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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 September 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

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."
"The product was easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"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."
"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."
"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."
"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."
"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."
"​We use MySQL for enterprise data storage as well as part of the back-end of websites and web applications.​"
"The solution is easy to use."
"Simple syntax and simple administration are the most valuable features."
"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 easy to use."
"It is a stable solution."
"MySQL is a very useful database which is used by a lot of companies, so it should be really good."
"​The most valuable feature of MySQL is the informative error outputs of command line interface.​"
 

Cons

"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"The security of the users could improve in Firebird SQL."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"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."
"On large databases, we have some difficulties."
"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."
"They need to be more reactive and fast. Sometimes, they take too long to resolve some tickets."
"The solution could be more secure."
"It isn't as reliable as an SQL Server."
"Sometimes, I get lost in the toggles and buttons, and a better visual design would be nice. The layout is not user-friendly or efficient."
"I recommend another solution for large data, like billions of records."
"We want high availability and replication features, which are currently missing in this solution. It would be great if they can provide an in-built replication feature, similar to Oracle RAC, in MySQL."
"The stability could be better. It's not as stable as I would prefer it to be."
"DELETE and UPDATE statements that use a LIMIT clause without an ORDER BY are non deterministic."
"Maybe the way to build clusters needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"It's open-source and free."
"It is okay."
"The tool is open source."
"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."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"​Enterprise editions and support are definitely needed for the heavy users who need direct support. ​"
"Microsoft licensing for SQL Server is probably ten times more expensive. I used to work for the government, and I remember when we were looking into upgrading to the enterprise version of SQL Server 2019, the licensing was going to cost 350,000. To get the equivalent in the cloud, it was going to be about four grand to get the same processing power and everything else. With MySQL, it was going to be about 300 for the same licensing. Cost-wise, for sure, there is a huge difference. Would you prefer to pay 300 a month or 3,000 to have the same amount of data resources? You might lose a few options that you need, but it isn't worth the price difference."
"I use the open-source free community version."
"There is a license needed for this solution."
"The solution’s pricing depends on customer requirements. A license is not required for the community edition."
"It's an open-source database management system that can be used free of charge."
"We are using the free community edition of MySQL."
"MySQL is a free and open-source solution."
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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.