Free MySQL plugin for .NET MAUI.

[EK76]

Body

Is there any free MySQL plugin for .NET MAUI? I found one but it cost, dotConnect for MySQL.

Guidelines

• I have read and understood this category's guidelines before making this post.

[midiakiasat]

Use the official open-source driver. You do not need a paid plugin for .NET MAUI.

MySqlConnector (MIT licensed) is fully free, production-grade, async-first, and works on .NET 6/7/8 — including MAUI:

dotnet add package MySqlConnector

Example:

using MySqlConnector;

var cs = "Server=...;Database=...;User ID=...;Password=...;";
await using var conn = new MySqlConnection(cs);
await conn.OpenAsync();

await using var cmd = new MySqlCommand("SELECT 1", conn);
var result = await cmd.ExecuteScalarAsync();

If you want ORM support:

• EF Core + Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql (free, widely used)
• Dapper + MySqlConnector (lightweight, high performance)

Important architectural note (senior-level concern):

Do not connect directly from a MAUI client app to a public MySQL server in production.
Expose a secured API (ASP.NET Core, for example) and let the app talk to that. Direct DB access from mobile/desktop clients creates:

• credential exposure risk
• no proper access control layer
• no audit boundary
• impossible key rotation

dotConnect is commercial, but not technically required unless you need vendor support or specific enterprise features.

There is no ecosystem limitation here just use the open-source stack correctly.

[EK76]

Thank you for your answer. This solved my issue.

[notcoderhuman]

Yes, you don't need any paid plugin at all.

The official free & open-source solution for MySQL in .NET MAUI is:

Best Option (Recommended in 2026):

MySqlConnector + Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql (if using EF Core)

NuGet Packages:

dotnet add package MySqlConnector
dotnet add package Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql 

Quick Example (Connection + Query):

using MySqlConnector;

var connectionString = "Server=yourserver.com;Database=yourdb;User=youruser;Password=yourpass;";

using var connection = new MySqlConnection(connectionString);
await connection.OpenAsync();

using var command = new MySqlCommand("SELECT * FROM Users WHERE Id = @id", connection);
command.Parameters.AddWithValue("@id", 1);

using var reader = await command.ExecuteReaderAsync();
while (await reader.ReadAsync())
{
    Console.WriteLine(reader.GetString("Name"));
}

Why this is better than dotConnect:

• Completely free & open source
• Async-first & high performance
• Works perfectly with MAUI (Android, iOS, Windows, macOS)
• Excellent EF Core support via Pomelo
• Actively maintained (Oracle + community)

If you want even lighter weight, just use MySqlConnector directly with Dapper.

[PranavBhimani25]

1️⃣ MySqlConnector (Best Free Option)

NuGet package: MySqlConnector

License: MIT (completely free)

Works with MySQL, MariaDB, Aurora, etc.

Fully supports async and modern .NET APIs.

Most developers recommend this instead of the paid Devart provider.

Install:

dotnet add package MySqlConnector

Basic example:

using MySqlConnector;

var connStr = "Server=localhost;User ID=root;Password=1234;Database=test";

await using var conn = new MySqlConnection(connStr);
await conn.OpenAsync();

await using var cmd = new MySqlCommand("SELECT * FROM users", conn);
await using var reader = await cmd.ExecuteReaderAsync();

while (await reader.ReadAsync())
{
Console.WriteLine(reader.GetString(0));
}

It implements standard ADO.NET classes (DbConnection, DbCommand, etc.) so it works in any .NET app including MAUI.

2️⃣ MySql.Data (Official Oracle Connector)

NuGet:

MySql.Data

Pros:

Official MySQL connector.

Cons:

Sometimes platform issues with MAUI (people report PlatformNotSupportedException).

So many developers switch to MySqlConnector.

⚠️ Important architecture note (very important)

Connecting a mobile app directly to MySQL is usually bad practice.

Typical architecture:

.NET MAUI App
↓
REST API (ASP.NET / Node / etc.)
↓
MySQL Database

Reasons:

Security (DB credentials in mobile app)

Firewall exposure

Better scalability

Even Microsoft moderators warn about this unless it’s a restricted LAN app.

✅ Summary

Option Price Recommended
MySqlConnector Free ⭐ Best
MySql.Data Free OK but older
dotConnect Paid Enterprise features

[kabir2004]

You don't need a paid plugin — you can use the official MySqlConnector or MySql.Data NuGet packages, both of which are free and work with .NET MAUI.

Option 1: MySqlConnector (recommended)

This is the most popular free, open-source MySQL driver for .NET. It's fully async, performant, and actively maintained.

dotnet add package MySqlConnector

using MySqlConnector;

await using var connection = new MySqlConnection("Server=yourserver;Database=yourdb;User=root;Password=yourpass;");
await connection.OpenAsync();

await using var command = new MySqlCommand("SELECT * FROM Users", connection);
await using var reader = await command.ExecuteReaderAsync();

Option 2: MySql.Data (Oracle's official package)

Oracle's official connector. Also free, but MySqlConnector is generally preferred by the community for its better async support.

dotnet add package MySql.Data

Option 3: Use an ORM on top

If you want something higher-level, you can pair either driver with Entity Framework Core using Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql (free, open-source):

dotnet add package Pomelo.EntityFrameworkCore.MySql

This gives you full EF Core support (migrations, LINQ queries, etc.) with MySQL on MAUI.

Important note: If your MAUI app is connecting to MySQL directly from the client, keep in mind that exposing database credentials on a mobile device is a security risk. The recommended architecture is to put a REST API (e.g., ASP.NET Core Web API) between your MAUI app and the database.

No need to pay for dotConnect — the free options above cover everything most projects need.