Which is fastest in PHP- MySQL or MySQLi?

php mysql mysqli
David picture David · Oct 5, 2008 · Viewed 59.5k times · Source

I'd like to know if anyone has any first-hand experience with this dichotomy. A few blogs say the mysql extension is faster than mysqli. Is this true?

And I'm only asking about speed. I know mysqli has features that are not present in the older extension.

Answer

Bill Karwin picture Bill Karwin · Oct 5, 2008

The MySQL extension is very slightly faster than MySQLi in most benchmarks I've seen reported. The difference is so slight, however, that this should probably not be your criterion for deciding between the two.

Other factors dwarf the difference in performance between mysql and mysqli. Using mod_php or FastCGI, a bytecode cache like APC, or using data caching judiciously to reduce database hits, are far more beneficial for overall performance of PHP scripts than the choice of MySQL extension.

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish! :-)

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