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Firebird SQL vs SAP HANA comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 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 Embedded Database
4th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (6th)
SAP HANA
Ranking in Embedded Database
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Relational Databases Tools (3rd), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 11.5%, down from 21.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 13.0%, up from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP HANA13.0%
Firebird SQL11.5%
Other75.5%
Embedded Database
 

Featured Reviews

SS
Research and Development Project Manager at Sixense Monitoring
Efficient data storage with reliable and easy management
We are working on monitoring software that involves making a lot of measurements with sensors. We store all the data in Firebird, which is why we use It primarily for data storage It's difficult to describe how it has improved our organization because we have been using Firebird for a very long…
Bassem Mohammed - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Application Manager at TBTD
Integrated business processes have improved real-time analytics and financial performance
Whether I or my customers utilize SAP HANA's real-time analytics depends on the data needed to be displayed, and then choosing how to transfer the data to the analytic object, data source, or database to be displayed in the reports. It may be near real-time, real-time, or running batch every day. There are tools for integration between third-party systems, such as OData or APIs from SAP to get in or push data to other systems. Support for both structured and unstructured data helps organizations unify data sources depending on the needed data to be displayed. There are many ways to store it for report displays, but structured data will be better than unstructured data.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."
"I like Firebird because it's very lightweight; it's very light and powerful, and I can do everything that I can with MS SQL Server and Oracle with Firebird, with very easy deployment on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows and great integration capabilities."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows."
"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 solution is very useful for stock management."
"The reliability and ease of management are very valuable."
"We are satisfied with Firebird SQL, and we will keep on using it."
"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution."
"This solution is very fast."
"The user interface is very good. You can do any kind of reporting analytics from the platform."
"SAP HANA is not just a memory database, it's a big platform, it's a very, very safe database, and the performance is very, very good for an in-memory database."
"Some functions have good performance."
"SAP is great for what it does."
"The solution offers advanced features that the company was struggling to implement."
"Probably the main feature is its in-memory database."
"It is in the internal control system and with the most important decisions for the management of the enterprise, the process of decision-making."
 

Cons

"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."
"I'd rate the solution five or six out of ten for the possibilities it has currently."
"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."
"They need to be more reactive and fast. Sometimes, they take too long to resolve some tickets."
"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."
"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."
"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."
"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks."
"Because SAP HANA is completely in-memory, it requires the use of bigger systems which have a higher amount of RAM. If the system does go down then coming back up is difficult and can take 30 to 40 minutes."
"The pricing on this product could be reduced, and the installation process could be more straightforward."
"The pricing could be better."
"There's an issue in the partition. When you record more than two million records, partitioning does not work well. In Oracle it's easy. SAP must resolve this issue in order to be more competitive with Oracle."
"The solution could improve in the handling of backup data and the administration tools."
"The relationship with a partner that sells SAP could be better. We depend much more on our own development, and the partner is for selling us the solutions, so we need them to be able to supply help and answers. The partner isn't very helpful, and we have to rely on our own knowledge and research."
"More standards would help in the future."
"They should develop and improve the solution's data management system."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
"It's open-source and free."
"The tool is open source."
"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
"It is okay."
"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
"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 pricing for SAP HANA is high. You pay a lot for the license, and you also have to pay for some add-ons."
"Setup and licensing require planning and proper budgeting, as it is not cheap."
"SAP HANA is very expensive here in China. My company bought the SAP ERP suite, which includes SAP HANA. For others who use SAP HANA as an analytical database, CPU numbers will affect the pricing, so as a solution, it's costly."
"The price of licensing is dependent on the size of the project, however, we have found that there is scope to negotiate the cost. If the solution is implemented on-premises there may be some extra costs for hosting etc."
"We pay annually for the license of the solution."
"The price of this product is good."
"I would rate the pricing of the solution a ten on ten. The pricing for on-prem SAP HANA is on a yearly basis and expensive. I am not aware of the actual pricing but it is based on 64 Gigabytes. For instance, if you consider $10,000 for 64 Gigabytes, then you can calculate the cost for Terabytes in case you have one. You will have to buy expensive hardware as well which is quite a lot."
"The licensing could improve."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
15%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise64
 

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 needs improvement with Firebird SQL?
We would like to improve the management of very large databases. We have databases up to three or four terabytes, and it's not so easy to manage such large databases.
What is your primary use case for Firebird SQL?
We are working on monitoring software that involves making a lot of measurements with sensors. We store all the data in Firebird, which is why we use It primarily for data storage.
What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?
Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...
Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?
We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...
Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?
SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Elekt Labs, Streamsoft, wobe-systems GmbH, DRB Systems, Moscow City Hospital #31
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about Firebird SQL vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.