MariaDB vs SAP HANA comparison

MariaDB and SAP are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. MariaDB is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.8, while SAP is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1. MariaDB holds a 6.3% mindshare in SQL, compared to SAP’s 10.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of MariaDB users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of SAP users who would recommend it.

MariaDB

Read 59 MariaDB reviews

6,650 Views
4,190 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

SAP HANA

Read 89 SAP HANA reviews

7,432 Views
6,243 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

MariaDB

SAP HANA

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

SAP HANA and MariaDB compete in the database management system category. SAP HANA appears to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and real-time processing capabilities, especially appealing to large enterprises.

Features: SAP HANA stands out with impressive real-time processing, in-memory technology reducing storage needs, and high-speed analytics. It is known for stable performance and excellent support for real-time analytics and supplier relationship management. Its data compression, high performance, and audit trails make it ideal for large enterprises. Meanwhile, MariaDB is appreciated for being open-source and user-friendly, offering efficient data handling, robust performance, and replication at a lower cost.

Room for Improvement: SAP HANA faces critiques over its high cost, complexity, and needing better integration and customization. Users desire enhancements in technical support, ease of use, scalability, and memory management. There is also a call for more flexibility in licensing. MariaDB, while cost-effective, lacks some enterprise-grade features and requires improvements in clustering, redundancy, backup management, scalability, and stability. Users also suggest better documentation and system integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both SAP HANA and MariaDB offer diverse deployment options including on-premises and cloud environments. SAP HANA is often seen as complex during deployment but benefits from strong technical support, though with some reports of slow responses. MariaDB is praised for ease of use and straightforward setup, bolstered by strong community support, although challenges with technical support are noted compared to proprietary solutions.

Pricing and ROI: SAP HANA is recognized for offering substantial value with robust features and fast processing, especially in large enterprises, but is considered expensive with a high total cost of ownership. Its licensing is viewed as an investment with potential significant returns in complex environments. MariaDB’s open-source nature offers a cost advantage with no licensing fees, making it attractive for budget-constrained businesses while providing solid functionality and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed MariaDB vs. SAP HANA Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. SAP HANA

July 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

MariaDB

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Open Source Databases (4th)

SAP HANA

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 6.3%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 10.1%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

KumarManish

Senior Technical Manager at Johnson Controls, Inc.

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.

Read full review

Dhiraj Jankar

Senior SAP Basis Consultant at Capgemini

Users appreciate the mix of in-memory architecture and ease of backend management

The most valuable SAP HANA features are that, compared to Oracle, there is less administrative work and less complex work to handle, making it very straightforward. The tool itself takes care of the backend work. The main benefits SAP HANA provides to users include its architecture, which combines both column store and row store capabilities. Some places find the row feature important, whereas others find column store important. It allows some tables to be stored in a column base, others in a row base, and the In-Memory functionalities are mostly the highlight of SAP HANA, especially compared to disk-based memory users. This was the main reason SAP HANA was introduced initially.

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

"I like the global transaction IDs (GTIDs) feature. It's quite reliable for replication between a master and a replica server, and it's a feature that MySQL also has but implemented differently."

"We use MariaDB for identity provider services. Most of the things that we are doing are deployed in the container mode. All such solutions require a database, and MariaDB is easier to use for these kinds of deployments."

"The most valuable feature is that it uses multiple cores, which is better than some of the other databases."

"It is very simple to install, and the commands are exactly the same as MySQL."

"It delivers fast processing times, particularly for frequent select queries and insert/update operations."

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

"MariaDB performs well as the backend database for our cloud-based telephony solution."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the query speed it offers."

More MariaDB pros

"It's very convenient and very innovative."

"The main feature is that the processes are very flexible, they are able to be adapted to the business and their departments."

"The memory is the solution's most valuable feature. It's the main feature of HANA. Others are still the regular IT databases that are on storage and are therefore much slower than HANA. The solution is quite fast."

"The solution is marvelous because it controls everything including workflow and that makes our company more productive."

"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."

