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MariaDB vs SQLite 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
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (4th)
SQLite
Ranking in Open Source Databases
12th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (1st)
 

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 SQLite is 5.2%, up from 3.6% 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.
Neeraj Tiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
Pretty easy to execute my SQL queries but issues while uploading and importing my dataset
It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries. Since I was a beginner, it was comfortable for me to learn SQL using SQLite. However, when I used it for my professional work and for my assignments, I found some complications. Maybe I'm not proficient with it, that's why. The main benefit for me was learning. Since I was new to SQL, SQLite helped me understand how to work with structured data.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product has good documentation and you can find many examples online."
"The integration with other products is seamless."
"We like the easy way that we can collect data from other databases."
"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."
"The initial setup of MariaDB is simple enough."
"It's easy to set up."
"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is the replication mode."
"MariaDB is easy to install and is stable and scalable."
"I use Flutter Technology with the JSF plugin."
"SQLite’s most valuable feature is the ability to store granular-level backups of databases."
"It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries."
"Sometimes, you want data to persist within the app even when there's no internet connectivity. To avoid showing blank screens, we can use SQLite to store data locally and then sync it with the cloud database when connectivity is restored."
"I haven't encountered any problems in my use cases. So, it has been a stable product for me."
"The product is lightweight and highly scalable."
 

Cons

"The maintenance and performance could be a bit better."
"The features available are very basic."
"The configuration could be improved. It should be easier."
"The solution is not scalable."
"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."
"It does not have tools for debugging procedures and functions."
"The customer service and support are okay. But the response time is slow. Moreover, the material is not available freely."
"There is not much support available."
"There are some difficulties on the server side. When syncing data with databases like SQL Server or Oracle, SQLite requires a kind of double effort."
"I primarily use SQLite for small-scale applications due to its limitations in storing large amounts of data. For larger-scale projects, I typically opt for MySQL or other alternatives. Storing a large number of dates in SQLite can significantly impact its performance."
"The performance could be better."
"A potential drawback is that the database file stored within the application's local storage could be accessible to users."
"It could have a user-friendly GUI and better intelligence features."
"Compared to other tools, the performance was less effective than that of Microsoft Access."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be less expensive."
"There is a monthly subscription to use MariaDB."
"The tool is open-source."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"It is an open-source solution."
"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."
"We use the solution's free version."
"My company uses the free version of the solution."
"I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten."
"It's a good value."
"The tool is open-source."
"It's not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

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.
What do you like most about SQLite?
It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries.
What needs improvement with SQLite?
There were some complications. For example, you have to upload the dataset into SQLite, and once it's uploaded, you might find difficulties working with it.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Oracle, Bloomberg, Bentley, Mozilla
Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. SQLite and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
860,825 professionals have used our research since 2012.