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Firebird SQL vs MariaDB comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (5th)
MariaDB
Ranking in Open Source Databases
11th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (15th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 10.0%, down from 14.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MariaDB is 5.5%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Firebird SQL10.0%
MariaDB5.5%
Other84.5%
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

SS
Research and Development Project Manager at Sixense Monitoring
Efficient data storage with reliable and easy management
We are working on monitoring software that involves making a lot of measurements with sensors. We store all the data in Firebird, which is why we use It primarily for data storage It's difficult to describe how it has improved our organization because we have been using Firebird for a very long…
PR
Architect at LTIMindtree
Cloud deployment has improved security and performance but still needs richer query features
MariaDB is easy to install. Performance of MariaDB has improved with the query optimizer. We use MariaDB's data-at-rest encryption. Encryption is available in MariaDB, so we are secure for transmitting data without concern about moving over networks. Query optimization in MariaDB is better than Oracle. We use advanced replication for MariaDB. Role-based access is available in MariaDB, which is a good feature. The technical support of MariaDB is very helpful. They came and tuned our queries with one-to-one assistance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"The documentation is very well written."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."
"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."
"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 reliability and ease of management are very valuable."
"MariaDB can solve things better than MySQL, and MariaDB has better performance than MySQL."
"I like the global transaction IDs (GTIDs) feature. It's quite reliable for replication between a master and a replica server, and it's a feature that MySQL also has but implemented differently."
"MariaDB is a fast and flexible tool."
"There are no problems with MariaDB and it works fine."
"The solution is very stable. It was originally built under MySQL. It has a similar level of stability."
"The product is easy to use and not hard to learn, therefore, when someone asks me for a good DB to use, then I tell them about MariaDB."
"It's easy to set up."
"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is the power it provides. It is a powerful solution."
 

Cons

"The solution could improve by providing partitioning and encryption. It is not at the higher level of database solution but it could be with some upgrades."
"I'd rate the solution five or six out of ten for the possibilities it has currently."
"The security of the users could improve in Firebird SQL."
"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"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."
"There is room for improvement in terms of security."
"It is not suitable for mission-critical applications, but it is stable for other applications."
"It would be helpful if I could specify multiple drives for the database storage."
"Complex queries in MariaDB where the query needs to parse thousands of lines or data values face some performance issues."
"Data continuity could be improved."
"A well-known issue for a lot of different users is associated with write-intensive applications."
"It requires enterprise integration improvements from the security, and audit perspective (AD integration etc.). Also, existing integration into BI tools is not present."
"It would be good if they can maybe improve the mass import in the database."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"It is okay."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."
"The tool is open source."
"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."
"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."
"MariaDB is available for free."
"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."
"The tool is open-source."
"It's an open-source solution."
"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."
"The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise26
 

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 needs improvement with Firebird SQL?
We would like to improve the management of very large databases. We have databases up to three or four terabytes, and it's not so easy to manage such large databases.
What is your primary use case for Firebird SQL?
We are working on monitoring software that involves making a lot of measurements with sensors. We store all the data in Firebird, which is why we use It primarily for data storage.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?
MariaDB is in the pricey range, especially for huge databases handling terabytes of data. The cost depends on the volume of data and different features enabled during configuration, such as backup ...
What needs improvement with MariaDB?
The key area where MariaDB could be improved is its native GUI tooling; while the command-line interface works perfectly fine, the built-in visual tools for administration, management, and query de...
What is your primary use case for MariaDB?
My main use case for MariaDB was web applications, and I have been using MariaDB for just about a year now as I was in the development team. A specific web application where I used MariaDB is a hea...
 

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: November 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.