Free MySQL to PostgreSQL Migration: Complete Guide

Looking for a free way to migrate your MySQL database to PostgreSQL? You're in the right place! This comprehensive guide covers all the free migration methods available, starting with our automated service and then exploring other alternatives.

Alternative Free Migration Methods

While our automated service is the easiest option, there are other free methods available if you prefer a different approach. Here are the alternatives:

1. Manual Migration Using mysqldump and psql

This is the most traditional method, requiring manual conversion of SQL dumps. It's free but time-consuming and error-prone.

Steps:

1. Export MySQL Database:

   mysqldump -u username -p database_name > mysql_dump.sql

2. Convert Schema Manually: Edit the SQL file to convert MySQL-specific syntax to PostgreSQL:
   • Change AUTO_INCREMENT to SERIAL
   • Replace DATETIME with TIMESTAMP
   • Convert TINYINT(1) to BOOLEAN
   • Remove ENGINE=InnoDB clauses
   • Handle UNSIGNED integers
3. Import to PostgreSQL:

   psql -U username -d database_name -f converted_dump.sql

2. pgloader (Command-Line Tool)

pgloader is an open-source command-line tool that can migrate from MySQL to PostgreSQL. It's free but requires technical expertise.

Installation:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install pgloader

# macOS
brew install pgloader

# Or compile from source
git clone https://github.com/dimitri/pgloader.git

Usage:

pgloader mysql://user:password@host/database \
         postgresql://user:password@host/database

Pros:

• Free and open-source
• Automatic schema conversion
• Handles data type conversions
• Can resume interrupted migrations

Cons:

• Requires command-line knowledge
• No web interface
• Manual installation and setup
• Limited error reporting
• No connection management

3. MySQL Workbench + Manual Conversion

MySQL Workbench can export your database structure, but you'll need to manually convert everything to PostgreSQL format.

Steps:

1. Use MySQL Workbench to export database schema
2. Manually convert all SQL statements
3. Export data separately
4. Import both to PostgreSQL manually

4. Python Scripts (Custom Solutions)

You can write custom Python scripts using libraries like pymysql and psycopg2 to migrate data. This requires programming knowledge.

Example Approach:

import pymysql
import psycopg2

# Connect to MySQL
mysql_conn = pymysql.connect(...)
mysql_cursor = mysql_conn.cursor()

# Connect to PostgreSQL
pg_conn = psycopg2.connect(...)
pg_cursor = pg_conn.cursor()

# Read from MySQL and write to PostgreSQL
# (Requires extensive custom code)

Pros:

• Full control over the process
• Can customize conversion logic
• Free (if you write it yourself)

Cons:

• Requires programming skills
• Time-consuming to develop
• High risk of bugs
• No built-in error handling
• Must handle all edge cases yourself

5. Online Free Tools (Limited)

Some online tools offer free tiers, but they typically have significant limitations:

• Size Limits: Usually limited to small databases (few MB)
• Feature Restrictions: Basic features only, advanced features require payment
• Speed Limits: Slow processing on free tiers
• Watermarks: Some add watermarks to exported data
• Privacy Concerns: Your data may be stored or analyzed

Comparison: Our Service vs. Alternatives

Which Method Should You Choose?

Choose Our Service If:

• You want the easiest migration experience
• You prefer a web-based interface
• You want real-time progress monitoring
• You need detailed error reporting
• You want to save and manage connections
• You need to migrate large databases
• You want 100% free with no limitations

Choose pgloader If:

• You're comfortable with command-line tools
• You need to automate migrations via scripts
• You want to integrate migration into CI/CD pipelines
• You prefer open-source tools you can modify

Choose Manual Migration If:

• You have extensive database knowledge
• You need complete control over every step
• You're migrating a very small database
• You want to learn the internals of both databases

Conclusion

There are several free methods to migrate MySQL to PostgreSQL, each with its own advantages. Our automated service at mysqltopostgre.com offers the best combination of ease of use, features, and cost (100% free forever).

Whether you choose our service or another method, the important thing is to:

• Always backup your data before migration
• Test the migration on a copy first
• Verify data integrity after migration
• Update your application code for PostgreSQL