I use MariaDB in my company to build simple web applications.
Laboratory Assistant at Strathmore University
A stable tool that offers an out-of-the-box setup option
Pros and Cons
- "I haven't faced any technical issues with the product, and it works fine."
- "MariaDB's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution is its interface, including the web interface and the CLI.
What needs improvement?
There is no guide provided to first-time users by the solution. For first-time users, there should be some sort of guide provided by the solution explaining what the product offers so that they don't have to search for it on Google. The very first time that users use the product, they should be able to use the database server and move it to phpMyAdmin.
MariaDB's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using MariaDB for more than a year.
Buyer's Guide
MariaDB
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about MariaDB. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't faced any technical issues with the product, and it works fine. Suppose users have some other databases running in the environment apart from MariaDB. In that case, it might occupy the port that MariaDB's server is trying to use, so you might not be able to access it. There are no technical issues related to the solution unless there is another database in the same environment where MariaDB functions, making it an area where users must be careful.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product has scalability features, but I haven't reached the level where I have to use them. If you know where to change the tool's configurations, it can scale up.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Though I still work with MariaDB, I have moved to Firebase and MySQL.
I have experience with some other tools in the past. The interface areas offered by other tools in the market are much better than the ones offered by MariaDB. The interface offered by MySQL databases is better than MariaDB's GUI.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase can be done straight out of the box, as it works fine.
The product's initial setup phase didn't require much time because MariaDB was already embedded within XAMPP, so it was easy to use and access since I only had to launch it. You may want to change the user credentials for the password before you can access it and use it from the CLI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Price-wise, the product is affordable. The product is not expensive.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the overall product an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Senior Data Engineer at Nike
Is user-friendly, scalable, and light
Pros and Cons
- "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 dashboard and pricing need improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use several solutions for analyzing purposes including MariaDB, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL.
Our use cases for MariaDB are 50% for transferring data and 50% for storage purposes.
What is most valuable?
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.
In addition, MariaDB's transferring speed is very high compared to that of other DBs.
What needs improvement?
The dashboard and pricing need improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for one and a half years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
For stability, I would give MariaDB a rating of eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate MariaDB's scalability at nine out of ten. We currently have 50 plus people using this solution including middle level software developers and data engineers.
How are customer service and support?
MariaDB's technical support staff have been very helpful, and I would give them a rating of nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is somewhat complex, but it can be overcome by reading the documentation and following it closely. The installation took about 50 minutes. The SQL development team handles the maintenance of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is an open-source solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend MariaDB and rate it at eight on a scale from one to ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
MariaDB
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about MariaDB. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Site Reliability Engineer at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Not very complicated to maintain and offers an open-source version
Pros and Cons
- "A well-known issue for a lot of different users is associated with write-intensive applications."
What is our primary use case?
MariaDB is used like any other relational database where we need complex join queries as well as tasks like read and write using the tool. The tool also offers support in terms of sharding, which is why we use MariaDB. Every time we use the tool, we have some kind of a reason, or, I would say, a requirement of asset compliance, which is atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability, which is only provided by a relational database. Companies usually go towards open-source databases. Oracle is very costly. Oracle is not an open-source tool, which is why people tend to go towards open-source. The databases are doing pretty well in different applications.
What needs improvement?
A well-known issue for a lot of different users is associated with write-intensive applications. There are so many write-intensive applications. Usually, the applications are designed as read-intensive ones, where the number of reads is way more than the write operations. I would say MariaDB or any other relational database is designed by default to be for read-intensive applications. There are a lot of features being added to the tool, such as something called Galera Cluster, which supports write-intensive applications and sharding. People have to come up with their own way to share their applications, and that is the only way they can come up with a better performance tool for write-intensive applications.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using MariaDB for two years. I am not a customer of the product, but my company does cater to the needs of multiple customers. My company uses the tool at work, and it is a part of our product.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
As a part of the NDA, I cannot discuss the number of users of the product since it is a public company, but I can say that we have thousands and thousands of customers, and every one of them has products that are on their own databases.
How are customer service and support?
The technical side of the solution is there, and they have been doing this for a very long time. The solution's technical support team is responsive. I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I work with MariaDB and PostgreSQL.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was not at all challenging, and the reason for that is there is so much community support. You could face any issues which are not properly discussed in the community. Almost every issue has been discussed in the community, so there is no way you could be stuck somewhere, and you are trying to figure out what you can do next since it will not happen when you use MariaDB.
The solution is deployed on a hybrid cloud model.
