Databases

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The questions in this section were only answered by respondents who use a database.

Which databases have you used in the last 12 months?

52%

MySQL

38%

PostgreSQL

28%

SQLite

27%

MongoDB

27%

Redis

18%

MS SQL Server

18%

MariaDB

The rankings are similar to last year, with the exception of MySQL, whose share declined substantially.

Which databases have you used in the last 12 months?

51%

MySQL

48%

MS SQL Server

43%

PostgreSQL

27%

Oracle Database

21%

SQLite

20%

MongoDB

18%

Redis

15%

MariaDB

8%

DB2

7%

Amazon Redshift

5%

ClickHouse

4%

H2

3%

Cassandra

3%

HBase

2%

Neo4j

12%

Other

4%

None

64%

MySQL

48%

PostgreSQL

36%

Redis

32%

MS SQL Server

30%

SQLite

28%

MongoDB

22%

MariaDB

21%

Oracle Database

9%

H2

4%

Amazon Redshift

4%

DB2

3%

Cassandra

3%

ClickHouse

2%

Neo4j

2%

HBase

9%

Other

61%

MySQL

50%

PostgreSQL

36%

SQLite

33%

Redis

33%

MongoDB

25%

MariaDB

23%

MS SQL Server

13%

Oracle Database

8%

H2

3%

Cassandra

3%

Amazon Redshift

2%

Neo4j

2%

DB2

2%

ClickHouse

1%

HBase

11%

Other

1%

None

The results for some questions, including this one, have been split into 3 groups based on the respondents’ involvement with SQL. Those who identified SQL as one of their 3 primary programming languages were sorted into the “SQL is primary” group. Everyone else who has used SQL in the last 12 months was placed in the “SQL is secondary” group. And the third, most involved group, “SQL is main”, comprises those who ranked SQL first among their primary languages. Please note that for most of the questions in this section, the “SQL is main” group accounts for fewer than 100 answers; therefore, the data should be interpreted with caution.

The answers have also been split according to the databases used by the respondents.

As you can see, the two veterans, MS SQL Server and Oracle Database, are much more popular among SQL professionals, whereas SQLite and MongoDB are more popular among those who use SQL occasionally.

Relative popularity of databases by region

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
9%5%22%22%-33%5%-7%-6%Africa, Middle East, Central Asia
19%-10%-25%16%-53%50%44%-15%Argentina
-1%36%3%27%-5%28%8%42%Brazil
-29%14%13%0%-27%18%-14%-23%Canada
42%-46%-11%0%67%-36%-24%3%China
-24%34%4%2%-9%14%17%7%Eastern Europe, Balkans and the Caucasus
3%31%1%11%-31%-34%107%4%France
-22%28%24%6%-12%5%102%15%Germany
0%-5%-7%47%-24%5%-50%29%India
-1%4%4%-47%-13%-46%6%-27%Japan
9%22%-13%24%-49%57%32%48%Latin America
26%-2%1%37%-47%78%84%6%Mexico
-21%21%9%-4%-6%53%43%-26%Northern Europe and Benelux
-22%21%-1%7%-15%14%23%16%Other Europe
-9%3%-2%-3%-2%23%9%-17%Other South-East Asia and Oceania
-38%59%-3%-15%17%-14%-27%-42%Russian Federation
11%-38%-29%-10%-1%-37%80%49%South Korea
7%14%-12%26%-39%16%87%83%Spain
-16%11%-14%25%-18%82%-47%24%Turkey
-20%37%-9%17%25%-6%-31%-73%Ukraine
-20%9%9%-19%-6%26%0%-39%United Kingdom
-29%10%6%-18%-17%21%-30%-13%United States
-73%0107%

What do the relative popularity numbers mean? For example, the share of MS SQL Server in Argentina is 27%, whereas its worldwide share is 18%. Dividing the difference (9%) by 18%, we get +50%. We refer to this as the relative popularity of MS SQL Server in Argentina.

The popularity of databases varies greatly depending on the region. For example, at 36%, MariaDB’s share in France is more than double its global share. For databases not listed in this table, H2 enjoys outsized popularity in Korea, Amazon Redshift and Cassandra in India, DB2 in Spain, HBase in China, Neo4j in Northern Europe and Benelux, and ClickHouse in Russia.

