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Firebird SQL vs MySQL 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
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (4th)
MySQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
152
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 9.6%, down from 16.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 12.3%, up from 9.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MySQL12.3%
Firebird SQL9.6%
Other78.1%
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…
Prabir Kumar Kundu - PeerSpot reviewer
SR AVP–Presales Cloud & Platform Management Services at Path Infotech ltd
Offers robust security and availability with impressive replication capabilities
Regarding their documentation and interface, there is room for improvement. Documentation is definitely required when running multiple databases on a cluster system. The load balancer, MySQL LB, which is used to connect to the application, lacks clear documentation. When there are multiple application servers connecting to the MySQL cluster and going through the MySQL load balancer, the documentation is not user-friendly. It's there, but only technical persons with deep knowledge of the MySQL database can implement it. Most of the community users or ISVs who use MySQL don't have many technical persons or DBA experts, so they face some challenges for the high availability of connecting high available databases from high available applications. That documentation should be simplified.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"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 solution is very useful for stock management."
"The product was easy to use."
"We are satisfied with Firebird SQL, and we will keep on using it."
"The documentation is very well written."
"I like Firebird because it's very lightweight; it's very light and powerful, and I can do everything that I can with MS SQL Server and Oracle with Firebird, with very easy deployment on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows and great integration capabilities."
"The solution has worked perfectly; I've never run into issues or had to reach out to technical support for troubleshooting."
"A lot of the software components have been trialed and tested for often more than 10 years."
"MySQL is easy to install, connect, and do all such things."
"This product is valuable because it is used in production environments."
"The solution is very stable."
"The solution is free to use, which is its most valuable aspect."
"For a free product, it works very well and it's easy to use and configure."
"It has provided a low-cost, high-availability solution without complex active/standby management using Linux HA."
"For us, MySQL is the choice for all of our projects."
 

Cons

"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."
"Technical support and performance could be better. We have some problems with this solution, but we don't know if the problem is with the database or the configuration. For example, sometimes, the users can't access the database."
"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."
"I'd rate the solution five or six out of ten for the possibilities it has currently."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"On large databases, we have some difficulties."
"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"MySQL has a limited storage capacity. It doesn’t support large databases."
"If it had something similar to Microsoft’s DTS engine then it would be the best database system out there."
"In MySQL, you can only have one master. The master's scalability was always a problem."
"According to our experience, it's not really an enterprise tool that you can easily expand and scale the way you can with, for example, Oracle."
"It has a lot of options to interact with. Sometimes it is hard to find the appropriate options quickly."
"The performance, stability, and security are areas with shortcomings in MySQL, where improvements are required."
"The simplicity of the product lets people abuse it."
"I feel that some tools which make it easier to create queries or make it easier for other functions would be really interesting to see."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"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 is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"It is okay."
"The tool is open source."
"I am using the Community Edition, which is available free of charge."
"I use the open-source free community version."
"We're using the open-source version right now, which is free. I do see some value in some of the more enterprise functions. We're using the open-source version right now, and I was interested in the MySQL Enterprise version really for the tools that they provide, but we decided not to make the purchase."
"We are using the licensed version of MySQL."
"I think that MySQL is a premium product."
"It is open-source."
"There is no licensing fee."
"When you know the setup will continue to grow, make sure you have the paid support."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business75
Midsize Enterprise34
Large Enterprise64
 

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.
Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?
MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...
Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?
I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...
What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?
One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Elekt Labs, Streamsoft, wobe-systems GmbH, DRB Systems, Moscow City Hospital #31
Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
Find out what your peers are saying about Firebird SQL vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
911,436 professionals have used our research since 2012.