"The product's initial setup phase was really easy."

"Provides us with predictive capabilities for asset maintenance, and real-time forecasts."

"The most valuable features are the flexibility and the integration with other solutions in data quality."

More SAP HANA pros

Cons

"It doesn't have the same level of maturity metrics as Postgres."

"I would like to see more compatibility going forward. This would help if there is a need to change databases."

"While MariaDB is a good relational database, it can be inflexible for complex use cases."

"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."

"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."

"There could be a command-line prompt for repairing the database and fixing indexes, similar to what was available in the old MyISAM storage engine."

"The solution is not scalable."

"With respect to clustering and the master-slave configuration, sometimes the slave goes out of synch."

More MariaDB cons

"SAP HANA is not strong like Oracle when it comes to finance. They are only strong with the logistic business project."

"In terms of improvement, the speed is not as good as we thought it would be. That is why we are trying different solutions that will be built with different technologies."

"SAP HANA's long run time to extract data could be improved upon."

"The installation process could be more straightforward."

"I would like to see improvements in the connectivity of the solution with other BI software. Not every software can connect to it natively."

"While SAP HANA is good, it would be better if it comes at a more affordable price."

"The support is lacking and not worth the premium price. If support was just a nominal fee, it would be perceived differently."

"The product lacks some flexibility in its settings and configurations."

More SAP HANA cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"The licensing cost is approximately $4000.00 per year and the licensing is based on the software and the number of posts that you make."

"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."

"The product is not expensive."

"MariaDB is available for free."

"The tool is open-source."

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

More MariaDB pricing and cost advice

"There is an annual license to use SAP HANA."

"The price is high and could be a bit cheaper."

"I would rate the pricing of the solution a ten on ten. The pricing for on-prem SAP HANA is on a yearly basis and expensive. I am not aware of the actual pricing but it is based on 64 Gigabytes. For instance, if you consider $10,000 for 64 Gigabytes, then you can calculate the cost for Terabytes in case you have one. You will have to buy expensive hardware as well which is quite a lot."

"SAP HANA is expensive, but unfortunately, we do not have any alternatives."

"The licensing cost for SAP HANA is approximately $200 per user per month."

"The tool has a high price. I rate the solution’s pricing, one on a scale of ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap."

"We pay for a maintenance license, and the licensing cost is high. In general, it is a very expensive solution."

"While the cost of the license may seem high, it is important to note that the benefits of the solution far outweighs the cost."

More SAP HANA pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

15%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?

Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...

See all answers

Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?

We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...

See all answers

Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?

SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...

See all answers

Comparisons

Firebird SQL vs MariaDB

Compared 23% of the time

SQL Server vs MariaDB

Compared 22% of the time

PostgreSQL vs MariaDB

Compared 13% of the time

MySQL vs MariaDB

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Informix vs MariaDB

Compared 1% of the time

More MariaDB Competitors

Oracle Database vs SAP HANA

Compared 25% of the time

SQL Server vs SAP HANA

Compared 20% of the time

MySQL vs SAP HANA

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Db2 Database vs SAP HANA

Compared 8% of the time

Apache Spark vs SAP HANA

Compared 5% of the time

More SAP HANA Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB

August 2025

Download MariaDB product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP HANA

July 2025

Download SAP HANA product report

Also Known As

No data available

SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA

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

SAP HANA, also known as SAP High-performance Analytics Appliance, is a multi-model database that stores data in its memory, allowing users to avoid disk storage. The product combines its robust database with services for creating applications. SAP HANA is faster than other database management systems (DBMS) because it stores data in column-based tables in main memory and brings online analytical processing (OLAP) and online transaction processing (OLTP) together.

The column-oriented in-memory database design allows users to run high-speed transactions alongside advanced analytics, all in a single system. This provides companies with the ability to process very large amounts of data with low latency and query data in an instant. By combining multiple data management capabilities, the solution simplifies IT, helps businesses with innovations, and facilitates digital transformation.

