Firebird SQL vs MariaDB comparison

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Firebird SQL

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

Firebird SQL and MariaDB are both popular database products. In a head-to-head comparison, MariaDB shows dominance due to its extensive feature set, despite Firebird SQL being more favorable in terms of support and initial pricing.

Features: Firebird SQL is appreciated for its small footprint, high performance, and reliable embedded database solutions. MariaDB shines with its powerful scalability, varied storage engines, and top-notch security features. Notably, MariaDB's scalability and advanced security tools offer a decisive advantage for large-scale applications.

Room for Improvement: Firebird SQL could enhance its cryptography features and documentation to compete more effectively. Additionally, performance issues with large datasets could be improved. MariaDB, while robust, may benefit from optimizing troubleshooting processes and enhancing its connect engine for better user experience. It could also improve community support for free-tier users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: MariaDB provides a sophisticated deployment model and comprehensive customer support, making it ideal for complex environments. On the other hand, Firebird SQL offers straightforward setup and configuration, though it lacks extensive support services, which can be a limitation for users requiring detailed guidance.

Pricing and ROI: Firebird SQL presents a lower initial setup cost, favoring budget-conscious deployments. It offers good returns due to its performance efficiency. Though MariaDB entails higher setup costs, it is seen as delivering stronger ROI in the long term through its advanced features and scalability, justifying its premium pricing for those seeking comprehensive functionality and support.

To learn more, read our detailed Firebird SQL vs. MariaDB Report (Updated: June 2025).

Firebird SQL vs. MariaDB

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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

Firebird SQL

Ranking in Open Source Databases

1st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Embedded Database (2nd)

MariaDB

Ranking in Open Source Databases

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Relational Databases Tools (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 17.2%, down from 20.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MariaDB is 6.7%, down from 9.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

Nicolae Ancuta

Retail Solution & BI Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Strong event capabilities, allowing raising and displaying events in applications

On large databases, we have some difficulties. It is one of the areas of improvement. For example, under one gigabyte, it works perfectly. Between one and five gigabytes, you might experience some slight performance issues, but they are not significant. Beyond that, you have to index it, tier it, and perform some restore operations to free up space. It requires some effort, but it's manageable. It's quite challenging for the customer. Moreover, migrating from one firewall solution to another was a little bit difficult regarding the backup and restoring the other one. Since we have many databases, we didn't go forward with the latest versions.

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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.

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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

"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."

"The documentation is very well written."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."

"It helps us in detecting all kinds of problems in the code, such as bad quality, unclear code, or any violation in the code or best practices."

"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."

"I appreciate the fact that, once the database is embedded, it doesn't need to be administered, and removes the requirement for a specific server."

"The product was easy to use."

More Firebird SQL pros

"From a customer perspective, MariaDB is a good choice for cluster configuration. It's also easy to operate and cheap."

"The solution is very stable. It was originally built under MySQL. It has a similar level of stability."

"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."

"The solution has PL/SQL compatibility."

"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."

"MariaDB has a straightforward initial setup with easy-to-understand documentation."

"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is the replication mode."

"The documentation is quite straightforward."

More MariaDB pros

Cons

"Firebird SQL's performance has slowed since Firebird SQL 3 or 3.5 versions, where they developed over-the-wire encryption."

"Technical support and performance could be better. We have some problems with this solution, but we don't know if the problem is with the database or the configuration. For example, sometimes, the users can't access the database."

"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."

"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."

"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."

"The solution could improve by providing partitioning and encryption. It is not at the higher level of database solution but it could be with some upgrades."

"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."

"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."

More Firebird SQL cons

"MariaDB could be improved by adding more automation."

"The product needs more features and more functionality. It's imperative that it supports more platforms, and supports more operating systems."

"MariaDB's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

"The ability to create stored procedures in MariaDB is an area where the tool lacks a bit."

"The difficult part related to the product stems not from the tool itself but is related to learning how to implement the product in the right way without creating any wrong configuration that could cause security issues or performance issues."

