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Firebird SQL vs MySQL 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
6th
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 July 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 9.5%, down from 17.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 11.9%, up from 9.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MySQL11.9%
Firebird SQL9.5%
Other78.6%
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…
Varuns Ug - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Developer at NIT
Reliable transactions have supported secure payments, refunds, and bookings at high volumes
Regarding MySQL improvements, a pain point is horizontal scalability. MySQL scales very well vertically and can support read replicas, but as a system grows significantly, sharding and distributed data management can become complex compared to databases that are designed to scale horizontally from the beginning. This is one of the areas where I think MySQL should work more. Another area is handling very large analytic workloads. MySQL is excellent for transactional systems, but for large-scale analytics or reporting, specialized analytic databases may sometimes be a better fit. Apart from that, one area is performance troubleshooting. As the database grows, diagnosing things such as slow queries, lock contention, and deadlocks becomes complex.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"The product was easy to use."
"The documentation is very well written."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."
"The solution has worked perfectly; I've never run into issues or had to reach out to technical support for troubleshooting."
"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."
"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."
"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."
"It's a good tool, a good database platform."
"MySQL installation is more straightforward and streamlined; it is just a database engine that gives you what you need, and I like it."
"What I really like about MySQL is the opportunity to search for information and organize it any way I like."
"MySQL's clustering features are very strong, and you can automate scripting, so that helps. We wrote a Terraform script and ran it."
"It is free and bundled with cPanel."
"The availability of resources for MySQL has been the biggest benefit for our organization."
"Installation, because in a few seconds, the product was up and running."
"MySQL 5.6 has a great many new features, including, but certainly not limited to, a number of performance improvements."
 

Cons

"Firebird SQL's performance has slowed since Firebird SQL 3 or 3.5 versions, where they developed over-the-wire encryption."
"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."
"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"I'd rate the solution five or six out of ten for the possibilities it has currently."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"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."
"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."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"MySQL needs to be more accessible and user-friendly."
"Sometimes, although your server is configured properly, you might experience a slow performance, especially on a shared hosting server."
"Maybe the way to build clusters needs to be improved."
"I would like to have features that allow us to jump between the cloud and our on-premises system."
"Beware that if you don’t follow these instructions step-by-step, your server may not restart or rather it will start with InnoDB storage engine disabled and an error in the logs."
"I would like to see the automatic backup feature in the solution as well. Data is very important and we need to preserve it in a safe place. It would be good if MySQL can back up the data automatically."
"I find the Microsoft solution a bit better. But mostly in terms of the UI layout, I would say. I just find it a little bit more efficient."
"Mostly they will just choose the Oracle database. Why? Because of Oracle database's capability to handle the big workload for enterprise businesses. I think that will become their priority and MySQL will not be an option for them."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"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."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"It is okay."
"It's open-source and free."
"The tool is open source."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"When you know the setup will continue to grow, make sure you have the paid support."
"There is a license for this solution. A lot of the time the solution gets bundled with other hardware or software purchases."
"We are using the free community version of the solution."
"The solution’s pricing depends on customer requirements. A license is not required for the community edition."
"We are using the free version of MySQL. We prefer paying for a yearly license."
"The pricing falls within the moderate range."
"Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."
"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."
report
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902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business74
Midsize Enterprise34
Large Enterprise63
 

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: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.