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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
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (3rd)
MySQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
152
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (4th)
 

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 MySQL is 10.3%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MySQL10.3%
Firebird SQL11.0%
Other78.7%
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

"We are satisfied with Firebird SQL, and we will keep on using it."
"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"The solution has worked perfectly; I've never run into issues or had to reach out to technical support for troubleshooting."
"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"The product was easy to use."
"The solution is great for small applications in particular."
"The solution is easy to use."
"Setup is easy. MySQL of various flavours has community editions to easily test, deploy, and run."
"MySQL offers a simple, no frills, but effective DBMS solution with a very low hardware footprint, and since it has no licensing fees, it offers great TCO for our customers."
"Setup is easy. MySQL of various flavours has community editions to easily test, deploy, and run.​"
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"MySQL is compatible with most of the platforms."
"I would use MySQL for a medium project, with around 1,00,000 hundred thousand users, because of the indexing and stored procedures."
 

Cons

"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."
"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."
"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."
"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"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."
"Some problems with big table operations, and a struggle to keep the servers responding in peak situations."
"DELETE and UPDATE statements that use a LIMIT clause without an ORDER BY are non deterministic."
"The technical support should be more knowledgeable and available worldwide."
"Its performance should be better. When we use big data, it is slow in performance. We should be able to use mirroring for improved performance."
"MySQL is missing some RDBMS features like stored procedures, foreign keys, transaction, rollback, and subselect, and it also does not support triggers."
"The stability could be better. It's not as stable as I would prefer it to be."
"I did the implementation of the solution myself and I used community support. The support from the vendor costs money."
"We switched to a different solution because of data access issues, speed, and consistency."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is okay."
"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."
"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"It's open-source and free."
"The tool is open source."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"There is not a license required for this solution."
"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."
"I use a free version at present."
"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."
"It's free."
"The solution is open source so is free."
"It has a community version."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing 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 Business75
Midsize Enterprise33
Large Enterprise61
 

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 do you like most about Firebird SQL?
Firebird SQL is an open-source solution.
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.
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: April 2026.
886,077 professionals have used our research since 2012.