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

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
151
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

"The product was easy to use."
"I appreciate the fact that, once the database is embedded, it doesn't need to be administered, and removes the requirement for a specific server."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."
"We are satisfied with Firebird SQL, and we will keep on using it."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."
"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"For sure, the solution is very stable."
"It facilitated fast processing of the millions of records for billing of the call detail records in the Telecom company."
"The easy access to the data and the ability to sort the data with multiple methods are very valuable features."
"I like MySQL's feature that helps to automate things."
"The initial setup was pretty straightforward. I would have worked with our IT team in terms of the initial setup."
"MySQL is the best option for the Laravel PHP framework."
"I believe that it is the ideal solution for a variety of projects with a small learning curve compared to other solutions."
"This product is good as it is a graphical interface; it's easy to do all MySQL database administration very easily."
 

Cons

"Firebird SQL's performance has slowed since Firebird SQL 3 or 3.5 versions, where they developed over-the-wire encryption."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"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."
"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"On large databases, we have some difficulties."
"There aren't a lot of people using this solution — it's not very popular in the marketplace."
"If you want to scale it you will require more knowledge on the product and you will need more support for it."
"I am looking for the Temporal SQL feature, which basically means that there is complete history for each table. This feature is currently available in MariaDB. PostgreSQL has something called a foreign-data wrapper, which is another way to access external data from inside. MySQL could have a similar feature."
"It has a lot of options to interact with. Sometimes it is hard to find the appropriate options quickly."
"When it comes to supporting big data, there is space to improve upon the database engines that are supported by MySQL."
"Some problems with big table operations, and a struggle to keep the servers responding in peak situations."
"It would be helpful if there were a graphical user interface to administer, configure, and tune it."
"The solution could be more secure."
"It does not stand out regarding scalability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"The tool is open source."
"It's open-source and free."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."
"I rate the solution's pricing as four out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. For our basic needs, it's quite affordable. However, the cost increases when we need to scale up or require high availability. Our developer team of about 600 people uses MySQL without much issue. The pricing becomes more of a concern on the business side, as we have more end users and need constant database availability and scaling. In those cases, the solution gets a bit more expensive, even though it provides good value for the business."
"The pricing falls within the moderate range."
"MySQL is free."
"We are using the free community edition of MySQL."
"We pay a yearly subscription fee."
"It is an open source platform."
"MySQL is very cheap. It could be free. It also has a yearly licensing option."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Open Source Databases solutions are best for your needs.
907,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

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 Enterprise63
 

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.
907,768 professionals have used our research since 2012.