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

"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."
"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."
"The solution is very useful for stock management."
"We are satisfied with Firebird SQL, and we will keep on using it."
"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"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 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."
"This database enabled us to web present our content in a cost efficient way."
"We use it as a data store and from that perspective, we get everything we need."
"It was easy to install."
"This product is a good teaching tool for students who want to learn about networked databases."
"​We use MySQL for enterprise data storage as well as part of the back-end of websites and web applications.​"
"The initial setup for the SQL database is not complex and it even integrates into the platform. You set up the recipe and then just follow the runbook, the build book. Then it works as long as you follow the procedures."
"This specific version of this MySQL has been battle tested for a long time. Any issues are known issues and we pretty much don't have any problems when they're in production. So it's very stable."
"​The most valuable feature of MySQL is the informative error outputs of command line interface.​"
 

Cons

"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."
"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."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"They need to be more reactive and fast. Sometimes, they take too long to resolve some tickets."
"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."
"This solution needs to be improved when it comes to working with desktop applications on the developer side."
"The GUI could improve to make MySQL better."
"Security in the data files needs manipulation."
"I would just say that it could be a little bit simpler to use."
"The stability could be better. It's not as stable as I would prefer it to be."
"​MySQL is not easily scalable on cost effective consumer grade hardware.​"
"The data masking functionality should be improved as well as the native encryption functionality in the MySQL database."
"MySQL lacks a feature akin to Oracle's Real Application Clusters, which ensures continuous database availability within the same data center or nearby data centers."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"It is okay."
"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."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"There is no cost involved, no licensing fees."
"MySQL is very cheap. It could be free. It also has a yearly licensing option."
"It has a community version."
"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."
"It's free."
"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."
"It's cheaper than other solutions."
"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Open Source Databases solutions are best for your needs.
911,952 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing 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: August 2026.
911,952 professionals have used our research since 2012.