MariaDB vs PostgreSQL comparison

MariaDB and PostgreSQL are both solutions in the Open Source Databases category. MariaDB is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3, while PostgreSQL is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3. MariaDB holds a 6.2% mindshare in OSD, compared to PostgreSQL’s 14.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of MariaDB users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of PostgreSQL users who would recommend it.

MariaDB

Read 61 MariaDB reviews

4,900 Views
2,499 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

PostgreSQL

Read 125 PostgreSQL reviews

7,517 Views
6,540 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

MariaDB

PostgreSQL

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

PostgreSQL and MariaDB compete in the relational database management system category. PostgreSQL appears to have the upper hand due to its extensibility and support for complex queries which are highly valued by users.

Features: PostgreSQL is known for its advanced feature set including support for JSON, NoSQL operations, and robust indexing which enhances performance in large-scale environments. In contrast, MariaDB emphasizes SQL compliance and ease of use. PostgreSQL's superior extensibility and capability to handle complex queries make it the preferred choice for those who need these advanced features.

Room for Improvement: PostgreSQL could benefit from improved GUI tools and enhanced documentation, as well as better scalability and replication features. MariaDB, meanwhile, should enhance its replication capabilities, customization options, and handling of large-scale data.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both PostgreSQL and MariaDB are popular for both on-premises and cloud deployment due to their open-source nature. PostgreSQL has a strong community offering comprehensive resources and active forums, whereas MariaDB is known for its straightforward implementation. However, neither offers dedicated customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Both PostgreSQL and MariaDB are free and open-source, offering cost-effective solutions without licensing fees. This fosters high ROI, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses looking for powerful yet affordable database management systems.

To learn more, read our detailed MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL

February 2026

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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

MariaDB

Ranking in Open Source Databases

8th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Relational Databases Tools (8th)

PostgreSQL

Ranking in Open Source Databases

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

125

Ranking in other categories

Vector Databases (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 6.2%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL is 14.3%, down from 18.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
PostgreSQL	14.3%
MariaDB	6.2%
Other	79.5%

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

Anand Bandi

Co-Founder at Vsigma IT Labs Pvt Ltd

Has supported web application data needs but requires design adjustments to manage complex queries efficiently

Complex queries in MariaDB where the query needs to parse thousands of lines or data values face some performance issues. For small and medium-size volume, it is pretty good. If it goes beyond certain data and complex queries, we see performance issues. We tried the advanced replication feature between different regions, replicating data specifically residing on MariaDB to two different regions of MariaDB data, and there were some technical snags in terms of slowness and longer processing time. Point-in-time recovery in MariaDB is good for small databases. When data volume increases beyond 5 GB or 10 GB per day or runs into double-digit GBs, we found some performance issues. For data below 10 GB, it works fine. Performance is the primary focus area for MariaDB, particularly during transactions or complex query jobs where slow performance is observed. MariaDB is scalable and easy to scale.

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Akhilesh Chipre

Senior Assosiate Consultant at Applied Materials

Real-time data capture optimizes database performance but Views create problems

One of the most valuable features is real-time data capture; it optimizes database performance. I think using real-time data capture reduces job running time and the amount of data sent at once with batch loads. Replicating the same data daily isn't optimal, so real-time reception improves application performance and reduces latency.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's open source."

"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is the power it provides. It is a powerful solution."

"It is a stable solution."

"There is the need for a robust IDE for MongoDB. The existing PHP admin console doesn't meet the client's requirements effectively."

"This solution is user-friendly."

"MariaDB can solve things better than MySQL. Maria DB has better performance than MySQL."

"The initial setup of MariaDB is simple enough."

"The solution's features have effectively met our operational requirements as a standard SQL database."

More MariaDB pros

"PostgreSQL makes it very adaptable to several descriptions of a record. Instead of having several tables or several relations for one entity, I can adapt this entity. It can be a multiform entity. For example, here in Mexico, a company and a person can be sold to us as a physical entity or a physical person."

"The product is quite flexible."

