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MongoDB Vs MySQL: Know The

Difference

August 16, 2022

Traditionally, database management has been the backbone of every

aspect of life today. It is the technology that enables us to manage and
retrieve the information we need at any time because it is an organized
collection of data. In this regard, two of the most widely used and
competitive database services for web applications are MySQL and
MongoDB. Although both DBMSs enable data to be extracted and
reports to be generated from websites and applications, their design
differs in terms of the functionality they provide. MySQL is an open-
source relational database. From large corporate databases to small
sites like local business websites, MySQL supports data querying,
storage, and data security. As an alternative to MySQL, MongoDB is an
open-source non-relational DBMS that was designed to provide an
easier way to manage data compared to MySQL. Its design is geared
toward delivering fast, nimble database performance. MongoDB is a
document-based system, whereas MySQL is a table-structured system.
In this article, we are going to learn about MongoDB vs MySQL. We will
walk you through the difference between MongoDB and MySQL, what
are their features, which one to choose when, their advantages,
disadvantages, and many more questions. In short, at the end of this
article, you will have a good understanding of the fundamentals of
MongoDB and MySQL.

Table Of Contents [ show]

What is MongoDB?
Features of MongoDB
What is MySQL?
Features of MySQL
MongoDB Vs MySQL: Know The Difference
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions
Additional Resources

What is MongoDB?

MongoDB

As the name suggests, MongoDB is a non-relational document-based

database, also known as an object-based system, which is designed to
allow software developers to scale their software applications, making
them easier to develop.ns.

So what do we mean by document database here? A document

database is a type of non-relational database that is designed to store
and query data as JSON(Javascript Object Notation )-like documents.
MongoDB was founded in 2007 by Dwight Merriman, Eliot Horowitz,
and Kevin Ryan. MongoDB is the most popular NoSQL database right
now ( NoSQL database means non-relational or unstructured ). It
means MongoDB does not use row table structure to store and retrieve
data like MySQL but uses the BSON( Binary JSON ) format for
Storage. There are many applications that benefit from MongoDB’s
flexibility and scalability, for example, e-commerce sites and content-
based websites.

A simple MongoDB document structure:

{
Title: ‘MongoDB’ ,
By: ‘InterviewBit’ ,
Type: ‘Blog’
}

Features of MongoDB

Ad-Hoc Queries – In most cases, while designing a database schema,

we don’t know what queries we’ll run ahead of time(when we design our
database we may not be knowing the future query types). Ad-Hoc query
is the query not known while structuring the data or Ad-Hoc queries are
short-lived commands whose value depends on variables. MongoDB
supports these types of queries and can also be updated in real-time.

Document Oriented – MongoDB is a document-oriented database in

MongoDB there are different documents to store different types of data
and each document has a unique system-generated key.

Aggregation – Data records are processed by aggregation(grouping of

data) processes, which then produce the computed results. In simple
words, aggregation operations group values from multiple documents
together and can perform a variety of operations on the grouped data to
return a single result. It’s analogous to SQL’s GROUP BY clause. sum,
average, min, max, and other aggregating expressions are a few
examples.

Schema-Less Database – In MongoDB different documents can have

different fields. The size, content, and type can vary for fields. because
of this feature, MongoDB provides flexibility.

Indexing – In MongoDB Indexing is one of the most important options

to improve the search query performance. As a result, we should index
the fields that fit our search criteria( without indexing MongoDB has to
scan every document of the collection to get the required result that
matches the query statement ).

Scalability – MongoDB shows high availability and scalability.

MongoDB scales horizontally using sharding ( sharding is a type of
database partitioning that separates very large databases into smaller
and faster parts called shards).

What is MySQL?

MySQL
Having existed since 1995, MySQL is one of the most frequently used
database structures in the world. MySQL is an Open-source and
Relational database management system that follows a specified
schema of tables, unlike MongoDB which is document-oriented and
schema-less. MySQL uses Structured Query Language to access and
retrieve data that are stored in rows and columns.

SQL is developed and maintained by ORACLE. Now let’s talk about the
history of the MySQL database. MySQL was created by a Swedish
company MySQLAB founded by David Axmark, Allan Larsson, and
Michael Widenius. SQL has proven to be the most popular design
model for relational databases in the past two decades.

Features of MySQL

Open source – MySQL is open source means it is free to download, use,

and can be modified according to the user’s need. The source code of
Mysql can be studied and modified based on the requirements.

Scalable – MySQL is scalable because it supports multi-threading. It

has the ability to handle practically any amount of data. Scalability is
defined as the ability of the database to work smoothly and efficiently
with large amounts of data.

Secure – MySQL has a strong data security layer in place to keep

sensitive data safe from hackers. In addition, MySQL encrypts
passwords.

Client/Server Architecture – A client/server architecture is followed by

MySQL. A database server (MySQL) and an unlimited number of clients
communicate with the server, allowing them to query data, make
changes, and so on.

High Flexibility – MySQL is flexible in nature as MySQL supports a large

number of embedded applications, which makes MySQL very flexible.
Robust Transactional Support – MySQL supports ACID properties that
are Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability which makes MySQL
suitable for transaction operations.

