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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 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

"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"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 solution is very useful for stock management."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."
"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."
"The reliability and ease of management are very valuable."
"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"Mysql is free : it's an open source project, so you can use it with no cost."
"The most valuable feature of MySQL is its reliability and performance."
"It has a remote access feature to manage the database from a remote location. This enables in-work collaboration."
"The most valuable component for me is SQL Developer, it is pretty simple to use and I don't have anything really bad to say about it."
"Like other databases, it has a rich set of functions, such as stored procedures and its own procedural language, which is akin to Oracle SQL. It also has trigger and cursor commands you would expect with a good database language."
"It was easy to install."
"The solution is free to use, which is its most valuable aspect."
"The one interesting thing about this product is that it is open source. It comes from an open source product. MySQL has been positioned as open source, but it also provides support."
 

Cons

"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."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"The security of the users could improve in Firebird SQL."
"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."
"On large databases, we have some difficulties."
"I would like to have features that allow us to jump between the cloud and our on-premises system."
"At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load."
"Maybe the way to build clusters needs to be improved."
"This solution needs to be improved when it comes to working with desktop applications on the developer side."
"I would like to improve the solution’s pricing for licenses."
"The backup methods need improvement."
"They should come up with a better solution than the NDB cluster for better scaling. If they could come up with a better solution for write scaling, apart from the NDB cluster, which is supported by all open source communities, that would be great. Although the NDB cluster, I believe, is an open-source tool, it's not widely supported as a solution."
"I am looking for the Temporal SQL feature, which basically means that there is complete history for each table."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"It is okay."
"It's open-source and free."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"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."
"The tool is open source."
"It has a community version."
"I would rate the solution’s pricing a six out of ten. The solution is not cheap but it’s a fair value. The pricing depends on the use cases of our customers. Some of our customers use the community edition which is license free and a good fit for their use cases. However, we encourage our bigger customers to sign up because of the scalability issues. The paid versions get direct technical support from Oracle."
"I think that MySQL is a premium product."
"It's cheaper than other solutions."
"There is a license needed for this solution."
"​Enterprise editions and support are definitely needed for the heavy users who need direct support. ​"
"For the on-premise version, no license is required."
"This product has a good price point."
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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%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
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.
911,436 professionals have used our research since 2012.