Fintech
Plaid
Migrated off Amazon Aurora to distributed SQL for mission-critical fintech workloads.
96%
Reduction in Maintenance Effort
Read the story
North America
TiDB vs CockroachDB: MySQL-Compatible, Native HTAP
If your stack is MySQL and you need real analytics on live data, TiDB gives you MySQL compatibility, native columnar HTAP, and independent compute/storage scaling — without a Postgres-wire migration.
The Decision in Brief
CockroachDB is Postgres-wire compatible; TiDB is MySQL-compatible. For MySQL shops, TiDB avoids the migration cost of moving to a Postgres-compatible engine. TiDB also has native columnar HTAP (TiFlash), where CockroachDB relies on external analytics patterns.
MySQL Wire Protocol
Keep your MySQL drivers, ORMs, and team expertise — no Postgres migration layer.
Native Columnar HTAP
TiFlash columnar replicas run analytics on fresh transactional data, no ETL pipeline.
Disaggregated Architecture
Scale compute and storage independently — only pay for what you use.
Compatibility
MySQL Stack vs Postgres Stack
If your application, drivers, ORMs, and team expertise are MySQL-based, TiDB keeps everything productive through migration — without Postgres-wire compatibility-layer costs.
| Feature | TiDB | CockroachDB |
|---|---|---|
| Wire Protocol | MySQL 8.0 | PostgreSQL |
| Driver Compatibility | MySQL drivers (JDBC, Go, Python, etc.) | PostgreSQL drivers |
| ORM Support | Native MySQL ORM support | PostgreSQL ORM support |
| Migration Path | Direct from MySQL | Requires PostgreSQL migration |
| Team Knowledge | Leverage existing MySQL expertise | Requires PostgreSQL training |
| HTAP / Analytics | Native columnar HTAP (TiFlash), no ETL | External analytics patterns |
Architectural Advantages
TiFlash vs External Analytics: One System, No ETL
Native Columnar HTAP
TiFlash columnar replicas plus optimizer pushdown run OLTP and OLAP on the same fresh data, in one system. No separate warehouse, no ETL pipelines, no data lag. CockroachDB is row-store only; for analytics you export to an external warehouse, adding latency, ETL complexity, and cost.
Architecture
Auto-Sharding, Disaggregated Compute, Online DDL
Auto-Sharding
No manual sharding — data auto-splits into Regions and rebalances transparently; your app never manages shard keys.
Disaggregated Compute & Storage
Scale the actual bottleneck instead of over-provisioning both — compute and storage scale independently.
Online DDL
Online schema changes (DDL) run across the cluster without stop-the-world blocking.
Strict ACID Transactions
Strict ACID with snapshot-isolation transactions coordinated by the Placement Driver.
Customer Proof
Proven at Scale
Social
Consolidated bolt-on systems onto one MySQL-compatible engine at scale.
80%+
Savings on Infrastructure Costs
Read the story
Payments
Square
Eliminated manual sharding at scale with auto-sharding and disaggregated architecture.
MySQL
Latency and Manual Sharding Reduced
Read the story
SaaS
Catalyst
Runs multi-tenant SaaS workloads on TiDB with MySQL compatibility and HTAP.
60x
Query Speed Performance Boost
Read the story
Fintech
Plaid
Migrated off Amazon Aurora to distributed SQL for mission-critical fintech workloads.
96%
Reduction in Maintenance Effort
Read the story
Social
Consolidated bolt-on systems onto one MySQL-compatible engine at scale.
80%+
Savings on Infrastructure Costs
Read the story
Payments
Square
Eliminated manual sharding at scale with auto-sharding and disaggregated architecture.
MySQL
Latency and Manual Sharding Reduced
Read the story
SaaS
Catalyst
Runs multi-tenant SaaS workloads on TiDB with MySQL compatibility and HTAP.
60x
Query Speed Performance Boost
Read the story
Fintech
Plaid
Migrated off Amazon Aurora to distributed SQL for mission-critical fintech workloads.
96%
Reduction in Maintenance Effort
Read the story
Social
Consolidated bolt-on systems onto one MySQL-compatible engine at scale.
80%+
Savings on Infrastructure Costs
Read the story
Payments
Square
Eliminated manual sharding at scale with auto-sharding and disaggregated architecture.
MySQL
Latency and Manual Sharding Reduced
Read the story
SaaS
Catalyst
Runs multi-tenant SaaS workloads on TiDB with MySQL compatibility and HTAP.
60x
Query Speed Performance Boost
Read the story
Industry Recognition
Recognized by Third Parties
Frequently Asked Questions
TiDB is binary-compatible with the MySQL 8.0 wire protocol — most applications connect with no code change. Validate specifics in a proof-of-concept with your own schema and queries.
Compare on Your Own Schema
Compare TiDB and CockroachDB on your own schema. Book a 30-minute architecture call with our engineering team.