# External DB versus Glide DB: Benefits and Use Case

**URL:** <https://community.glideapps.com/t/external-db-versus-glide-db-benefits-and-use-case/77084>\
**Category:** Ask for Help\
**Created:** [October 14, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/external-db-versus-glide-db-benefits-and-use-case/77084 "2024-10-14T15:47:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MattLB](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex002/user_avatar/community.glideapps.com/mattlb/32/41284_2.png) [@MattLB](https://community.glideapps.com/u/MattLB)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://community.glideapps.com/t/external-db-versus-glide-db-benefits-and-use-case/77084/1 "2024-10-14T15:47:10Z")

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Is there a guideline which compares the use case/benefits of an External DB from a Cost/Usage/Performance/Capability perspective versus Glide tables/big tables?

Net/net: when would I use a Progress/MySQL DB versus Glide DB? Cost seems like an obvious first choice but the tradeoff might be maintenance or usage or complexity or security.

Is there examples/analysis/discussion of trade-offs of features vs cost vs ease-of-deployment vs ?

The main issue is a a potential requirement for a handful of very large databases (1-5M rows) that are used occasionally but not justify $10,000 - $50,000 / month worth.

Thanks as always