"The PostgreSQL database is similar to the SQL Server but has a slightly different technology that has similar resources as well. If the customer has the confidence using SQL Server, they will be fairly comfortable using this solution."

"The built-in code procedural language is the most valuable. It has a built-in layer for code procedures. Its installation is very easy and quick, and it is free. It is also stable, and its performance is also good."

"The solution is quite stable."

"I like that you can move any relational database from Oracle to PostgreSQL. I also like that it's pretty stable."

"This is an open-source solution, operates at a high speed, and supports more than one SQL language."

"The database has excellent performance."

Cons

"I'd like to see improved materialized views, like the ability to save select queries. This feature is missing in MariaDB compared to other relational databases like Oracle and SQL Server."

"MariaDB can improve by adding more features. There are a lot of features, which are available in Oracle, and which are not available in MariaDB. We hope they will introduce the features soon."

"Data continuity could be improved."

"Complex queries in MariaDB where the query needs to parse thousands of lines or data values face some performance issues."

"MariaDB could be improved by adding more automation."

"I’m not sure if it can scale."

"Replication could be better, and it's not so simple. It would be better if they had a replication server. It would make things a lot easier. You need to have that replication server, but not in the same server farm. Then there will be a bit of latency between both because you should have one in one city and another one in a different city. That kind of solution should be more baked into every single database today. Mirroring the database in a live environment where any record written on the production server replicates instantly across the fiber on the other server wasn't easy. Many people don't even bother with that, and they just run one server."

"In the next release, I would like to see improvements in the scalability and redundancy features."

More MariaDB cons

"As PostgreSQL is an open-source product, you do have to do a bit more configuration and management yourself."

"The interface climate could be better."

"There are several features I would like to improve that aren't working as expected. It's likely that the latest version is doing something that was missed in the previous versions. For example, the output parameters — the stored procedures — is something new in PostgreSQL that Firebird has already had for a long time."

"I find it difficult to get connectors on the tool. For example, .NET has only one free provider in PostgreSQL. I need to pay the provider if I need something more sophisticated features. Other languages like PHP and Java have good community support. We need community support for .NET."

"The user interface could be a bit better."

"They need to have a better graphical interface. There is a tool called pgAdmin 4 that they use, which is free. It is written in Java, and it is slow. They need to have a better product that is similar to Toad for Oracle, but, of course, it is hard to get something that's really great and free. Other than that, it is great."

"I had some issues when I integrated with the Jupyter Notebook."

"The pricing could be better."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."

"The product is not expensive."

"There is a monthly subscription to use MariaDB."

"MariaDB is open-source and self-hosted."

"My company uses the free version of the solution."

"MariaDB is available for free."

"MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product."

"It's an open-source solution."

More MariaDB pricing and cost advice

"PostgreSQL is a free and open-source database."

"The licensing model is good."

"The community version of Postgre is basically free."

"It is free, but if you need support, you can go for the commercial version called EnterpriseDB. They provide paid support, and they can even do hosting for you if you want standby and support."

"It is also open-source so it is free."

"It is free. There is no license on it."

"This solution can offer a cheaper choice for customers since it is open-source."

"The tool is cheaply priced compared to other RDBMS providers in the market."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

University

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	27
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	26

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	57
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	46

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about MariaDB?

The integration with other products is seamless.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?

MariaDB is in the pricey range, especially for huge databases handling terabytes of data. The cost depends on the volume of data and different features enabled during configuration, such as backup ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with MariaDB?

Sometimes, complex queries that were supported in Oracle are not available in MariaDB. Advanced indexing is not available. Oracle is very advanced compared to MariaDB, and those advanced features a...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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 willing to pay for support and other services. Most of my deployments are free.