Relative popularity of databases by primary programming language

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
-16%-43%12%-34%-49%-38%-26%-35%C
-25%-11%12%-6%-18%210%-19%-13%C#
-19%-40%5%-25%-42%-31%-35%-30%C++
-2%-13%60%10%-35%-39%-6%-26%Dart
20%40%5%44%107%-48%21%-56%Go
15%1%-16%6%13%-12%-5%98%Java
14%6%-9%30%3%3%23%0%JavaScript
-16%-3%57%-5%-18%-50%-16%-18%Kotlin
67%-3%16%-8%46%-16%182%-43%PHP
-3%15%28%9%-7%-18%-5%-8%Python
9%73%16%-12%89%-44%-2%-73%Ruby
-19%42%64%4%45%-49%17%-59%Rust
20%24%3%0%27%85%24%90%SQL
-5%23%-37%20%29%-35%-31%10%Scala
-15%-33%69%-24%-52%-54%-35%-52%Swift
-8%41%-3%40%27%0%9%-23%TypeScript
-73%0210%

Certain language and database combinations are popular with developers, including:

  • C# with MSSQL
  • Kotlin, Swift, or Dart with SQLite
  • Go or Ruby with Redis
  • Java with Oracle
  • PHP with MariaDB

Which databases have you used in the last 12 months?

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
51%58%63%68%52%75%60%MySQL
37%49%48%54%39%47%43%PostgreSQL
31%36%31%34%31%40%26%SQLite
33%35%31%41%30%38%30%MongoDB
35%38%33%40%26%41%26%Redis
18%18%20%19%17%20%29%MS SQL Server
25%22%25%25%27%20%20%MariaDB
13%13%11%12%11%19%13%Oracle Database
3%3%2%3%3%4%2%7%DB2
3%4%2%4%5%3%4%4%Cassandra
2%2%1%2%3%1%2%2%HBase
2%3%2%4%3%2%2%2%Neo4j
3%4%3%4%4%4%3%4%Amazon Redshift
7%9%6%8%9%6%9%15%H2
3%3%2%3%5%1%3%2%ClickHouse
6%10%8%8%9%9%8%7%Other
075%

The two clear leaders are in direct competition with each other, as MySQL is less popular among PostgreSQL users and vice versa, though 19% of respondents use both.

Which tools do you regularly use for working with databases?

23%

22%

JetBrains IDE with the Database plugin

20%

21%

Command Line

19%

18%

DataGrip

17%

20%

MySQL Workbench

Which tools do you regularly use for working with databases?

34%

SQL Server Management Studio

21%

DataGrip

18%

Visual Studio Code

18%

MySQL Workbench

17%

DBeaver

17%

pgAdmin

16%

Command Line

27%

JetBrains IDE with the Database plugin

26%

DataGrip

22%

SQL Server Management Studio

19%

Command Line

19%

MySQL Workbench

18%

DBeaver

14%

pgAdmin

28%

JetBrains IDE with the Database plugin

24%

Command Line

22%

DataGrip

20%

MySQL Workbench

15%

phpMyAdmin

15%

Visual Studio Code

15%

pgAdmin

The general trend of moving from the native tools of specific databases (and just the command line) to universal ones continues, particularly toward DataGrip and DBeaver.

Which tools do you regularly use for working with databases?

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
38%44%36%37%47%35%47%42%JetBrains plugin / DataGrip
26%15%18%22%16%20%24%20%MySQL Workbench
22%24%27%23%26%14%28%16%Command Line
19%11%16%16%11%12%29%10%phpMyAdmin
16%15%17%20%12%17%13%15%Visual Studio Code
14%5%8%11%16%6%9%11%Navicat
13%19%12%14%16%12%16%20%DBeaver
11%12%11%34%13%11%12%11%MongoDB Compass
10%28%15%14%14%12%12%14%pgAdmin
9%10%12%11%9%53%9%14%SQL Server Management Studio
6%6%5%6%3%8%5%37%Oracle SQL Developer
5%3%4%4%4%5%10%4%HeidiSQL
4%2%9%3%1%3%2%3%Android Studio
4%3%3%3%3%5%2%16%PL/SQL Developer
4%4%3%11%6%3%4%3%Robo 3T
4%3%3%3%5%1%5%2%Sequel Pro
4%4%4%3%6%2%5%1%TablePlus
2%2%2%1%2%1%5%1%Adminer
2%3%3%4%3%12%2%3%Azure Data Studio
1%1%1%1%1%1%1%4%Toad
5%7%7%5%6%6%6%6%Other
4%4%7%3%3%2%3%2%None
1%53%

