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Firebird SQL vs MySQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

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
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (2nd)
MySQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 17.2%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 9.7%, down from 16.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

Nicolae Ancuta - PeerSpot reviewer
Strong event capabilities, allowing raising and displaying events in applications
On large databases, we have some difficulties. It is one of the areas of improvement. For example, under one gigabyte, it works perfectly. Between one and five gigabytes, you might experience some slight performance issues, but they are not significant. Beyond that, you have to index it, tier it, and perform some restore operations to free up space. It requires some effort, but it's manageable. It's quite challenging for the customer. Moreover, migrating from one firewall solution to another was a little bit difficult regarding the backup and restoring the other one. Since we have many databases, we didn't go forward with the latest versions.
Muzzamil  Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment
The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

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."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."
"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"This product is a good teaching tool for students who want to learn about networked databases."
"​The most valuable feature of MySQL is the informative error outputs of command line interface.​"
"The initial setup was pretty straightforward. I would have worked with our IT team in terms of the initial setup."
"The most valuable features are that it's free and the documentation is good."
"The relations in the database, the dynamic workflow, and the ability to connect with all columns. It's useful for e-commerce."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
"Apart from the features that are in the enterprise part, we find the database to be valuable. The connectors and the backup features are valuable as well. We use the basic database. We don't really use the extra features. Our clients like the security features in the database."
"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."
 

Cons

"The security of the users could improve in Firebird SQL."
"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."
"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."
"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."
"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."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"The analytics features are in need of improvement."
"The solution could improve the monitoring. At the present time, you need to use third-party monitoring solutions."
"As an open-source product, there isn't really any technical support available if you get into trouble or have issues."
"I did the implementation of the solution myself and I used community support. The support from the vendor costs money."
"At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load."
"I feel that some tools which make it easier to create queries or make it easier for other functions would be really interesting to see."
"MySQL doesn't have the auto-clustering and database clustering features that other competitors provide. They can include these features."
"The technical support should be more knowledgeable and available worldwide."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."
"The tool is open source."
"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's open-source and free."
"It is okay."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"MySQL is very cheap. It could be free. It also has a yearly licensing option."
"The tool is open source."
"Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."
"It is open-source."
"For the on-premise version, no license is required."
"The pricing falls within the moderate range."
"It's an open-source database management system that can be used free of charge."
"There is no cost involved, no licensing fees."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about Firebird SQL?
Firebird SQL is an open-source solution.
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: June 2025.
859,687 professionals have used our research since 2012.