Postgres to MySQL Migration: 2 Easy Steps

Both PostgreSQL and MySQL are popular relational databases, but teams often outgrow a single system. A Postgres to MySQL migration is common when you need MySQL compatibility for an application, want to standardize on MySQL tooling, or need an operational replica for downstream systems.

This guide covers two practical approaches:

• A managed CDC approach using Estuary for continuous Postgres to MySQL replication
• A manual CSV export and import workflow for one-time transfers

If you need ongoing sync, CDC is usually the better fit. If you only need a one-time move of a small dataset, CSV can be enough.

Let’s begin.

What Is Postgres? An Overview

PostgreSQL, referred to as Postgres, is an open-source RDBMS that offers a flexible solution for data storage and management. Backed by a large and active community of developers, users, and organizations, Postgres continually evolves to meet diverse data needs.

In addition to being able to handle advanced data types, Postgres also supports JSON and JSONB (JSON Binary) as a data type. This makes Postgres a versatile database system capable of handling both structured and semi-structured data.

What Is MySQL? An Overview

MySQL is a widely used open-source RDBMS that allows you to efficiently store, manage, and retrieve small-to-large data volumes. Data in MySQL is organized following traditional structured SQL schema defined by tables and relationships. It does also have native support for JSON. This structured approach enables efficient data manipulation and maintenance while ensuring data integrity.

The power of MySQL further extends with its query optimization, indexing, and caching capabilities, ensuring the database responds quickly to queries and reducing downtime. These features make MySQL an ideal choice for applications where rapid data access is crucial, such as web applications, content management systems, and data-driven platforms.

2 Easy Methods to Connect Postgres to MySQL

Method #1: Using SaaS Tools Estuary

Method #2: Using CSV Files

When to Choose Each Method:

Choosing the right Postgres to MySQL migration approach depends on how often your data changes and how current the destination needs to be.

• Choose Estuary (CDC-based replication) if you need continuous synchronization, low operational overhead, or near real-time updates from PostgreSQL to MySQL. This approach is well-suited for production pipelines, live replicas, and applications that depend on up-to-date data.
• Choose the CSV-based approach if you only need a one-time data transfer, are working with a small dataset, or can tolerate manual effort and downtime. This method works best for migrations that do not require ongoing updates.

In general, batch exports are simpler to start with, while CDC-based pipelines scale better as data volume and update frequency increase.

Method #1: Postgres to MySQL Data Migration Using Estuary 

Managed data integration platforms simplify Postgres to MySQL migration by handling connectivity, schema changes, and ongoing synchronization with minimal custom code. Instead of relying on manual exports or scheduled scripts, you set up a pipeline once and keep the destination updated as new changes occur.

Estuary is the Right-Time Data Platform, designed to move data when teams need it (real time, near real time, or batch) from operational systems like PostgreSQL into destinations such as MySQL.

Using change data capture (CDC), Estuary continuously replicates inserts, updates, and deletes from PostgreSQL to MySQL. This reduces reliance on recurring CSV exports, scheduled jobs, and custom replication logic, making it a strong option for ongoing migrations, live replicas, and operational reporting workloads.

Before you start, confirm you have access to the PostgreSQL source and the MySQL destination, plus the required permissions for the connectors.

Prerequisites:

• Network access from Estuary to your PostgreSQL database (direct access or via a secure connectivity option if your DB is private)
• A PostgreSQL user with the permissions required for replication or change capture (requirements depend on your Postgres configuration)
• A MySQL user with permissions to create and modify tables in the target database/schema
• Credentials ready for both systems (host, port, database, username, password)

Step 1: Connect to PostgreSQL Source

• Register a new free Estuary account or log in to your existing one.
  
• After a successful login, you’ll see the Estuary dashboard. Click Sources.

• On the Sources page, click the + NEW CAPTURE button.

• You’ll be directed to the Create Capture page. Use the Search Connectors box to find the Postgres connector, and then click the Capture button.

• Provide a unique Name in the Capture Details section. Add the Server Address and Password for the specified database in the Endpoint Config section. 

• Click NEXT, followed by SAVE AND PUBLISH.

Step 2: Connect to MySQL Destination

• Go back to the Estuary Dashboard and click Destinations > + NEW MATERIALIZATION.
  
• Search for MySQL in the Search Connectors box and click the Materialization button.
  
• On the Create Materialization page, provide a unique Name in the Materialization Details section. Specify the host and port of the database, database User, Password, and name of the logical Database where you want to materialize PostgreSQL data.

• If the data from PostgreSQL hasn’t been filled in automatically, you can manually add it from the Source Collections section.
  
• Once you have filled in all the essential information, click on NEXT > SAVE AND PUBLISH.

That’s it! You’ve created a Postgres to MySQL data pipeline in just two simple steps using Estuary.

For a better understanding of the detailed process of this flow and the connectors, check out the following links:

• Set up a Data Flow
• PostgreSQL Source Connector
• MySQL Destination Connector

Method #2: Export Data from Postgres to MySQL Using CSV Files

Don’t feel like using SaaS tools to speed up the migration process? No problem. You can load data from PostgreSQL to MySQL manually using CSV files. Just follow these steps.

