Oracle MySql.EntityFrameworkCore vs Pomelo for EF Core 10: Which MySQL Provider to Use in .NET C#

To use EF Core with MySQL you need a database provider, a NuGet package that teaches EF Core how to talk to MySQL. There are two serious choices: Oracle's MySql.EntityFrameworkCore and the community's Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql. For a long time Pomelo was the usual answer. For EF Core 10, the deciding fact is simpler: only one of them has a release. Here's what I checked, from the package feed and the package files themselves, and what I learned building a .NET 10 Web API on Oracle's provider.

The Short Answer

	Oracle MySql.EntityFrameworkCore	Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql
Newest stable version	10.0.12	9.0.0
Supports EF Core 10	Yes	No, not even as a preview
Maintainer	Oracle (the MySQL team)	Pomelo Foundation, community
Licence	GPL-2.0-only WITH Universal-FOSS-exception-1.0	MIT
ADO.NET driver underneath	MySql.Data (Oracle's Connector/NET)	MySqlConnector
Registration method	UseMySQL(…)	UseMySql(…)
Databases, per Microsoft's list	MySQL	MySQL, MariaDB

For a .NET 10 project on EF Core 10, that's Oracle's provider. For a project on EF Core 9, or one that needs MariaDB, Pomelo is the established choice.

Prerequisites

• The .NET SDK to run the checks yourself: dotnet package search needs 8.0.2xx or later. The examples use .NET 10.

Check 1: Which Versions Exist

dotnet package search --exact-match lists every version of a package, oldest first:

Terminal

dotnet package search MySql.EntityFrameworkCore --exact-match --prerelease --format json
dotnet package search Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql --exact-match --prerelease

The last versions in each list, which I copied from the two outputs into one table:

Package	Last versions listed
MySql.EntityFrameworkCore	… 9.0.20, 10.0.0-preview, 10.0.0-rc, 10.0.1, 10.0.7, 10.0.9, 10.0.12, 11.0.0-preview
Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql	… 9.0.0-preview.3.efcore.9.0.0, 9.0.0-rc.1.efcore.9.0.0, 9.0.0

Oracle ships with EF Core's release cycle, a preview for EF Core 11 included. Pomelo's newest version is 9.0.0. How to Search for NuGet Packages from the Command Line covers the command.

Microsoft's database providers page lists both "For EF Core 8, 9" at the time of writing, so for Oracle's provider it's behind the package feed. Trust the feed for versions.

Check 2: What the Packages Themselves Say

A package's .nuspec, in NuGet's cache after a restore, holds its licence and dependencies. For the two versions above:

• Oracle MySql.EntityFrameworkCore 10.0.12: licence GPL-2.0-only WITH Universal-FOSS-exception-1.0, requireLicenseAcceptance true, depends on MySql.Data 26.10.0. One package covers three frameworks: net8.0 with EF Core 8.0.31, net9.0 with 9.0.20, net10.0 with 10.0.12.
• Pomelo 9.0.0: licence MIT, depends on MySqlConnector 2.4.0 (also MIT) and on Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Relational [9.0.0, 9.0.999], targeting net8.0.

That last range is the whole story for EF Core 10: Pomelo 9.0.0 accepts EF Core 9.0.x and nothing newer.

requireLicenseAcceptance means NuGet clients prompt you to accept the licence before installing. What the licence means for your project is a question for whoever handles licensing where you work; the identifiers above are the facts to give them.

Check 3: What Happens If You Try Pomelo on EF Core 10

I added Pomelo 9.0.0 to an EF Core 10 project to see:

Output (dotnet package add Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql --version 9.0.0, the errors)

error: NU1608: Warning As Error: Detected package version outside of dependency constraint: Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql 9.0.0 requires Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Relational (>= 9.0.0 && <= 9.0.999) but version Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Relational 10.0.14 was resolved.
error: NU1902: Warning As Error: Package 'MySqlConnector' 2.4.0 has a known moderate severity vulnerability, https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-473q-m89c-ghf8

The project treats warnings as errors, so both stopped the restore. Without that setting they'd be warnings, and the second one matters on its own: the driver version Pomelo 9.0.0 brings has a published advisory. EF Core's providers page settles whether forcing it would work: "EF Core providers typically do not work across major versions." Fixed: "NU1608: Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql 9.0.0 requires Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Relational" covers that error.

What It's Like to Use Oracle's Provider

I built a .NET 10 Web API on MySql.EntityFrameworkCore 10.0.12 against MySQL 9.7. It worked for everything the project needed: migrations, constraints, indexes, transactions. It also has quirks worth knowing before you start, each with its own post:

• UseCollation is ignored. EF Core's standard method doesn't reach the SQL; the provider's own ForMySQLHasCollation does, for new tables. Fixed: EF Core UseCollation() Doesn't Change the MySQL Column Collation.
• Save errors have a generic message. Every DbUpdateException says "Could not save changes. Please configure your entity type accordingly."; the real reason is in the inner exception. Fixed: "Could not save changes".
• An index on a string without a length becomes varchar(255), with a data-loss warning on the migration. How to Set a Maximum String Length in EF Core.
• The method is UseMySQL, capital SQL, in the MySql.EntityFrameworkCore.Extensions namespace. Code written for Pomelo calls UseMySql, as Microsoft's DbContext configuration page shows for Pomelo.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	What happens	Do this instead
Following an older tutorial that uses Pomelo on EF Core 10	NU1608, and a provider that doesn't support your EF Core	Use a provider version for your EF Core major version
Choosing by download count	Popularity reflects the past, not support for the newest release	Check the versions on the feed
Trusting a docs table for current versions	It may lag behind releases	dotnet package search --exact-match
Ignoring the licence until release day	A late surprise	Check the licence identifier when you choose

FAQ

Can I switch providers later?

Yes, but plan for it: the registration call changes, provider-specific configuration changes, and migrations generated by one provider may differ from the other's. Switching early is cheap; switching after many migrations means reviewing them.

Does Oracle's provider work with MariaDB?

Microsoft's providers page lists it for MySQL only, and Pomelo for "MySQL, MariaDB". I only tested MySQL 9.7.

Conclusion

For EF Core 10, Oracle's MySql.EntityFrameworkCore 10.0.12 is the MySQL provider with a release: Pomelo's newest, 9.0.0, accepts EF Core 9.0.x only, and failed with NU1608 when I tried it on EF Core 10. Check versions on the package feed rather than in tables, read the licence identifiers, and know Oracle's provider's quirks before you start: UseMySQL, ForMySQLHasCollation, and generic save-error messages.

Additional Resources

• EF Core Database Providers
• MySQL Connector/NET: Entity Framework Core support
• Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql on GitHub

Related

• How to Connect a .NET C# Web API to a MySQL Database — Part 1: Connect with EF Core and a Secure Connection String
• Fixed: "NU1608: Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql 9.0.0 requires Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Relational"
• How to Search for NuGet Packages from the Command Line (dotnet package search)