The solution is structured into five groups of capabilities, categorized as:

Database design
Database management
Application development
Advanced analytics
Data virtualization

There are three more SAP products that work alongside SAP HANA and complete the experience for users together. SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a ready-to-run cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP). SAP BW/4HANA is a packaged data warehouse, based on SAP HANA, which allows users to consolidate data across the enterprise to get a consistent view of their data. Finally, SAP Cloud is a single database as a service (DBaaS) foundation for modern applications and analytics across all enterprise data. All three products can combine with SAP HANA to deliver to users an optimized experience regarding their data.

SAP HANA Features

Each architectural group of capabilities of SAP HANA has various features that users can benefit from. These include:

Parallel processing database: SAP HANA utilizes a single platform to run transactional and analytical workloads.
ACID compliance: This feature ensures compliance with requirements for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability (ACID) standards.
Multi-tenancy: This feature allows multiple tenant databases to run in one system while sharing the same memory and processors.
Multi-tier storage and persistent memory support: SAP HANA's native storage extension is a built-in capability to manage between memory and persistent storage, including SAP HANA Cloud Data Lake.
Scaling: The scaling feature supports terabytes of data in a single server and distributes large tables across multiple servers in a cluster to scale further.
Data modeling: This feature consists of graphical modeling tools that enable collaboration between stakeholders and the creation of models to execute complex business logic and data transformation in real time.
Stored procedures: The product has a native language to build stored procedures and uses advanced capabilities to create complex logic.
Administration: This feature consists of administration tools for various platform lifecycle, performance, and management operations and automations.
Security: SAP HANA provides its users with real-time data anonymization features to extract value from data while protecting privacy.
Availability and recovery: The tool supports high availability and disaster recovery through an array of techniques, including backup, storage mirroring, synchronous, asynchronous, and multitarget system replication.
Extended application services: Through its built-in application server, users can develop services such as REST and ODATA, as well as web applications that can run on multiple locations.
Client access: The product offers clients the ability to access it via other application platforms and languages, including Java, JavaScript, R, and Go.
Application lifecycle management: This set of features facilitates the building and packaging of applications, transporting them for development to test to production, and then deploying them.
Application development: This feature consists of a set of tools that offer application development on premises and in the Cloud. The programming language ABAP includes additional optimized features to build extensions to SAP applications.
Search: The search feature uses SQL to locate text promptly across multiple columns and textual content.
Spatial processing: This product feature provides native support for spatial data types and spatial functions.
Graph: Through this feature, users of the product can store and process highly connected data using a property graph.
Streaming analytics: This feature combines various data sources that users can utilize to discover trends over a set period.
Data integration and replication: The solution offers comprehensive features to handle all data integration scenarios.
Data federation: This feature allows users to perform queries on remote data sources in real time with data federation.
Caching: The capacity to cache data provides users with the ability to optimize federated queries against remote sources of data.

SAP HANA Benefits

SAP HANA provides many benefits for its users. These include:

This solution offers a high level of data and application security, beginning from a secure setup and providing continuous support.
SAP HANA offers augmentation for applications and analytics with built-in machine learning (ML).
The solution works in a timely manner, as it provides a response to queries within seconds in large production applications.
SAP HANA simplifies work, as it provides a single gateway to all user data with advanced data virtualization.
The product is very flexible, as it allows users to deploy applications in a public or private cloud, in multiple clouds, on premises, or hybrid.
SAP HANA scales easily for data volume and concurrent users across a distributed environment.
This is a powerful solution in terms of querying large datasets with a massively parallel processing (MPP) database.
SAP HANA is a versatile product that supports hybrid transactional and analytical processing as well as many data types.
The product provides a smaller data footprint with no data duplication or advanced compression, and reduces data silos.

Reviews from Real Users

According to a database consultant at a pharma/biotech company, SAP HANA is a very robust solution with good data access.

Bruno V., owner at LAVORO AUTOM INF E COM LTDA, likes SAP HANA because the product offers advanced features, helps reduce hours, and makes it easy to find what you need.

SAP

Sample Customers

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

Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. SAP HANA

July 2025

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