What was our ROI?
The community support offered by the product is good. There is one specific thing about community support, and it is that it doesn't matter if it is a relational database or any other code that is public and open source. If it is open-source, the tool gets enhanced multiple times in a better way because every company has its own requirements. As per the requirement, people are merging codes in the main branch, and I am specifically talking about GitHub for now. MariaDB has so much flexibility and features, like data compression, audit plugins, and tablespace encryption, and it supports discrete encryption. Because of the tool's community support, it has varied functions and can be used almost anywhere or wherever you want as a relational database.
What other advice do I have?
In terms of data management efficiency, I would say that it is pretty efficient. The tool is simpler to support if you talk from an engineer's perspective, and it is easier to provide any assistance to the customer who needs some kind of data from their product. The tool provides its own high availability, which means a 99.99 percent high availability. The biggest thing about the tool is that it is an open-source product, and it is supported by a community, which is pretty nice, especially because the community improves the product pretty well. If the product was available at a certain price, there are very few requirements in such scenarios. For open-source products, there are multiple requirements, so the product is enhanced way faster, and that is why people prefer an open-source tool. MariaDB or MySQL are some of the most used relational databases.
It is not very complicated to maintain the tool.
I rate the tool an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Quality Assurance Group Lead at Samsung
Allows for fetching data from multiple correlated or related databases in a single query, user-friendly and easy to handle
Pros and Cons
- "One of the great features of MariaDB is its scalability. It's easy to handle even with large databases."
- "In future releases, mainly the addition of security features would be beneficial for MariaDB."
What is our primary use case?
For various applications, we use MariaDB as a database to test the incoming and outgoing data for any application.
We check the relational database, how it's working, how the data is organized, how the queries have been written, and how we can streamline or improve the performance of these stored procedures.
These are the things we look for to maintain a good relationship between the front end and the back end of the system.
What is most valuable?
One of the great features of MariaDB is its scalability. It's easy to handle even with large databases.
It's also user-friendly and allows you to create complex relationships with the data. It means you can fetch data from multiple correlated or related databases in a single query. So it allows complex relationships with specific databases.
MariaDB supports SQL, and it has an advantage over regular SQL in that it is a lighter version. Even with huge amounts of data, it performs well.
What needs improvement?
MariaDB is everything that SQL DB has, but it's much lighter and more flexible. It's also more expandable. So I don't think MariaDB has any disadvantages compared to SQL DB.
So the only issue is that it's not as lightweight as SQL DB. That's probably the only drawback.
In future releases, mainly the addition of security features would be beneficial for MariaDB. It would be great to have built-in capabilities that can be managed through plug-ins and system administration. This would require incorporating security measures into the code, which is a one-time activity but needs to be maintained. Wrappers can also be written for reusability and improved security. That's something MariaDB could benefit from.
For how long have I used the solution?
Since I've been in my current company, we have used Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) as the database since the beginning. And then there's MariaDB.
Additionally, we also use Oracle in some specific projects.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Sometimes any system may have occasional issues, but overall, we are not facing significant problems. We used to face more issues in the early stages.
Overall, I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
MariaDB is quite easy to maintain. It's scalable and maintainable. Since it's Knox, directly or indirectly, around 40,000 people would be using it.
How are customer service and support?
We have an in-house team to maintain MariaDB, so we don't require much external support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've worked with Oracle for one and a half years. Currently, I'm working with MariaDB and SQL DB.
I worked with Oracle DB before. Currently, I am not working with Oracle DB. Oracle is much more secure, but it is also costlier.
With MariaDB, you have to be proactive. The security team and the design team need to be vigilant to ensure sufficient security measures. On the other hand, Oracle comes with security features included in the package, which is a major advantage.
How was the initial setup?
MariaDB is quite easy to install.
What about the implementation team?
Deployment time depends on the level of application and the size of the database. For example, installing MariaDB from scratch may take some time due to design and architectural issues.
However, if the DB is already available and you need to install it on your system, it doesn't take much time. It usually takes only one or two days, depending on the support you receive from the server side.
So, the number of people required for the deployment depends on the systems and the project. The magnitude of the database also plays a role.
Since it's not a centralized database and specific to various systems, I would say for Knox, where we also use MariaDB in a large-scale system, there are more than 50 people involved in the design and database aspects out of a team of a thousand people.
And as for architects, there would be fewer. There are six to seven architects because there are different systems for nodes, meetings, Knox Mail, and Knox Client teams. So each specific system may have a dedicated architect.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
MariaDB is relatively cheap. It is very cost-effective.
