MariaDB passes MySQL in WordPress usage

Written by Written by Ian Gilfillan 1 Comment on MariaDB passes MySQL in WordPress usage

In May, Otto Kekäläinen emailed the developers mailing list with some interesting news. MariaDB had passed MySQL in WordPress usage. And this was not just wishful thinking, but according to the official WordPress statistics.

This may seem surprising if you follow other metrics, or look at activity in various channels, where MySQL can seem to be more active. But these are the official WordPress statistics, which sample far more users than most of us ever can, so it’s worth investigating.

The biggest factor in why MySQL still seems more prevalent is that not everyone knows they are using MariaDB. For example, the MySQL subreddit is filled with MariaDB questions, while the MariaDB subreddit is relatively quiet. In other cases, MariaDB is displayed or considered as MySQL/MariaDB, so activity drifts to the busier MySQL forums – a self-perpetuating cycle.

We’re on a drive to build MariaDB, and remind people that’s it offers many advantages over MySQL. We’re using it, so let’s say the name out loud! More on that in another post, I Am Not Building Cadillacs Anymore.

Now, on to the data.

MariaDB and MySQL in Wordpress

4 May 2025 4 Aug 2025 2 Sep 2025
MariaDB (total) 51.54 53.47 54.30
MySQL (total) 47.88 46.54 45.10
MariaDB 10.11 18.60 20.11 21.30
MySQL 8.0 20.77 20.70 20.50
MariaDB 10.6 19.88 18.77 18.10
MySQL 5.7 17.78 16.81 16.00
MySQL 5.5 7.03 6.60 6.20
MariaDB 10.5 6.77 6.10 5.80
MariaDB 11.4 1.27 3.38 4.60
MariaDB 10.3 2.74 2.53 2.40
MySQL 5.6 1.99 1.88 1.80
MariaDB 10.4 1.07 0.99 0.90
MariaDB 5.5 0.46 0.44 0.40
MariaDB 10.1 0.43 0.40 0.40
MariaDB 10.2 0.32 0.28 0.30
MySQL 8.4 0.14 0.23 0.30
MySQL 5.1 0.17 0.16 0.20
MariaDB 11.8 0.08 0.10

Data comes from the email on 4 May, and my own recording of the data directly from wordpress.org on 4 August and 2 September. Totals don’t add up to 100% due to rounding (precision also appears to have changed over the period), as well as excluding the long tail of versions with a tiny percentage, and of course I may have made errors. So the focus should be on the trends, rather than individual precision.

The first thing to notice is the relatively rapid momentum towards MariaDB since May. Otto, in the email, posited that since MySQL 8.4 deprecated SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS, which is heavily used in the WordPress code base, MySQL 8.4 adoption is very low. As people and providers upgrade their systems, MariaDB would be an easier fit. At MariaDB we try to make upgrades from MySQL as painless as possible, and in some cases even easier than upgrading to a new MySQL release.

The other notable factor is just how many users are on end-of-life releases. While we’d love to see everyone on MariaDB 11.8, the latest LTS, its usage trails far behind the ancient MariaDB 5.5. This is just the way things are. Most of these users are not power users, and barely interact with the database. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. It’s good to see that at least most MariaDB users are on MariaDB 10.11 and 10.6, which are still currently maintained.

Thanks WordPress for providing the data. I look forward to seeing how the trend develops over time.