MaxDB runs as a client/server system. MySQL can run as a client/server system or as an embedded system.

MaxDB might not run on all platforms supported by MySQL.

MaxDB uses a proprietary network protocol for client/server communication. MySQL uses either TCP/IP (with or without SSL encryption), sockets (under Unix-like systems), or named pipes or shared memory (under Windows NT-family systems).

MaxDB supports stored procedures and functions. MySQL 5.0 and up also supports stored procedures and function and functions. MaxDB supports programming of triggers through an SQL extension. MySQL 5.0 supports triggers. MaxDB contains a debugger for stored procedure languages, can cascade nested triggers, and supports multiple triggers per action and row.

MaxDB is distributed with user interfaces that are text-based, graphical, or Web-based. MySQL is distributed with text-based user interfaces only; graphical user interfaces (MySQL Query Browser, MySQL Administrator) are shipped separately from the main distributions. Web-based user interfaces for MySQL are offered by third parties.

MaxDB supports a number of programming interfaces that also are supported by MySQL. For developing with MaxDB, the MaxDB ODBC Driver, SQL Database Connectivity (SQLDBC), JDBC Driver, Perl and Python modules and a MaxDB PHP extension, which provides access to MySQL MaxDB databases using PHP, are available. Third Party Programming Interfaces: Support for OLE DB, ADO, DAO, RDO and .NET through ODBC. MaxDB supports embedded SQL with C/C++.

MaxDB includes administrative features that MySQL does not have: job scheduling by time, event, and alert, and sending messages to a database administrator on alert thresholds. (MySQL has scheduling support starting with version 5.1.6.)