"The maintenance and performance could be a bit better."

"MariaDB doesn't handle long or complex SQL queries quite as well as Oracle Database."

"The license should be cheaper and closer to that offered by MySQL, Oracle and other products."

More MariaDB cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's open-source and free."

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."

"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."

"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."

"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."

"The tool is open source."

"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."

More Firebird SQL pricing and cost advice

"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."

"We use the solution's free version."

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

"It's an open-source solution."

"The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."

"I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."

"There is a monthly subscription to use MariaDB."

"The tool is open-source."

More MariaDB pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

What do you like most about Firebird SQL?

Firebird SQL is an open-source solution.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Firebird SQL?

It's open-source and free.

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.

PostgreSQL vs Firebird SQL

Comparisons

Compared 41% of the time

MySQL vs Firebird SQL

Compared 24% of the time

SQLite vs Firebird SQL

Compared 17% of the time

DuckDB vs Firebird SQL

Compared 1% of the time

Oracle MySQL Cloud Service vs Firebird SQL

Compared 1% of the time

More Firebird SQL Competitors

SQL Server vs MariaDB

Compared 23% of the time

PostgreSQL vs MariaDB

Compared 13% of the time

Oracle Database vs MariaDB

Compared 9% of the time

MySQL vs MariaDB

Compared 9% of the time

Percona Server vs MariaDB

Compared 5% of the time

More MariaDB Competitors

Product Reports

Embedded Database

Download Firebird SQL product report

Download MariaDB product report

Overview

Firebird SQL is an open-source, cross-platform relational database management system that offers an enterprise-level database solution. The solution is designed to be highly secure, efficient, and compatible with various platforms and programming languages. Firebird can operate in both embedded and server modes.

Firebird is an open-source project with an active community of developers and users. It is released under the Initial Developer's Public License (IDPL) and the InterBase Public License, allowing for free use, modification, and distribution.

The Firebird solution requires minimal configuration and its architecture allows it to efficiently handle databases ranging from a few KB to multiple terabytes. It is available for various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and several Unix-like platforms.

What are the key features of Firebird SQL?

ACID Compliance: Firebird provides full support for ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) transactions, ensuring data integrity and consistency, even in the event of system failures or concurrent access.
SQL Language Support: Firebird SQL provides extensive support for ANSI SQL, which is the standard SQL language, making it compatible with a wide range of applications and tools.
Multi-Generational Architecture: Firebird employs a multi-generational architecture, which allows multiple versions of the same data to coexist within the database.
Concurrency and Performance: Firebird offers efficient concurrency control mechanisms, including multi-version concurrency control (MVCC), which allows multiple transactions to access and modify data simultaneously without locking or blocking each other, improving overall performance.
Embedded mode: In the embedded mode, the database engine is integrated directly into the application.
Security Features: Firebird provides user authentication, role-based access control, and encryption capabilities. It supports various authentication methods, such as native Firebird user accounts, external authentication sources (e.g., Windows domains), and single sign-on (SSO) mechanisms.
Backup and Restore: Firebird offers built-in backup and restore utilities, allowing users to create full or incremental backups of the database, as well as restore from these backups when needed.

As part of being a commonly used open-sourced solution, Firebird boasts a vibrant community of developers and users. The community provides extensive documentation, third-party tools, and active forums for support. Businesses can also opt for professional support services offered by third-party vendors for added assurance.

To summarize, Firebird SQL is a robust, scalable, and cost-effective database solution suitable for a wide range of applications and business sizes. Its comprehensive SQL support, security features, and cross-platform compatibility, combined with the active community support, make it a compelling choice for businesses looking to leverage the power of open-source software without compromising on performance or security.

Firebird

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.”

Sample Customers

Elekt Labs, Streamsoft, wobe-systems GmbH, DRB Systems, Moscow City Hospital #31

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

Firebird SQL vs. MariaDB