Maximum Number of Tables in MySQL (InnoDB) – Up to 4 Billion Tables
A recent poll revealed that MySQL with the InnoDB engine can support up to four billion tables, a limit dictated by the underlying file system rather than MySQL itself, and the official documentation confirms this massive capacity.
Yesterday a poll was launched asking how many tables can be created in a MySQL database; 38 people participated, 14 (36%) correctly chose "more than one hundred million" and learned that InnoDB allows up to 4 billion tables, although the exact number may be constrained by the operating system.
According to the official MySQL documentation: MySQL has no limit on the number of tables. The underlying file system may have a limit on the number of files that represent tables. Individual storage engines may impose engine‑specific constraints. InnoDB permits up to 4 billion tables.
The translated meaning is that MySQL imposes no intrinsic table‑count limit, but the file system and storage engine can restrict it; InnoDB specifically permits up to 4 billion tables.
Note that the unit is "billion" (10⁹), not "hundred", "thousand", or "million", which underscores the enormous scale.
Poll details and results can be viewed at the linked article MySQL can create how many tables . Thank you to everyone who participated!
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