Prerequisites:

• Access to PostgreSQL and MySQL databases
  
• PostgreSQL and MySQL clients

Step 1: Export Data from PostgreSQL 

• Connect to your PostgreSQL database using a CLI.
  
• Use the COPY TO command in PostgreSQL to export data from a table to a CSV file. Here’s how:

plaintext
COPY table_name TO '/path_to_outputfile.csv' WITH CSV HEADER;

table_name is the name of the PostgreSQL table you want to export data from.

'/path_to_outputfile.csv' is the name and path where the CSV file will be saved. 

WITH CSV specifies the output format should be in CSV.

HEADER indicates that the first row in your CSV file should contain the column headers/names.

• Repeat this process for each PostgreSQL table you want to export in the CSV file.

Step 2: Transform CSV Files

This is one of the important steps when manually migrating data from PostgreSQL to MySQL. 

If you go the manual route, you’ll need to perform various data manipulations to ensure the CSV format aligns with the requirements of the MySQL database. Some of the tasks involved in transforming CSV files include:

• Data mapping. Ensure that the columns in your CSV file match the columns of your MySQL database table.
  
• Data cleansing. Clean the data in a CSV file to remove any duplicates, inconsistencies, or error values.
  
• Data type conversion. Check that the PostgreSQL data types are supported by the MySQL database and accordingly perform data type conversion.
  
• Null values. Decide how null values appear in the CSV files and how they should be represented in the MySQL table.

Depending upon your data complexity, you might need to add more transformation steps. As such, it’s critical to carefully plan the steps included in the transformation phase.

Once all of your data is cleaned, move the CSV files to a location accessible from the MySQL server.

Step 3: Import Data into the MySQL Database

• To move CSV files into MySQL tables, open the MySQL client and connect to your MySQL database.
  
• Create a table in MySQL that matches the structure of your Postgres table.
  
• You can use the LOAD DATA INFILE command and load the CSV files into the MySQL table.
  
• If the CSV files are on the MySQL server, use the following command:

plaintext
LOAD DATA INFILE ‘/path/to/csv/file.csv’ 
INTO TABLE table_name 
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ‘,’ ENCLOSED BY ‘ “ ‘
LINES TERMINATED BY ‘\n’
IGNORE 1 LINES;

• If the CSV files are on the local or client machine, use the following command:

plaintext
LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE ‘/path/to/csv/file.csv’ 
INTO TABLE table_name 
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ‘,’ ENCLOSED BY ‘ “ ‘
LINES TERMINATED BY ‘\n’ 
IGNORE 1 LINES;

Replace ‘/path/to/csv/file.csv’ with the name and path of your CSV file and table_name with the MySQL table name where you want to load the data.

FIELDS TERMINATED BY ‘,’ states that the fields in the CSV files are separated by the ‘,’ symbol. Adjust the delimiter with respect to your CSV file.

ENCLOSED BY ‘ “ ‘ indicates that the fields containing text or characters are enclosed by the “ symbol. Depending on your requirements, you can include it or ignore it.

IGNORE 1 LINES states that the first row of your CSV file contains column headers. Use this clause to skip the first row during the data-loading process.

• Repeat this process for each CSV file and corresponding MySQL table.

These three steps complete your Postgres to MySQL data migration.

While the above method using CSV files seems straightforward, it does have some drawbacks:

• Manual work: Exporting PostgreSQL data into CSV, cleaning it, and importing it to the MySQL table requires manual attention at each step. This approach is advisable for smaller datasets, but for enormous volumes of data, it’s quite challenging since you need to repeat every step for each Postgres and MySQL table. This can consume a lot of time and resources, potentially leading to extended downtime.
• Lack of real-time updates: CSV files don’t support incremental updates. As such, you have to continuously repeat and manually sync the entire ETL (extract, transform, load) process to achieve real-time updates. Unfortunately, this would likely prevent you from collecting timely insights.

Why teams use Estuary for Postgres to MySQL replication

If you need continuous Postgres to MySQL replication, Estuary is designed to reduce ongoing maintenance while keeping the destination current:

• CDC-based replication: Captures and applies changes (inserts, updates, deletes) so you do not need repeated full exports.
• Low operational overhead: Configure the pipeline once and monitor it, rather than maintaining scripts and schedules.
• Schema change handling: Helps reduce breakage when columns are added or data structures evolve.
• Production reliability: Built-in checkpointing and recovery patterns help pipelines keep running through transient failures.

Conclusion

A Postgres to MySQL migration can be done as a one-time transfer or as continuous replication.

• If you only need a one-time move for a small dataset, exporting and importing CSV files is straightforward, but it is manual and does not support ongoing updates.
• If you need MySQL to stay in sync with PostgreSQL over time, CDC-based replication is typically a better fit because it continuously applies changes without repeated full reloads.

Choose the approach based on your data volume, change rate, acceptable downtime, and how current the MySQL replica needs to be.

If you want to set up continuous replication without maintaining scripts, Estuary provides a managed option to capture changes from PostgreSQL and materialize them into MySQL.

Seamlessly connect PostgreSQL to MySQL using Estuary and automate your data pipeline in just two steps. Try Estuary for free today.

If you're looking to go the other way — from MySQL to PostgreSQL, check out this guide for a step-by-step walkthrough.