See all answers

Comparisons

Firebird SQL vs MariaDB

Compared 18% of the time

SQL Server vs MariaDB

Compared 14% of the time

MySQL vs MariaDB

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle Database vs MariaDB

Compared 5% of the time

Percona Server vs MariaDB

Compared 4% of the time

More MariaDB Competitors

Firebird SQL vs PostgreSQL

Compared 21% of the time

MySQL vs PostgreSQL

Compared 9% of the time

Chroma vs PostgreSQL

Compared 5% of the time

LanceDB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 5% of the time

OpenSearch vs PostgreSQL

Compared 4% of the time

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB

February 2026

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Buyer's Guide

PostgreSQL

February 2026

Download PostgreSQL product report

Overview

MariaDB is an open source relational database created by the original founders of MySQL. It is considered one of the most popular and trusted database servers throughout the world. MariaDB is a valued component found in most cloud offerings and is the default in many Linux tools. It is also widely used by Wikipedia, WordPress, and Google, among other well-known sites. Maria DB easily melds data into concise information from a vast array of applications, such as banking, online shopping, websites, and more.

MariaDB was originally created to improve MySQL performance. It is the most widely chosen database server due to the solution being super fast, robust, user-friendly, and easily scalable. MariaDB also offers a substantial ecosystem of plugins, storage engines, and numerous other valuable tools that make it very attractive for a significant offering of use cases.

The solution’s newest functionalities include compatibility with Oracle Database and Temporal Data Tables, and advanced clustering with Galera Cluster 4, which make it easier for users to research data history from any point in the past. Additionally, the most recent versions include JSON and GIS features. MariaDB is committed to staying an open source solution.

MariaDB Features

More storage: MariaDB works with more storage engines than MySQL and most other database servers available. Some storage options include, but are not limited to ARCHIVE, MERGE, CSV, MEMORY, BLACKHOLE, MyISAM, ColumnStore, MyRocks, and Cassandra.
Super fast: MariaDB offers faster authentication checks. The FlushSSL permits SSL certificates to be reloaded without a server restart, resulting in huge time savings.
Improved testing: MariaDB offers an extending testing suite that runs faster and can test more than ever before. Bugs can be easily fixed and invalid tests removed.
Genuinely open source: Every code in MariaDB is GPL, LGPL, or BSD. Client libraries [for Windows (ODBC), Java (JDBC), or C] allow linking to closed source software. All fixed bug cases and development plans are completely public. MariaDB is a community-developed solution representing the true spirit of open source products.

Reviews from Real Users

Faustine C., Engineering Supervisor- Corporate Data Solutions and Services at TZ Telecoms Corporation, shares, “The software provides a lot of information on what is happening inside the database. For most performance parameters it is easy to know if something is not right in the configuration or optimization which helps engineers take remedial fine-tuning measures. For example, if the database is underperforming it is easy to know which performance parameter can be adjusted to handle the workload. It is difficult to troubleshoot database issues if many performance parameters can not be monitored or debugged which is the case with some database management systems. It provides great monitoring of data storage, processing, and performance stability which is really important for real-time data storage and processing. It's a user-friendly product.”

A PeerSpot user who is a Senior Engineer at a tech services company relates, “ The solution's high availability is its most valuable aspect. We have found the product to be stable and the initial setup is pretty simple. I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. I'm very happy with it overall. I would recommend the solution to others. It's easy to find details about the product online and to learn about it.”

MariaDB

PostgreSQL is a versatile and reliable database management system commonly used for web development, data analysis, and building scalable databases.

It offers advanced features like indexing, replication, and transaction management. Users appreciate its flexibility, performance, and ability to handle large amounts of data efficiently. Its robustness, scalability, and support for complex queries make it highly valuable.

Additionally, PostgreSQL's extensibility, flexibility, community support, and frequent updates contribute to its ongoing improvement and stability.

PostgreSQL

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities

1. Apple 2. Cisco 3. Fujitsu 4. Instagram 5. Netflix 6. Red Hat 7. Sony 8. Uber 9. Cisco Systems 10. Skype 11. LinkedIn 12. Etsy 13. Yelp 14. Reddit 15. Dropbox 16. Slack 17. Twitch 18. WhatsApp 19. Snapchat 20. Shazam 21. SoundCloud 22. The New York Times 23. Cisco WebEx 24. Atlassian 25. Cisco Meraki 26. Heroku 27. GitLab 28. Zalando 29. OpenTable 30. Trello 31. Square Enix 32. Bloomberg

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL

February 2026

Free Report: MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL

Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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