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Firebird SQL vs MariaDB comparison

 

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
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (3rd)
MariaDB
Ranking in Open Source Databases
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 11.0%, down from 18.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MariaDB is 5.7%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Firebird SQL11.0%
MariaDB5.7%
Other83.3%
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…
AB
Co-Founder at Vsigma IT Labs Pvt Ltd
Has supported web application data needs but requires design adjustments to manage complex queries efficiently
Complex queries in MariaDB where the query needs to parse thousands of lines or data values face some performance issues. For small and medium-size volume, it is pretty good. If it goes beyond certain data and complex queries, we see performance issues. We tried the advanced replication feature between different regions, replicating data specifically residing on MariaDB to two different regions of MariaDB data, and there were some technical snags in terms of slowness and longer processing time. Point-in-time recovery in MariaDB is good for small databases. When data volume increases beyond 5 GB or 10 GB per day or runs into double-digit GBs, we found some performance issues. For data below 10 GB, it works fine. Performance is the primary focus area for MariaDB, particularly during transactions or complex query jobs where slow performance is observed. MariaDB is scalable and easy to scale.

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."
"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"It helps us in detecting all kinds of problems in the code, such as bad quality, unclear code, or any violation in the code or best practices."
"The reliability and ease of management are very valuable."
"We are satisfied with Firebird SQL, and we will keep on using it."
"The solution has worked perfectly; I've never run into issues or had to reach out to technical support for troubleshooting."
"I appreciate the fact that, once the database is embedded, it doesn't need to be administered, and removes the requirement for a specific server."
"The product was easy to use."
"From the user's perspective, the performance of the columnar queries is very good in terms of the database when comparing it to the Oracle, and MySQL."
"One of the great features of MariaDB is its scalability. It's easy to handle even with large databases."
"The solution is very easy to implement, the product makes it very easy to use as a primary database or a standby database, and the switches are easy to use."
"The stability of MariaDB is good, it has high availability."
"It is a scalable solution. It easily scales up and scales down."
"This solution is user-friendly."
"The solution is very scalable."
"Great monitoring and performance stability."
 

Cons

"They need to be more reactive and fast. Sometimes, they take too long to resolve some tickets."
"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"Firebird SQL's performance has slowed since Firebird SQL 3 or 3.5 versions, where they developed over-the-wire encryption."
"The product needs more features and more functionality."
"The license should be cheaper and closer to that offered by MySQL, Oracle and other products."
"The customer service and support are okay. But the response time is slow. Moreover, the material is not available freely."
"The dashboard and pricing need improvement."
"A well-known issue for a lot of different users is associated with write-intensive applications."
"The stability could always continue to be improved upon."
"We'd like more data intelligence."
"It doesn't have the same level of maturity metrics as Postgres."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"It's open-source and free."
"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"It is okay."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"The tool is open source."
"We use the solution's free version."
"The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."
"The product is not expensive."
"It is an open-source solution."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is high price since there are some support costs involved, even though it isn't an open-source solution."
"The price could be less expensive."
"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
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 Business27
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 do you like most about MariaDB?
The integration with other products is seamless.
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?
Sometimes, complex queries that were supported in Oracle are not available in MariaDB. Advanced indexing is not available. Oracle is very advanced compared to MariaDB, and those advanced features a...
 

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: April 2026.
887,041 professionals have used our research since 2012.