What other advice do I have?
My advice would be, if you can handle the security aspect, MariaDB is a lightweight, scalable, and maintainable database that can be used for both small and large applications.
On a scale of one to ten, I would rate it nine. Due to its cost-effectiveness, scalability, and flexibility, I find it highly commendable.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Software Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
An open-source solution offering sharding and concurrent connections with cross-functional GUIs
What is our primary use case?
We use MariaDB for any instance where we need faster retrieval and processing rates, such as establishing relationships between data entities through entity relationship mapping. MariaDB is our preference for structured data, like user details or product information. However, for handling non-structured data, such as metadata, we prefer DynamoDB or MongoDB.
How has it helped my organization?
What is most valuable?
MariaDB is inherently faster than MySQL database. However, given the opportunity, our team would have likely chosen Postgres for better performance in terms of concurrency, etc.
MariaDB is likely less resource-intensive than Postgres and other RDMS solutions because it offers only a subset of features.
What needs improvement?
Concurrency is a challenge in MariaDB.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using MariaDB for a year.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Ten engineers are using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
It's open source, but there are no dedicated technical support resources.
How was the initial setup?
The deployment should be easier because we use AWS EC2 instances to run and deploy the image and the services. It took a few hours to complete.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's an open-source solution that only charges for a server database.
I rate the solution's pricing an eight or nine out of ten, where one is expensive, and ten is cheap.
What other advice do I have?
A few EC2 instances are running that solve the MySQL and the service.
Cross-functional GUIs are currently available. For example, we use DB Workbench, a solution that provides a GUI interface for MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and several other databases.
It is seamless unless we want more advanced features, like simple database charting or event scheduling, which MariaDB doesn't support.
Our security team and platform team maintain security features. So, it depends on the type of protocols they use.
There are no particular challenges because the development kit, such as all the SD cases that are DB connectors, is well supported by Python and Java.
Our AI projects' data comes from non-relational sources like Mongo and Dynamo. Therefore, there's no direct correlation. However, MariaDB merely serves as a repository for information, such as profile data or some form of structured text (NTT), which can be displayed in tables or otherwise.
It depends on whether they prioritize performance and features. If so, they might prefer Postgres. However, MariaDB could be the better choice if they prioritize a time-tested solution and lower costs.
MariaDB offers more features than its competitors. It supports features like sharding and concurrent connections.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
CTO at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
An open-source product that offers its users great online community support
Pros and Cons
- "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 solution is not scalable."
What is our primary use case?
MariaDB provides a platform for developing our company's database.
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
Sharding and the platform's vertical and horizontal extension and growth or scalability are areas with shortcomings that need improvement in MariaDB.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using MariaDB for three years. I am a customer of the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is not scalable.
Around four people in my organization use the solution.
How are customer service and support?
MariaDB is an open-source community software, meaning it is based on the generosity of others. I rate the technical support a six out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of MariaDB is easy.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.
Regarding the time taken to deploy MariaDB, I would say that in our company, we are still playing around with the platform. Our company is in the middle of a pivot right now, meaning we have plans to change our direction.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product.
What other advice do I have?
I have no objections to the maintenance phase of MariaDB since I feel it is fine and easy.
I recommend the solution to those who plan to use it.
MariaDB is a community-supported product because of which I am not familiar with the paid support options that may be available.
I rate the overall solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
System Engineer at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Offers certain unique features that distinguish it from other databases but requires improvement in materialized views
Pros and Cons
- "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."
- "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."
What is our primary use case?
It's a relational database, so it's mainly used for structured data. We use it for some of our in-house applications.
How has it helped my organization?
For us the benefit is that the system is very stable, so we don't have many outages. We also have a lot of experience with MariaDB, so we can optimally configure MariaDB and deploy a well-tuned environment.
What is most valuable?
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.
Another thing I like is the flashback feature, which allows you to roll back a transaction from the binary logs, so you can retrieve data. If someone deleted data, you can flash it back. That's a feature I really appreciate.
What needs improvement?
I'm interested in witnessing the integration of materialized views, which would enable the preservation of select queries. This particular functionality seems to be absent in MariaDB when compared to rival relational databases such as Oracle and SQL Server. The inclusion of this feature, akin to the offering from PostgreSQL, would be a valuable addition to MariaDB's capabilities.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have nearly 13 years of experience working extensively with MySQL, and in recent years, I've also gained proficiency with MariaDB. Since MariaDB is closely related to MySQL, my combined experience with both platforms spans over a decade. Currently, we're utilizing version 10.4, although it's a few iterations behind the most recent release. We're actively preparing to undertake an upgrade in the near future.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a quite stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
If you want to scale it for larger use cases, like sharding, you'd need to consider MariaDB SkySQL or Xpand, which is a separate product designed for cloud deployments. So, for realistic scalability, especially in the cloud, you might need to use MariaDB SkySQL.
