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When designing MySQL tables, one of the common decisions is whether to use VARCHAR or TEXT for string columns. Both store character data, but they behave differently.

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VARCHAR

  • Stores variable-length strings up to a declared maximum (VARCHAR(255), VARCHAR(1000), etc., up to 65,535 bytes shared across the row).
  • Can have a DEFAULT value.
  • Can be fully indexed (up to index length limits).
  • Stored inline with the row, which generally makes reads faster for shorter values.

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TEXT

  • Stores up to 65,535 bytes (TEXT), with larger variants MEDIUMTEXT (16MB) and LONGTEXT (4GB).
  • Cannot have a DEFAULT value.
  • Can only be indexed with a prefix length (e.g. the first 191 characters).
  • May be stored off-page, which can add I/O for reads but keeps the main row compact.

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Which should you choose?

Use VARCHAR when:
  • The value has a sensible, known maximum length (usernames, emails, titles, slugs).
  • You want to index or sort by the full column.
  • You need a DEFAULT value.
Use TEXT when:
  • The content is long-form or unbounded (article bodies, descriptions, serialized data, logs).
  • You rarely filter or sort on the column directly.

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Practical tips

  • Don’t declare VARCHAR(255) by habit — pick a realistic limit. Length limits act as a basic data-quality guard.
  • In utf8mb4, indexes on VARCHAR columns are limited to 191 characters with the older index format — relevant when adding unique indexes.
  • Avoid SELECT * on tables with large TEXT columns when you don’t need them; fetching large off-page values adds overhead.
  • For repeated fixed sets of values, consider ENUM or a lookup table rather than free-text columns.
Both types are fully supported on Stablepoint hosting — the choice is purely about your application’s data model.