Read More About MySQL Features

MongoDB Vs MySQL: Know The

Difference

We now know what MongoDB and MySQL are and we have seen how
they are related. Let’s see how much they differ from each other.

Basis MongoDB MySQL

Data is stored and Every record is

Data represented in stored as a table-
Structure JSON(Javascript Object cell structure with
Notation) like documents. rows and column

Schema MongoDB stores data in MySQL requires a

collections with no schema definition
enforced schema. In other for the tables in the
words, incoming data can databases.
have a pre-defined structure Therefore, the
 and it can adhere to it, schema cannot be
however, different altered. Only inputs
documents in the same that conform to the
collection can have given schema are
different structures if accepted.
required.

As the name
MongoDB uses the
suggests MySQL
MongoDB Query Language
Language uses SQL, which is
(MQL), designed for easy
a structured query
use by developers.
language.

MySQL is a bit
MongoDB is an attractive complex compared
option to developers to MongoDB
User
because of its easy-to-use because of the
Friendliness
and understanding of data schema of tables,
storage philosophy. foreign keys,
normalization, etc.

MongoDB databases can

be scaled both vertically
and horizontally ( horizontal MySQL Database
scaling also known as can be scaled
Scaling out means adding vertically ( Scaling
additional nodes or vertically means
Scalability machines to your adding more power
infrastructure to match new to your existing
demands whereas vertical machine for
scaling is adding more example upgrading
power to your existing CPU and RAM).
machine for example
upgrading CPU and RAM ).

Foreign keys MongoDB does not support MySQL supports

the usage of Foreign keys. the usage of
foreign keys (
foreign keys are
 used to link one
table to another
table).

MySQL supports
Supported MongoDB supports languages like C,
languages languages like C and C++. C++, and
JavaScript.

MongoDB is optimized for

MySQL is optimized
write performance( means
for high-
writing speed performance
Performance performance joins
of MongoDB database is
across multiple
far greater than MySQL
tables
database).

In MongoDB, it uses MySQL supports

sharding and replication ( master-slave
sharding allows partitioning replication and
of data across multiple master-master
servers using the shared replication (
Replication
key and The technique of replication feature
synchronizing (organizing) allows a server -the
data across many servers master to send all
to offer redundancy is changes to another
known as replication). server – the slave).

MongoDB documents’
schema-less nature makes
MySQL database is
it simple to build and
less flexible in
upgrade applications over
comparison to
Flexibility time, without the need for
MongoDB because
difficult and costly schema
of its schema
migration processes like
design.
you would with a relational
database.

Cyber Attacks In MongoDB, No Schema In MySQL Risks of

and security definition is required so SQL injection
 lesser risk of attacks due to attacks are there
its design and MongoDB is due to its schema
more secure in comparison design so MySQL is
to MySQL because of its less secure in
schema-less design. comparison to
MongoDB.

JOIN MongoDB does not Support MySQL supports

Operations JOIN operations. JOIN operation.

Right now MongoDB has

around 200k repositories
MySQL has more
over GitHub with around 1
than 200k
million commits which
repositories over
shows it will be quite
GitHub and around
Community difficult to resolve an issue
7 million commits
Support in MongoDB if you are
so MySQL
stuck somewhere in
community support
comparison to MySQL
is far greater than
because of less community
MongoDB.
support and documentation
).

MongoDB is an ideal choice

Handling if you have unstructured MySQL can not be
Unstructured and/or structured data with used to handle
Data the potential for rapid unstructured data.
growth

Conclusion

By now, we have a good understanding of MongoDB and MySQL. In

simpler words, MongoDB is a document-Oriented NoSQL database that
is used for handling Unstructured data whereas MySQL is an Open
source RDBMS (Relational database management system ) that uses
SQL (Structured query language) to operate and retrieve data in a
database and follows a specific row-table based schema.
Now, the question is what to choose between MongoDB and MySQL.
The answer to it is simple: it all depends on various factors such as
which type of data you are working on (whether it is structured or
unstructured), your needs, and system requirement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is MongoDB better than MySQL?

A: It all depends on the type of data that you are working on whether it
is structured or unstructured and your system requirement and use
case. If it is structured and needs a traditional relational database then
for MySQL and if it is unstructured then go for MongoDB.

Q: Can MongoDB replace MySQL?

MongoDB is a cross-platform document-oriented and NoSQL database
that allows fast changes over time in the database as the application
grows but both have their pros and cons Mysql is open source, secure,
and provides high flexibility whereas MongoDB provides speed, ability
to handle unstructured data, etc. Considering all these points we can
say yes MongoDB has the potential to replace MySQL.

Q: Which database is fastest?

A: Out of MySQL and MongoDB, MongoDB is fast because of its
schema-less feature and ability to handle unstructured data.

Additional Resources

MongoDB Interview Questions

MySQL Interview Questions
MongoDB Cheat Sheet
MYSQL Cheat Sheet
MySQL Commands
PostgreSQL vs MySQL
SQL Vs MySQL