We have a couple of hundred users currently working with the database. It's probably around 400.
How was the initial setup?
It's currently deployed on-premises, but we're planning to move it to the cloud in the future.
What about the implementation team?
It's not difficult to maintain. It does require some maintenance, but it's very stable. You don't really need to intervene much, so it's quite stable. The main maintenance we do is patching and upgrading once a year. So it's not too taxing to maintain.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have used MySQL or Oracle products.
MariaDB, being open source, is a significant advantage, especially considering we use the enterprise edition. It's considerably much cheaper than Oracle, which is a proprietary database with high licensing costs. So, from a financial perspective, MariaDB is far more economical.
Another advantage lies in its robust online community, simplifying troubleshooting and assistance. While we do have enterprise support, the online community and resources are quite valuable.
As for cons, due to fewer contributors compared to other databases like MariaDB, certain features might experience slower development. Amazon and MariaDB Corporation are among the contributors, but it's an area that could use more attention. However, overall, MariaDB remains a strong choice.
What other advice do I have?
MariaDB emerged as a distinct entity originating from MySQL, rather than being an inherent part of it. Formed in 2009 due to apprehensions that Oracle Corporation might negatively impact MySQL, which they acquired in 2010.
When deciding between MySQL and MariaDB, the feature disparity is minimal. MySQL has adeptly upheld compatibility since the transition, making it primarily a matter of personal preference. Some features differ between MariaDB and MySQL, catering to unique preferences.
In essence, MariaDB is a highly favored relational database, a commendable choice within the relational database realm. For those seeking a relational database, MariaDB stands as a solid option. As for purchasing a database, MariaDB comes highly recommended. It claims the second-highest rank globally and holds the second spot in the DB-Engines ranking. MongoDB ranks a bit lower, but the choice between the two is essentially equivalent.
On the whole, I would assign a rating of seven out of ten to this solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Director - Software Development at PRI
Is very simple to install, and the commands are exactly the same as MySQL
Pros and Cons
- "It is very simple to install, and the commands are exactly the same as MySQL."
- "It should work across all fields like SQLite, as it is the basis of any application, even apps for phones and the like."
What is our primary use case?
We use MariaDB for industrial automation. We log some tags, and we keep the tags in the database or historical storage.
What is most valuable?
It is very simple to install, and the commands are exactly the same as MySQL.
The learning curve is small and standardized, and not anything complicated. Other than that, it isn’t much different than other solutions. It's very similar to MySQL, but a little bit more light-weighted compared to it. Unless you do a very heavy login of data, it will be fine. It is based on AWS, and MariaDB is good for certain things.
What needs improvement?
It should work across all fields like SQLite, as it is the basis of any application, even apps for phones and the like.
How are customer service and support?
Usually, we are capable of handling our programs. We rarely use customer support. One time I got in touch with Oracle's customer service, but it was just one time. In general, we can handle the issues by ourselves. We are not really lower-level users and are all skilled with the programs.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have used PostgreSQL and Oracle. PostgreSQL and MariaDB are quite similar and we still use it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple. The deployment was done within a few minutes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I always use the free version.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate MariaDB almost an eight out of ten.
I think it's a pretty useful database. It's very simple to install and that's one of the very positive things about it because sometimes if you go into tools like Oracle, it is more difficult. It is not just the downloading of the installer on any computer from Linux or Mac or Windows. MariaDB works in a blink of an eye, and the database runs right away.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Buyer's Guide
Download our free MariaDB Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: August 2025
Popular Comparisons
SQL Server
Teradata
MySQL
PostgreSQL
Oracle Database
Firebird SQL
SAP HANA
IBM Db2 Database
Faiss
InfluxDB
SQLite
CockroachDB
ClickHouse
Amazon Aurora
EDB Postgres Advanced Server
Buyer's Guide
Download our free MariaDB Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- When evaluating Open Source Databases, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
- Did you switch from a different solution to MySQL? Can you list a few pros and cons for making the move?
- Which database is the best for session cashing?
- Why is Open Source Databases important for companies?
- Which low-code (no-code) database solution do you prefer?