Considering that most of the respondents (69%) use 2 or more databases at the same time, it’s not strange that Redis users also use pgAdmin, for example.

Relative popularity of database tools by region

JetBrains plugin / DataGripCommand LineVisual Studio CodeDBeaverNavicatHeidiSQLAzure Data StudioTablePlusToadOther
-16%-27%34%-19%-79%-3%6%6%6%-35%Africa, Middle East, Central Asia
-57%-18%32%34%-67%39%-34%-43%197%-7%Argentina
-31%-29%36%160%-79%42%42%-31%-40%-6%Brazil
-5%8%31%-14%-92%-44%19%-7%-23%30%Canada
21%12%-27%0%357%14%-84%-18%-73%-59%China
24%-13%-27%11%-88%10%3%-10%-6%10%Eastern Europe, Balkans and the Caucasus
12%0%-53%15%-74%41%-53%0%-44%7%France
42%4%-30%-7%-94%66%-19%-3%4%41%Germany
-42%-6%91%-4%-97%-58%67%-5%4%-15%India
-14%25%-9%-50%-86%-29%-48%-8%-87%19%Japan
-26%-22%38%54%-72%44%26%-34%78%-25%Latin America
-28%-3%30%56%-53%72%87%74%120%-10%Mexico
19%-14%-33%-6%-85%32%65%59%-10%31%Northern Europe and Benelux
15%-15%-21%32%-83%3%16%-10%-5%12%Other Europe
-19%-4%8%20%-59%30%-21%65%56%17%Other South-East Asia and Oceania
37%-4%-36%38%-78%-13%-65%-40%-67%4%Russian Federation
9%-44%-20%57%-92%115%-61%-59%169%-31%South Korea
-24%-28%10%77%-92%92%-57%-44%41%-23%Spain
-24%-57%17%21%-47%-11%14%-17%392%-45%Turkey
36%-28%-53%-10%-90%49%-6%-22%-87%15%Ukraine
9%5%-3%-37%-91%-30%71%83%-7%52%United Kingdom
8%18%-10%-38%-85%-55%100%1%71%61%United States
-97%0392%

Interestingly, Toad is very popular in Argentina, Mexico, South Korea, and Turkey, but almost unknown in other countries.

How long have you worked with databases?

16%

Less than a year

31%

1–3 years

23%

4–7 years

9%

8–10 years

22%

More than 10 years

How long have you worked with databases?

6%

Less than a year

27%

1–3 years

26%

4–7 years

9%

8–10 years

32%

More than 10 years

8%

Less than a year

26%

1–3 years

24%

4–7 years

12%

8–10 years

30%

More than 10 years

13%

Less than a year

31%

1–3 years

23%

4–7 years

8%

8–10 years

24%

More than 10 years

How long have you worked with databases?

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
15%10%13%15%6%11%8%9%Less than a year
33%30%32%34%26%26%26%31%1–3 years
25%24%21%24%30%20%26%23%4–7 years
8%10%8%9%11%8%11%10%8–10 years
20%27%25%18%27%34%29%27%More than 10 years
6%34%

MongoDB and MySQL users are slightly less experienced than others on average – 48% of them have been working with databases for less than 4 years.

Do you track changes in the database schema with the help of a version control system?

46%

No

41%

Yes

14%

I don't know

Do you track changes in the database schema with the help of a version control system?

53%

No

37%

Yes

10%

I don't know

48%

Yes

42%

No

10%

I don't know

45%

Yes

44%

No

11%

I don't know

Do you track changes in the database schema with the help of a version control system?

