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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
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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
152
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 9.9%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 12.5%, up from 9.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MySQL12.5%
Firebird SQL9.9%
Other77.6%
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…
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."
"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"We are satisfied with Firebird SQL, and we will keep on using it."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."
"The documentation is very well written."
"The product was easy to use."
"I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."
"The main advantage is the very large user base. This enables users to fix about any issue by answering any question."
"Storage and searching quickly on data is no longer an issue facing us using Excel."
"The open source product is good; if you want advanced features go for the enterprise edition."
"What I've been most pleased with is the cost point, performance, and ease of use."
"I would use MySQL for a medium project, with around 1,00,000 hundred thousand users, because of the indexing and stored procedures."
"Support for enterprise-grade features like clustering, master-slave replication, even Sharding (to some extent) which is an advanced feature."
"This product is valuable because it is used in production environments."
"This specific version of this MySQL has been battle tested for a long time. Any issues are known issues and we pretty much don't have any problems when they're in production. So it's very stable."
 

Cons

"They need to be more reactive and fast. Sometimes, they take too long to resolve some tickets."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"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."
"I'd rate the solution five or six out of ten for the possibilities it has currently."
"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."
"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"Firebird SQL's performance has slowed since Firebird SQL 3 or 3.5 versions, where they developed over-the-wire encryption."
"The stability could be better. It's not as stable as I would prefer it to be."
"Sometimes, although your server is configured properly, you might experience a slow performance, especially on a shared hosting server."
"The solution is expensive."
"I would like to see some improvements in the solution’s integration aspects."
"I haven't really looked into the security of it, but it should be good. It could be more secure."
"You probably wouldn't use it for heavy-duty installation."
"It would be helpful if there were a graphical user interface to administer, configure, and tune it."
"It has a lot of options to interact with. Sometimes it is hard to find the appropriate options quickly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"It's open-source and free."
"The tool is open source."
"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"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."
"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"It is open source. We prefer it for POCs because it saves the license cost."
"I am not paying, but I am not sure about the exact licensing requirements."
"We do have a couple of clients who choose to use the paid, enterprise version of the solution and who take full advantage of it."
"We are using the free version of MySQL. We prefer paying for a yearly license."
"We are using the free community version of the solution."
"There is a licensing cost because we are going for a proprietary product. There are some other versions for which there is no licensing cost."
"This product has a good price point."
"Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."
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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%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
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.
911,549 professionals have used our research since 2012.