No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Firebird SQL vs MySQL comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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 reliability and ease of management are very valuable."
"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."
"The solution is very useful for stock management."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"I like MySQL because of its community."
"However, the ability to scale horizontally is much better than other vendors."
"While MySQL offers strong basic functionality."
"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."
"I would recommend this product if someone is new to the IT world."
"The solution is free to use, which is its most valuable aspect."
"The easy access to the data and the ability to sort the data with multiple methods are very valuable features."
"One of the best features is this solution is easy to use."
 

Cons

"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."
"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."
"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"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."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"I'd rate the solution five or six out of ten for the possibilities it has currently."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"In MySQL, we need to define every table beforehand."
"I think that the stored procedures and the development tools to write and debug large queries could be improved."
"The backup methods need improvement. MySQL needs to improve its backup methods so that you can actually do a backup without affecting products."
"Mostly they will just choose the Oracle database. Why? Because of Oracle database's capability to handle the big workload for enterprise businesses. I think that will become their priority and MySQL will not be an option for them."
"It isn't as reliable as an SQL Server."
"Oracle should start putting in some of the enterprise features in the standard feature. There are some key features that should be part of the standard."
"MySQL is missing some RDBMS features like stored procedures, foreign keys, transaction, rollback, and subselect, and it also does not support triggers."
"It does not stand out regarding scalability. When the company size increases, the user base having actual experience with (very) large MySQL solutions is reduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"It's open-source and free."
"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."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"It is okay."
"It's cheaper than other solutions."
"There is a license needed for this solution."
"The pricing is not much expensive, it's cheap."
"We are using the free community edition of MySQL."
"It is open-source."
"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."
"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."
"The tool is open source."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Open Source Databases solutions are best for your needs.
912,517 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction 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: September 2026.
912,517 professionals have used our research since 2012.