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Firebird SQL vs MySQL vs PostgreSQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 16.5%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 9.4%, down from 15.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL is 17.1%, down from 20.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

Doug Meuross - PeerSpot reviewer
A reliable tool that offers good performance and is easy to use
I have had no issues with the stability of the product since it has always been a 100 percent reliable product and much better than the other databases available in the market. The multi-platform part is not good, especially when locked into things like Windows. You can judge your platform with Linux or Unix or whatever since they are good.
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.
PavithrarajShetty - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers simplicity and is cheaply priced
I haven't gone through the scalability aspect since I was using MySQL Server. I haven't worked to a high level in PostgreSQL, but with MySQL Server, I have managed clustering and partitioning. I think I haven't put much focus on PostgreSQL, so I am not sure how it behaves or how it works.

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."
"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"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."
"I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."
"The solution is very useful for stock management."
"I like the JSON stuff."
"It has a remote access feature to manage the database from a remote location. This enables in-work collaboration."
"The IO segregation in CGE is valuable."
"I like MySQL's feature that helps to automate things."
"It has a lot of features. The RDBMS, consistency, and multi-user features are valuable."
"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."
"Table partitioning is most valuable. It is easy to use."
"It is easy to use."
"It's a useful solution, that can be widely used."
"The solution has many valuable features such as it easy to use and the interface is intuitive."
"Clustering will be the number 1 feature. It is also open-source so it is free. It can also be clustered, to allow fault tolerance."
"The product is quite flexible."
"The initial setup is quick and easy."
"It is a pretty comprehensive database system. Its performance is good, and it does what it is supposed to do. It also integrates very well."
"PostgreSQL is very easy to use. I have experience in Oracle SQL and PostgreSQL uses the same syntax which makes it is easy for me to develop."
"We often use PostgreSQL for operations monitoring because we are a manufacturing company."
 

Cons

"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"On large databases, we have some difficulties."
"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 interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."
"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."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"At times, the autoscaling does not happen when there is a surge in load."
"When working with a cluster wide, I have to use the MySQL cluster version."
"The interface could be improved."
"When I run into issues, I really have to research how to fix them."
"The analytics features are in need of improvement."
"While utilizing a comparable algorithm, is noted to be sensitive, especially when configuring the inner device."
"From a user perspective, the initial setup could be simplified a bit."
"There are some issues with compatibility with Java environments that need to be improved. When Oracle bought this solution there were some driver changes that caused some issues with operations."
"PostgreSQL is a stable system, but from a security point of view, it still needs improvement."
"It could be improved by using parallelization. You want basically, distributed computing."
"Integration with other platforms could be improved."
"PostgreSQL’s performance could be improved."
"I'd like to see better memory management. I think that that's one of the few areas that Postgres does not handle as well as MySQL does or did."
"Sometimes, the views create problems. If you don't have the view, sometimes what happens is you need to have the drivers properly set up for PostgreSQL."
"It could be more secure."
"If it was free to use, it would be the perfect solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."
"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."
"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"The tool is open source."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"It's open-source and free."
"There is no licensing fee."
"It is free. It is an open-source platform."
"We are using the free community version of the solution."
"We are using the free community edition of MySQL."
"The pricing falls within the moderate range."
"It is open source. We prefer it for POCs because it saves the license cost."
"When you know the setup will continue to grow, make sure you have the paid support."
"For the on-premise version, no license is required."
"The tool is cheaply priced compared to other RDBMS providers in the market."
"It is an open-source platform."
"It could be much cheaper. If you would like to build an application on Amazon today, PostgreSQL is the standard database with Redshift. If you want other databases, you can add them, but PostgreSQL is the basis of everything. It's a question of money, that's it."
"It is open-source. If you use it on-premise, it is free. It also has enterprise or commercial versions. If you go for the cloud version, there will be a cost, but it is lower than Oracle or Microsoft."
"We use the open-source version of PostgreSQL and not the enterprise edition."
"PostgreSQL is open-source, so if capable admins are available then the setup cost can be $0."
"It is also open-source so it is free."
"Affordable solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

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 c...
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 y...
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 version...
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 ...
What do you like most about PostgreSQL?
It's a transactional database, so we use Postgres for most of our reporting. That's where it's helping.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PostgreSQL?
The tool is free of cost. For now, it's not about making money. But once we perfect it, we can offer it to customers ...
What needs improvement with PostgreSQL?
Postgres should focus on building a stronger knowledge base. They also need to expand their integration capabilities,...
 

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.
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Find out what your peers are saying about Firebird, Oracle, PostgreSQL and others in Open Source Databases. Updated: July 2025.
865,140 professionals have used our research since 2012.