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MariaDB vs MySQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 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

MariaDB
Ranking in Open Source Databases
4th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MySQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
2nd
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
149
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 6.7%, down from 9.8% 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

KumarManish - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to deploy, cost-effective, and integrates seamlessly with other products
We had planned for an RDBMS version and not NoSQL. We use MariaDB Galera Cluster. It's a good product. It is cheap, scalable, performs well, and is efficient. We use GCP’s BigQuery for machine learning. We must follow the best practices of the tool. We missed some best practices like the storage engine and InnoDB. It was very difficult to identify why we were having performance issues. Then, we realized that some of our tables were still on MyISAM, the default storage engine. When we switched it back to the InnoDB, it was very smooth. InnoDB is the recommended one. We must follow the best practices given in the documentation during the initial setup. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.
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

"A valuable feature is that we can use it for quite a few things, all the things you'd expect from a server—along the lines of Linux's Lightweight Directory."
"MariaDB is a user-friendly solution. Performance wise, it's better than SQL. With SQL, I would need to write a number of queries. In contrast, MariaDB is light."
"For non-production purposes. I'm just using it for my personal project, so it works quite well. I haven't faced any errors yet."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is a relational database, which is fairly reliable...It is a stable solution."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it is an open-source product and offers its users great online community support."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the query speed it offers."
"The stability of MariaDB is good, it has high availability."
"We like the easy way that we can collect data from other databases."
"The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities."
"The installation process for the most scalable solution is remarkably quick, taking only a short amount of time."
"MySQL is an easy-to-use solution that provides stability, reliability, flexibility, performance, security, and high availability."
"​We use MySQL for enterprise data storage as well as part of the back-end of websites and web applications.​"
"I like the JSON stuff."
"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."
"It is free, which is probably its most valuable feature. It is a pretty full-featured relational database. It really does everything we need it to do."
"The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities."
 

Cons

"The dashboard and pricing need improvement."
"An improvement would be scaling it up to the levels of Oracle, especially when it comes to resilience, so that we can do higher transactions for two databases or power our operation."
"When we have had issues with accidental computer shutdown or a power outage, our MariaDB database was corrupted."
"The solution should do some fine-tuning on maybe the transaction per second so that users can get more than they can on the Microsoft SQL Server."
"The configuration could be improved. It should be easier."
"The solution is not scalable."
"It's not very stable. It needs improvement."
"Could have more integration with user platforms."
"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."
"We want high availability and replication features, which are currently missing in this solution. It would be great if they can provide an in-built replication feature, similar to Oracle RAC, in MySQL."
"It is not as powerful as SQL Server. It can be more powerful. It is not scalable and has certain limitations, which is not the case with SQL Server."
"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."
"When it comes to supporting big data, there is space to improve upon the database engines that are supported by MySQL."
"The data masking functionality should be improved as well as the native encryption functionality in the MySQL database."
"MySQL doesn't have the auto-clustering and database clustering features that other competitors provide. They can include these features."
"I would like to see some improvements in the solution’s integration aspects."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free, but if you want the enterprise version you will need to pay for some licenses but the cost is less than other solutions, such as Oracle."
"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."
"The product is not expensive."
"This is an open-source product, which can be used free of charge."
"I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."
"MariaDB is available for free."
"It is free of charge."
"There is a monthly subscription to use MariaDB."
"There is no cost involved, no licensing fees."
"MySQL is a cheap solution."
"Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."
"There is a license for this solution. A lot of the time the solution gets bundled with other hardware or software purchases."
"It is open source. We prefer it for POCs because it saves the license cost."
"The pricing is not much expensive, it's cheap."
"I am not paying, but I am not sure about the exact licensing requirements."
"We are using the free community version of the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about MariaDB?
The integration with other products is seamless.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?
I have found the price of commercial MariaDB to be pretty steep, although not as high as Oracle. Customers often prefer the Community Edition because it's free.
What needs improvement with MariaDB?
The only potential area for improvement could be the pricing model, which might benefit from being more flexible or a bit cheaper.
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

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
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 MariaDB vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
863,901 professionals have used our research since 2012.