MySQL vs MariaDB: What's the Difference?

MariaDB was forked from MySQL by MySQL's original creator after Oracle's acquisition. They started identical, remain highly compatible, and have diverged in features over the years.

Key Points

• MariaDB is a drop-in replacement for most classic MySQL workloads
• Both are open-source; MariaDB is fully community-governed
• MySQL 8 added strong JSON, window functions, and roles; MariaDB followed its own path
• MariaDB includes extra storage engines (Aria, ColumnStore for analytics)
• Many Linux distros ship MariaDB when you 'install mysql'
• Skills transfer ~100% — learning one means knowing the other