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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
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

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."
"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."
"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 are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"The solution has worked perfectly; I've never run into issues or had to reach out to technical support for troubleshooting."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."
"MySQL provides a low cost and effective SQL Database solution for smaller companies that don’t require the overhead and cost associated with RDBMS tools like Oracle."
"What I've been most pleased with is the cost point, performance, and ease of use."
"MySQL is easy to integrate. It works with just about every language."
"MySQL is easy to use, has fast performance, and it is comfortable for end-user to use. The schema level and structure we are using are very simple and easy to understand. Additionally, packaging tool development is straightforward and the data is presented in a way that is very simple to understand."
"I like the JSON stuff."
"Offers high performance due to its unique storage engine architecture as well as it's core written in powerful languages such as C and C++."
"Storage and searching quickly on data is no longer an issue facing us using Excel."
"MySQL is the best option for the Laravel PHP framework."
 

Cons

"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."
"They need to be more reactive and fast. Sometimes, they take too long to resolve some tickets."
"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."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"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."
"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."
"There aren't a lot of people using this solution — it's not very popular in the marketplace."
"At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load."
"The GUI could improve to make MySQL better."
"You probably wouldn't use it for heavy-duty installation."
"It should provide better customer experiences."
"We require more ease of use, scalability, and high availability. These are some of the critical features that we use and look for in a product. It should be easier to manage clusters. Scalability is very important for us because our projects and concurrency requirements are quite big. We also require high availability of the server, application, and other things. It should also have more performance-based features or enhancements from the performance point of view. When we divide a database, it should be able to handle the queries very fast."
"The solution is not scalable at present."
"MySQL tutorials and guides could be improved. Often they are too complex for someone with no database experience to understand."
"If the customer is already using or has already used Oracle for a long time they will know the look and feel and the character of this database that can fit into their business."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"The tool is open source."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"It's open-source and free."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"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."
"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."
"I am using the Community Edition, which is available free of charge."
"This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."
"There is no cost involved, no licensing fees."
"The tool is open source."
"MySQL Enterprise Support is not cheap, though might still be cheaper than Oracle or SQL Server. They may not have local support depending on where you’re based, but there are many smaller agencies out there that will readily provide support. You’ll need to spend some time looking around."
"We are using the free community version of the solution."
"It is open source. We prefer it for POCs because it saves the license cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing 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 Business74
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.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.