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MariaDB vs SQL Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 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 Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (5th)
SQL Server
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
270
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 5.7%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQL Server is 15.5%, down from 22.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SQL Server15.5%
MariaDB5.7%
Other78.8%
Relational Databases Tools
 

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.
Gus Mtz - PeerSpot reviewer
Availability and financial reporting thrive with robust integration tools
The best features of SQL Server are availability and stability. We never have concerns about the database. The ability of SQL Server to integrate with other Microsoft services, such as Azure for supporting business intelligence or data analytics, is primarily through Power BI for analytics tools. We use Power BI, but not in the cloud. We have interfaces with other databases. We extensively use the ETL tools of SQL Server for integrating with other databases or text files. The ETL tools are excellent for making jobs that run daily or hourly. For disaster recovery features supporting mission-critical applications in our organization, we have implemented the high availability feature of SQL Server. The always-on feature provides high availability in SQL Server. We use this tool daily for our risk management application.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's high availability is its most valuable aspect."
"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."
"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 solution's features have effectively met our operational requirements as a standard SQL database."
"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."
"MariaDB can solve things better than MySQL. Maria DB has better performance than MySQL."
"MariaDB has a straightforward initial setup with easy-to-understand documentation."
"The product has good documentation and you can find many examples online."
"The performance is reliable."
"The columnstore index feature is useful for us, and we also use the integration services. It is also very stable."
"The solution has a reliable database."
"It is a typical database solution, and it is working well so far. It is easy to use, and it is also very common and popular, which makes it easy to find a support partner."
"The solution has proven to be very stable."
"It is easy to use and very stable."
"I have experience with this product for many years. I never have problems with it. It can handle a PC, and it can also handle huge data. It is fast and efficient."
"The initial setup isn't overly complex."
 

Cons

"It would be helpful if I could specify multiple drives for the database storage."
"The ability to create stored procedures in MariaDB is an area where the tool lacks a bit."
"Complex queries in MariaDB where the query needs to parse thousands of lines or data values face some performance issues."
"The customer service and support are okay. But the response time is slow. Moreover, the material is not available freely."
"There is room for improvement in terms of security."
"It should work across all fields like SQLite, as it is the basis of any application, even apps for phones and the like."
"The price could be less expensive."
"When we have had issues with accidental computer shutdown or a power outage, our MariaDB database was corrupted."
"Maintenance of the solution is an area of concern, and improvements can be helpful."
"The ability to connect with other environments needs to be improved."
"The solution is lacking a compound index for comparing values."
"It would definitely be better if SQL Server were free."
"You do need to have technical knowledge in order to install the solution. It's not something a layperson can do."
"The Task Scheduler has a lot of shortcomings. This could be improved quite a bit."
"The pricing and quality of the product could be improved."
"In the next releases, I would only like more enhanced backups and more restore points."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We use the solution's free version."
"I rate the product's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price, and ten is high price since there are some support costs involved, even though it isn't an open-source solution."
"The product is not expensive."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."
"It's an open-source solution."
"The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."
"It is free of charge."
"SQL Server is an expensive solution."
"Our customers do pay license fees for the MS SQL Server but the Rabbit is free, as it is open-source software."
"For smaller companies, they find this solution expensive."
"The enterprise-level license agreement is very complicated."
"The pricing from Microsoft is quite expensive compared to Oracle."
"There is a subscription that needs to be purchased to use the solution."
"The price of SQL Server could be reduced, the license is expensive. We have an annual subscription."
"For medium-sized customers who don't need some enterprise features, the tool would be available for 200 USD per month. For the enterprise segment, the tool's cost can go up to 6,000 USD."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business121
Midsize Enterprise58
Large Enterprise112
 

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.
Would you say the price of SQL Server is high compared to that of similar products?
SQL Server is fairly priced because it has various editions, depending on the number of users, servers, or core packs you are using. If you compare the product to others in this category, the price...
Has using SQL Server helped your organization in any way?
SQL Server has helped my organization through partitioning to distribute the workload, as it splits them up into smaller pieces so the machines can easily deal with it. However, this comes with a h...
Which authentication mode is best for SQL Server?
My company connects through SQL Server authentication. We have company Windows accounts, but we do not want to connect the two, out of security concerns and to keep things separated for our own pur...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft SQL Server, MSSQL, MS SQL
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Microsoft SQL Server is used by businesses in every industry, including Great Western Bank, Aviva, the Volvo Car Corporation, BMW, Samsung, Principality Building Society, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario.
Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. SQL Server and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.