attribute	MySQL	MariaDB
Type	Database	Database
Project status	Active	Active
Developer	Oracle	MariaDB Foundation and MariaDB plc
Based on	—	MySQL
First release	23 May 1995	29 Oct 2009
Release cadence	LTS every 2 years; Innovation releases every quarter	Quarterly rolling releases; a long-term release every year
Newest release	MySQL 26.10 · released Oct 2026	MariaDB 13.0 · released Sep 2026
Latest LTS	MySQL 9.7 LTS	MariaDB 12.3 LTS
Supported versions	3	5
Longest support	MySQL 9.7 LTS — until Apr 2034	MariaDB 12.3 LTS — until Jun 2029
Model	Relational (SQL)	Relational (SQL), MySQL-compatible
Default storage engine	InnoDB	—
Written in	C, C++	C, C++
Runs on	Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD	Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD
Forks	MariaDB, Percona Server	—
License	GPLv2 or commercial	GPLv2
Storage engines	—	InnoDB, Aria, MyRocks, ColumnStore, Spider and more
Support	—	LTS releases get 5 years
Guides on TecAdmin	132 guides	21 guides

Supported versions today