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Firebird SQL vs PostgreSQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 8, 2026

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
3rd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (3rd)
PostgreSQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Vector Databases (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 12.5%, down from 18.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL is 14.3%, down from 18.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
PostgreSQL14.3%
Firebird SQL12.5%
Other73.2%
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer1991775 - PeerSpot reviewer
Chapter Lead at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
An open-source database to hold customer data, but its performance should be improved
Firebird SQL significantly improved our data management in many parts of our self-developed ERP system. I rate the solution's performance and speed a six out of ten. Two or three database administrators are needed to maintain the solution. A few years ago, migrating data to or from Firebird SQL was a little bit difficult because the identifier names for tables or stored procedures were limited to 20 to 30 characters. Transferring the structure to Firebird SQL was difficult, but they fixed it in version 3, which was much easier. We are developing software with Delphi, and Delphi is also by Embarcadero. Using InterBase or Firebird SQL databases is very common, and you have some good tools for developing with Firebird SQL. Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
AC
Senior Assosiate Consultant at Applied Materials
Real-time data capture optimizes database performance but Views create problems
One of the most valuable features is real-time data capture; it optimizes database performance. I think using real-time data capture reduces job running time and the amount of data sent at once with batch loads. Replicating the same data daily isn't optimal, so real-time reception improves application performance and reduces latency.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."
"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"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."
"The product was easy to use."
"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."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."
"The reliability and ease of management are very valuable."
"Clustering will be the number 1 feature. It is also open-source so it is free. It can also be clustered, to allow fault tolerance."
"The product is easy to use and works fast for relational databases."
"Postgres has some functions called JSONB aggregators or other aggregators, which are quite useful."
"With the database, you can provide a multi-component at the same service with the same performance, scalability, or all those things."
"The built-in code procedural language is the most valuable. It has a built-in layer for code procedures. Its installation is very easy and quick, and it is free. It is also stable, and its performance is also good."
"The solution has many valuable features such as it easy to use and the interface is intuitive."
"PostgreSQL is very powerful, easy to manage, and has many features."
"The community support and the open-source community for it are good."
 

Cons

"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."
"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."
"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."
"I don't think the solution is very scalable, because the scalability of the performance when using more than one process is not very good."
"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."
"On large databases, we have some difficulties."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"The scalability is limited."
"Sometimes, the views create problems. If you don't have the view, sometimes what happens is you need to have the drivers properly set up for PostgreSQL."
"PostgreSQL uses high memory compared to its counterparts when a highly demanding load is involved, especially one that makes many concurrent connections to the database."
"It is possible that in the newer version this has been addressed, but I would like the deployment in microservices architecture could be improved."
"When you get a large number of records in a database and start doing various queries, it can adversely impact the performance of the live running systems. That's an area we continue to look at and mean to improve, but it is not only because of PostgreSQL. It is also because of the way the schemas are put together, and certain events are triggered. So, it is because of both parties."
"The pricing could be better."
"The user interface for the clients could be easier to use as they are small businesses. From a technical support perspective, the documentation could be improved."
"Integration with other platforms could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"It's open-source and free."
"The tool is open source."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
"It could be much cheaper. If you would like to build an application on Amazon today, PostgreSQL is the standard database with Redshift. If you want other databases, you can add them, but PostgreSQL is the basis of everything. It's a question of money, that's it."
"The tool is cheaply priced compared to other RDBMS providers in the market."
"PostgreSQL is open-source, so if capable admins are available then the setup cost can be $0."
"It is free, but if you need support, you can go for the commercial version called EnterpriseDB. They provide paid support, and they can even do hosting for you if you want standby and support."
"This solution can offer a cheaper choice for customers since it is open-source."
"We do not pay for licensing."
"It is free. In terms of operating costs, it basically needs the same platform on which Oracle runs."
"It is also open-source so it is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business57
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise46
 

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 do you like most about PostgreSQL?
It's a transactional database, so we use Postgres for most of our reporting. That's where it's helping.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PostgreSQL?
The tool is free of cost. For now, it's not about making money. But once we perfect it, we can offer it to customers willing to pay for support and other services. Most of my deployments are free.
What needs improvement with PostgreSQL?
Postgres should focus on building a stronger knowledge base. They also need to expand their integration capabilities, so more tools and resources are available to manage it. But it is more secure t...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

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Find out what your peers are saying about Firebird SQL vs. PostgreSQL and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,707 professionals have used our research since 2012.