Firebird SQL vs Percona Server comparison

Firebird and Percona are both solutions in the Open Source Databases category. Firebird is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1, while Percona is ranked #17. Firebird holds a 17.9% mindshare in OSD, compared to Percona’s 1.7% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Firebird users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Percona users who would recommend it.

Firebird SQL

Read 15 Firebird SQL reviews

9,468 Views
7,660 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

Percona Server

Read 2 Percona Server reviews

1,133 Views
1,043 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Firebird SQL

Percona Server

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

Firebird SQL and Percona Server are rival products in the database management category. Percona Server often appears superior in feature sets and performance despite Firebird SQL's favorable pricing and support satisfaction.

Features: Firebird SQL offers a small footprint, cross-platform capabilities, and integrated security features. Percona Server provides high availability options, enhanced MySQL compatibility, and advanced performance tuning. Both products are open-source, with Percona's extensions adding enterprise-level features, particularly in scalability and robustness.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Firebird SQL is noted for straightforward installation and minimal resource requirements. Percona Server provides a comprehensive deployment ecosystem, including extensive documentation and enterprise support services.

Pricing and ROI: Firebird SQL is cost-effective with no hidden licensing fees, ideal for budget-conscious projects and smaller-scale implementations. Percona Server may have higher initial setup costs, but the advanced functionalities justify a greater long-term ROI for larger enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Firebird SQL vs. Percona Server Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Firebird SQL vs. Percona Server

April 2025

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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

3rd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Embedded Database (1st)

Percona Server

Ranking in Open Source Databases

17th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 17.9%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Percona Server is 1.7%, down from 3.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

Doug Meuross

Strategic Advisor at TradeWindow

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.

Read full review

Umair Hassan

Database Administrator at Systems Limited

Open-source and free to use with a good community

I would love to see the flashback in Percona MySQL or even in Percona PostgreSQL. It's available in Oracle, the flashback. In Oracle, there's the utility of a flashback. It stores all the information in the tables for a few days. That way, if I accidentally delete my records from the table or I need to check the value of a column or row two days back, I can. If Percona had flashback capabilities, it would be ideal. I would love to see training be easier to find. I had some complications finding the training that Percona provides. It is not displayed on the website. For example, if I want to train myself via a Percona expert through virtual files or through recorded videos or something like that, it's really difficult to find any sort of course. You have to email them first, and they will ask you whether it is for yourself or it is for the corporate sector. The course content should just be readily available and not hidden.

Read full review

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 like that we don't have to pay external fees to migrate this data. So, we are looking to relocate from Postgres or EDB."

"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."

"The solution is very useful for stock management."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."

More Firebird SQL pros

"We find the product mostly stable."

Cons

"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."

"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."

"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."

"On large databases, we have some difficulties."

"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."

"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."

"The security of the users could improve in Firebird SQL."

More Firebird SQL cons

"If Percona had flashback capabilities, it would be ideal."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."

"It's open-source and free."

"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."

"It is okay."

"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."

"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."

More Firebird SQL pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

24%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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...

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What do you like most about Firebird SQL?

Firebird SQL is an open-source solution.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Firebird SQL?

It's open-source and free.

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Comparisons

PostgreSQL vs Firebird SQL

Compared 41% of the time

MySQL vs Firebird SQL

Compared 26% of the time

SQLite vs Firebird SQL

Compared 17% of the time

MariaDB vs Firebird SQL

Compared 15% of the time

DuckDB vs Firebird SQL

Compared 1% of the time

More Firebird SQL Competitors

MariaDB vs Percona Server

Compared 35% of the time

MySQL vs Percona Server

Compared 29% of the time

PostgreSQL vs Percona Server

Compared 26% of the time

EDB Postgres Advanced Server vs Percona Server

Compared 10% of the time

More Percona Server Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Embedded Database

April 2025

Download Firebird SQL product report

Buyer's Guide

Open Source Databases

April 2025

Download Percona Server product report

Overview

Firebird SQL is an open-source, cross-platform relational database management system that offers an enterprise-level database solution. The solution is designed to be highly secure, efficient, and compatible with various platforms and programming languages. Firebird can operate in both embedded and server modes.

Firebird is an open-source project with an active community of developers and users. It is released under the Initial Developer's Public License (IDPL) and the InterBase Public License, allowing for free use, modification, and distribution.

The Firebird solution requires minimal configuration and its architecture allows it to efficiently handle databases ranging from a few KB to multiple terabytes. It is available for various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and several Unix-like platforms.

What are the key features of Firebird SQL?

ACID Compliance: Firebird provides full support for ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) transactions, ensuring data integrity and consistency, even in the event of system failures or concurrent access.
SQL Language Support: Firebird SQL provides extensive support for ANSI SQL, which is the standard SQL language, making it compatible with a wide range of applications and tools.
Multi-Generational Architecture: Firebird employs a multi-generational architecture, which allows multiple versions of the same data to coexist within the database.
Concurrency and Performance: Firebird offers efficient concurrency control mechanisms, including multi-version concurrency control (MVCC), which allows multiple transactions to access and modify data simultaneously without locking or blocking each other, improving overall performance.
Embedded mode: In the embedded mode, the database engine is integrated directly into the application.
Security Features: Firebird provides user authentication, role-based access control, and encryption capabilities. It supports various authentication methods, such as native Firebird user accounts, external authentication sources (e.g., Windows domains), and single sign-on (SSO) mechanisms.
Backup and Restore: Firebird offers built-in backup and restore utilities, allowing users to create full or incremental backups of the database, as well as restore from these backups when needed.

As part of being a commonly used open-sourced solution, Firebird boasts a vibrant community of developers and users. The community provides extensive documentation, third-party tools, and active forums for support. Businesses can also opt for professional support services offered by third-party vendors for added assurance.

To summarize, Firebird SQL is a robust, scalable, and cost-effective database solution suitable for a wide range of applications and business sizes. Its comprehensive SQL support, security features, and cross-platform compatibility, combined with the active community support, make it a compelling choice for businesses looking to leverage the power of open-source software without compromising on performance or security.

Firebird

Percona Server for MySQL is a free, fully compatible, enhanced, open source drop-in replacement for MySQL that provides good performance, scalability and instrumentation. With over 3,000,000 downloads, Percona Server for MySQL's self-tuning algorithms and support for extremely high-performance hardware delivers excellent performance and reliability.

Percona

Sample Customers

Elekt Labs, Streamsoft, wobe-systems GmbH, DRB Systems, Moscow City Hospital #31

Pricefalls Marketplace, Micpoint, Rent the Runway, Transmart, Wattpad, Singular Group, Invoca, 3E

Buyer's Guide

Firebird SQL vs. Percona Server

April 2025

Free Report: Firebird SQL vs. Percona Server

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