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
49%38%45%45%38%46%46%45%No
38%51%43%41%52%43%46%44%Yes
13%10%12%14%10%11%8%11%I don't know
8%52%

How do you store database schema changes in the VCS?

72%

The migration scripts are stored under the VCS

24%

The DDL of each schema state is stored under the VCS

5%

Other

How do you store database schema changes in the VCS?

47%

The DDL of each schema state is stored under the VCS

47%

The migration scripts are stored under the VCS

6%

Other

64%

The migration scripts are stored under the VCS

29%

The DDL of each schema state is stored under the VCS

7%

Other

71%

The migration scripts are stored under the VCS

24%

The DDL of each schema state is stored under the VCS

5%

Other

How do you store database schema changes in the VCS?

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
73%77%75%71%74%67%78%59%The migration scripts are stored under the VCS
23%19%19%25%22%27%19%35%The DDL of each schema state is stored under the VCS
4%4%6%4%4%6%4%5%Other
4%78%

What tools do you use to store database schema changes in the VCS?

16%

JetBrains IDE

8%

Database

7%

DataGrip

7%

SQL Server Data Tools

6%

Flyway

5%

Liquibase

1%

DB Change Manager

1%

Redgate SQL Source Control Plugin for SSMS

1%

DevArt SQL Source Control Plugin for SSMS

6%

Other

54%

None

What tools do you use to store database schema changes in the VCS?

22%

SQL Server Data Tools

19%

Database

9%

JetBrains IDE

6%

DataGrip

4%

Flyway

2%

Liquibase

9%

Other

45%

None

18%

JetBrains IDE

10%

SQL Server Data Tools

10%

DataGrip

10%

Database

6%

Flyway

6%

Liquibase

2%

Redgate SQL Source Control Plugin for SSMS

2%

DB Change Manager

1%

DevArt SQL Source Control Plugin for SSMS

10%

Other

43%

None

16%

JetBrains IDE

8%

Database

7%

Flyway

7%

DataGrip

6%

SQL Server Data Tools

5%

Liquibase

1%

DB Change Manager

1%

Redgate SQL Source Control Plugin for SSMS

1%

DevArt SQL Source Control Plugin for SSMS

8%

Other

53%

None

What tools do you use to store database schema changes in the VCS?

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
18%16%16%17%19%12%20%17%JetBrains IDE
10%8%9%12%9%11%9%13%Database
8%8%7%9%9%7%9%8%DataGrip
8%5%8%8%4%20%5%10%SQL Server Data Tools
5%10%5%5%9%4%5%10%Flyway
3%8%3%4%5%3%4%10%Liquibase
1%1%2%2%1%2%1%1%DB Change Manager
1%1%0%1%1%1%0%1%DevArt SQL Source Control Plugin for SSMS
1%1%1%1%1%2%1%2%Redgate SQL Source Control Plugin for SSMS
5%9%7%5%8%7%7%6%Other
53%49%56%51%48%49%51%42%None
0%56%

Approximately how many rows (or equivalent) does your largest table have?

18%

I don't know

15%

Hundreds or fewer

24%

Thousands

34%

Millions

8%

Billions

1%

Trillions or more

Approximately how many rows (or equivalent) does your largest table have?

18%

16%

I don't know

15%

16%

Hundreds or fewer

24%

24%

Thousands

34%

36%

Millions

8%

7%

Billions

1%

1%

Trillions or more

Approximately how many rows (or equivalent) does your largest table have?

7%

6%

13%

I don't know

8%

8%

16%

Hundreds or fewer

11%

25%

26%

Thousands

44%

49%

35%

Millions

23%

11%

9%

Billions

7%

2%

1%

Trillions or more

Approximately how many rows (or equivalent) does your largest table have?

MySQLPostgreSQLSQLiteMongoDBRedisMS SQL ServerMariaDBOracle Database
14%14%16%14%9%11%10%9%I don't know
16%11%18%16%7%12%12%11%Hundreds or fewer
26%25%26%26%21%25%28%21%Thousands
35%39%33%37%49%40%41%43%Millions
8%9%7%7%13%9%8%12%Billions
1%1%1%1%1%2%1%3%Trillions or more
1%49%

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