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# Choosing between VARCHAR and TEXT in MySQL

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.

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.

## 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.