Firebird SQL vs PostgreSQL comparison

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Firebird SQL

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

PostgreSQL and Firebird SQL are two open-source databases competing in the market. Based on comparison across different sections, PostgreSQL seems to have an edge due to its extensive feature set and strong cloud deployment capabilities.

Features: PostgreSQL provides a rich feature set including comprehensive SQL standards support, complex query handling, and superior data reliability. It supports JSON and NoSQL features, making it versatile for diverse applications. Additionally, PostgreSQL's extensibility is valued by developers. Firebird SQL, contrastingly, offers simplicity and ease of use, an ideal choice for environments with limited resources. The lightweight nature of Firebird makes it straightforward to administer and deploy.

Room for Improvement: PostgreSQL users call for improved replication, enhanced user-friendly properties for beginners, and better performance on large-scale queries. Firebird SQL could benefit from enhancements in handling larger databases, more graphical management tools, and boosted integration capabilities with existing development frameworks.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: PostgreSQL's versatile deployment options across cloud configurations enhance its applicability in complex settings. Despite strong community support, there is a demand for centralized documentation. Firebird SQL is praised for easy on-premises deployment and has solid community-driven support, though it lacks a centralized commercial-grade support system.

Pricing and ROI: Both databases are open-source with no licensing costs, providing significant savings over commercial options. PostgreSQL might incur additional costs for support services but offers substantial ROI, valuable for startups and transitioning enterprises. Firebird SQL stands out as cost-effective in scenarios where stability and simplicity are prioritized over advanced features.

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

Firebird SQL vs. PostgreSQL

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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

3rd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Embedded Database (4th)

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 (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 15.2%, down from 20.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL is 16.6%, down from 19.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
PostgreSQL	16.6%
Firebird SQL	15.2%
Other	68.2%

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

Ruben Conti

Owner at Intersoftware sas

Offers good performance for up to a hundred end users, open source and easy to setup

Firebird can compete with well-known names like Oracle and SQL Server when you don't have more than a few hundred thousand users. It's a level below SQL Server, and the application of SQL is a kind of database you can rely on for situations where you don't have too much information to deal with. For example, you can use it for the internet or national projects, but when you have millions of users, then it's not possible for other services.

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PavithrarajShetty

Software Architect at Tetherfi

Offers simplicity and is cheaply priced

I haven't gone through the scalability aspect since I was using MySQL Server. I haven't worked to a high level in PostgreSQL, but with MySQL Server, I have managed clustering and partitioning. I think I haven't put much focus on PostgreSQL, so I am not sure how it behaves or how it works.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."

"The documentation is very well written."

"I like that we don't have to pay external fees to migrate this data. So, we are looking to relocate from Postgres or EDB."

"The reliability and ease of management are very valuable."

"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."

"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."

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

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."

More Firebird SQL pros

"It's a useful solution, that can be widely used."

"It is a pretty comprehensive database system. Its performance is good, and it does what it is supposed to do. It also integrates very well."

"We managed to reduce the storage space needed to 10% of the original size, without affecting data integrity, and we significantly improved the performance."

"The solution is quite stable."

"The product's deployment is easy."

"The database has excellent performance."

"The product is very similar to the SQL Server."

"The tool is user-friendly."

Cons

"The main feature I expect is to be able to work with different databases at the same time because that's a wishlist item for me."

"It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors."

"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."

"The security of the users could improve in Firebird SQL."

"It is not easy to integrate the tool with Visual Studio."

"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."

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

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

More Firebird SQL cons

"There are some products out there that have a slightly different method of implementation for the SQL language. Some of those are slightly better in some areas, and PostgreSQL is slightly better in some areas. I would probably like to match all of those products together. It is just down to the functionality. For example, Oracle has a number of options within SQL that are outside of what you would class as the SQL standard. PostgreSQL misses some of those, but PostgreSQL does other things that are better than what Oracle does. I would like to merge those two products so that there is a certain amount of functionality in a single product."

"The pricing could be better."

"There are several features I would like to improve that aren't working as expected. It's likely that the latest version is doing something that was missed in the previous versions. For example, the output parameters — the stored procedures — is something new in PostgreSQL that Firebird has already had for a long time."

"PostgreSQL could improve by being more user-friendly. In SQL Server they have a studio where you can easily do management but not in this solution."

"Instead of the installation agent downloading all the packages for the install, it should allow the user to download the packages separately on their own to do the install."

"It would be good to have machine learning functionality in this solution, similar to Microsoft SQL Server and other solutions. Machine learning capability for a basic level or a common user would be useful. It can also have good reporting capabilities."

"I had some issues when I integrated with the Jupyter Notebook."

"It needs more integration."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's open-source and free."

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

"It is okay."

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

"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it 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."

"The tool is open source."

More Firebird SQL pricing and cost advice

"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."

"It is open source. There is no licensing."

"It is open-source. If you use it on-premise, it is free. It also has enterprise or commercial versions. If you go for the cloud version, there will be a cost, but it is lower than Oracle or Microsoft."

"The tool is cheaply priced compared to other RDBMS providers in the market."

"It is also open-source so it is free."

"There is an annual license."

"It is free. In terms of operating costs, it basically needs the same platform on which Oracle runs."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	3

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	58
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	45

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 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...

Oracle MySQL Cloud Service vs Firebird SQL

Comparisons

MySQL vs Firebird SQL

Compared 22% of the time

SQLite vs Firebird SQL

Compared 18% of the time

MariaDB vs Firebird SQL

Compared 17% of the time

DuckDB vs Firebird SQL

Compared 2% of the time

Compared 1% of the time

More Firebird SQL Competitors

MySQL vs PostgreSQL

Compared 12% of the time

MariaDB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 7% of the time

EDB Postgres Advanced Server vs PostgreSQL

Compared 7% of the time

Chroma vs PostgreSQL

Compared 6% of the time

LanceDB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 5% of the time

Product Reports

Embedded Database

Download Firebird SQL product report

Download PostgreSQL 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

PostgreSQL is a versatile and reliable database management system commonly used for web development, data analysis, and building scalable databases.

It offers advanced features like indexing, replication, and transaction management. Users appreciate its flexibility, performance, and ability to handle large amounts of data efficiently. Its robustness, scalability, and support for complex queries make it highly valuable.

Additionally, PostgreSQL's extensibility, flexibility, community support, and frequent updates contribute to its ongoing improvement and stability.

Sample Customers

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

1. Apple 2. Cisco 3. Fujitsu 4. Instagram 5. Netflix 6. Red Hat 7. Sony 8. Uber 9. Cisco Systems 10. Skype 11. LinkedIn 12. Etsy 13. Yelp 14. Reddit 15. Dropbox 16. Slack 17. Twitch 18. WhatsApp 19. Snapchat 20. Shazam 21. SoundCloud 22. The New York Times 23. Cisco WebEx 24. Atlassian 25. Cisco Meraki 26. Heroku 27. GitLab 28. Zalando 29. OpenTable 30. Trello 31. Square Enix 32. Bloomberg

Firebird SQL vs. PostgreSQL