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Firebird SQL vs MariaDB comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Firebird SQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (2nd)
MariaDB
Ranking in Open Source Databases
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 16.5%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MariaDB is 6.7%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

Doug Meuross - PeerSpot reviewer
A reliable tool that offers good performance and is easy to use
I have had no issues with the stability of the product since it has always been a 100 percent reliable product and much better than the other databases available in the market. The multi-platform part is not good, especially when locked into things like Windows. You can judge your platform with Linux or Unix or whatever since they are good.
KumarManish - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy, cost-effective, and integrates seamlessly with other products
We had planned for an RDBMS version and not NoSQL. We use MariaDB Galera Cluster. It's a good product. It is cheap, scalable, performs well, and is efficient. We use GCP’s BigQuery for machine learning. We must follow the best practices of the tool. We missed some best practices like the storage engine and InnoDB. It was very difficult to identify why we were having performance issues. Then, we realized that some of our tables were still on MyISAM, the default storage engine. When we switched it back to the InnoDB, it was very smooth. InnoDB is the recommended one. We must follow the best practices given in the documentation during the initial setup. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."
"The product was easy to use."
"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"I like that we don't have to pay external fees to migrate this data. So, we are looking to relocate from Postgres or EDB."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."
"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."
"It is a stable solution."
"The solution runs very quickly. It's not slow at all."
"Easy to use and available in most environments."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it is a cloud-based tool, so it is pretty fast."
"It is very simple to install, and the commands are exactly the same as MySQL."
"This solution is user-friendly."
"The stability of MariaDB is good, it has high availability."
"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is the power it provides. It is a powerful solution."
 

Cons

"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"The main feature I expect is to be able to work with different databases at the same time because that's a wishlist item for me."
"The security of the users could improve in Firebird SQL."
"Firebird SQL's performance has slowed since Firebird SQL 3 or 3.5 versions, where they developed over-the-wire encryption."
"I don't think the solution is very scalable, because the scalability of the performance when using more than one process is not very good."
"I am editing."
"While MariaDB is a good relational database, it can be inflexible for complex use cases."
"It does not have tools for debugging procedures and functions."
"It would be good if they can maybe improve the mass import in the database. Currently, for importing a large number of data, we create a CSV file and upload all the things in the system. The system does not activate them by default. We have to do this manually. This may be due to the version we are using, but this is something we would like to see improved."
"Data continuity could be improved."
"There is room for improvement in terms of security."
"The configuration could be improved. It should be easier."
"A well-known issue for a lot of different users is associated with write-intensive applications."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."
"It's open-source and free."
"It is okay."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"The licensing cost is approximately $4000.00 per year and the licensing is based on the software and the number of posts that you make."
"The price could be less expensive."
"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."
"The solution is free, but if you want the enterprise version you will need to pay for some licenses but the cost is less than other solutions, such as Oracle."
"MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product."
"It is free of charge."
"We use the solution's free version."
"The tool is open-source."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Firebird SQL compare with PostgreSQL?
PostgreSQL was designed in a way that provides you with not only a high degree of flexibility but also offers you a cheap and easy-to-use solution. It gives you the ability to redesign and audit yo...
What do you like most about Firebird SQL?
Firebird SQL is an open-source solution.
What do you like most about MariaDB?
The integration with other products is seamless.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?
I have found the price of commercial MariaDB to be pretty steep, although not as high as Oracle. Customers often prefer the Community Edition because it's free.
What needs improvement with MariaDB?
The only potential area for improvement could be the pricing model, which might benefit from being more flexible or a bit cheaper.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Elekt Labs, Streamsoft, wobe-systems GmbH, DRB Systems, Moscow City Hospital #31
Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Find out what your peers are saying about Firebird SQL vs. MariaDB and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.