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MariaDB vs Oracle Database comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 27, 2025

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

MariaDB
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (5th)
Oracle Database
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
291
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 5.7%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Database is 12.6%, down from 14.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Database12.6%
MariaDB5.7%
Other81.7%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

KumarManish - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Ismail Aboulezz - PeerSpot reviewer
Continuous updates improve performance and add valuable features to meet workload demands
Oracle Database is easy to install, customize, troubleshoot, and maintain. Its data management capabilities include data quality, data integration, data architecture, modeling, and data security, which are very important for data-driven companies. Furthermore, Oracle Database's performance and scalability features meet workload demands, and its continuous updates improve performance and add valuable features.

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 features of the solution stem from the fact that it is an open-source product and offers its users great online community support."
"We use MariaDB for identity provider services. Most of the things that we are doing are deployed in the container mode. All such solutions require a database, and MariaDB is easier to use for these kinds of deployments."
"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is that it is open-source and we can easily migrate from other databases, such as Oracle to MariaDB."
"Installation is straightforward."
"Visual Studio offers unit testing integration and extensive searching capabilities."
"MariaDB has a straightforward initial setup with easy-to-understand documentation."
"The solution has PL/SQL compatibility."
"MariaDB is easy to install and is stable and scalable."
"The reporting feature was fine for what we were using it for. Oracle Database has been serving its purpose, and I was happy."
"Overall, from a technical perspective, the solution is very strong."
"They continue to improve and are always introducing new features."
"Partitioning is most valuable."
"The performance and reliability are the best features of the Oracle Database."
"Oracle can quickly expand its capacity to handle growing data needs by adding additional server resources."
"The solution has an endless capacity."
"The reliability is the solution's most valuable feature. We've had great success with the solution."
 

Cons

"The dashboard and pricing need improvement."
"The performance could be a bit better."
"The scaling for database online transactions needs improvement."
"A well-known issue for a lot of different users is associated with write-intensive applications."
"I’m not sure if it can scale."
"The customer service and support are okay. But the response time is slow. Moreover, the material is not available freely."
"The solution can improve by having support for more integration. However, at this time it is working well for us."
"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."
"Frankly speaking, Oracle Database is very expensive."
"Oracle could improve by providing better integration with other solutions, such as Angular platforms."
"There are a lot of bugs in the Oracle Database, and it would be better if the bugs would be solved more quickly than they are today."
"It's not very user-friendly, and it's a little complex. Another issue that I don't like is the licensing complexity."
"The initial setup was very complex - best case, it takes between four and six hours to set up."
"The usage and security are okay for Oracle Database, but its pricing is more expensive when compared to its competitors."
"They could improve the storage and network overhead."
"Another improvement could be the ability to predict the actual time required to execute a particular query or procedure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is not expensive."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"It is an open-source solution."
"MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product."
"The price could be less expensive."
"We use the solution's free version."
"I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."
"We pay for a yearly license."
"The solution is expensive."
"It is quite expensive."
"Oracle is also very expensive."
"We are on an annual license for the use of this solution."
"The pricing is something that Oracle should work on to make the product more affordable, especially to businesses in third-world countries."
"The license is inexpensive."
"The price of Oracle Database is too expensive and especially for individual environments. The pricing model is not clear, if I want to run it on a virtual environment, I still need to license the whole physical box."
"You buy it initially, and then you pay for yearly support if you need support. If you don't need support, you can also use it without the support."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
8%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business87
Midsize Enterprise64
Large Enterprise178
 

Questions from the Community

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.
How do you run Oracle Database at your organization and why?
My company has been using Oracle Exadata Database Service for some years now, and we are happy with it. I will allow myself to answer your questions about why and what benefits it provides us with ...
Do you know of any disadvantages of Oracle Database?
Undoubtedly, Oracle Database is a top product in its category. But it does have its disadvantages, and for me and my organization, that has been the limitations of the product. When it comes to Ora...
What is the best use for Oracle Database?
Oracle Database is flexible and can be used for many things. My company's main use case for this product is for storing data. We benefit from its high level of security as well as from the fact tha...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Oracle 12c, RDBMS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Agncia Nacional de guas, Anbima, Aria Systems, Asiana Airlines, Astelit LLC, Australian Finance Group, Banco Occidental de Descuento, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BT, Caja de Seguros S.A., Casas GEO S.A.B. de C.V., Comic Relief UK, Corsair Components Inc., CSAM Health AS, CSOB Group, Datacraft Solutions, DenizBank A.S., Department of Treasury and Finance WA, Office of State Revenue, Deutsche B_rse AG, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Deutsche Messe AG, Digicel Haiti, DPR COSEA, Essar Group, Essatto Software Pty Ltd, Farmšcia e Drogaria Nissei Ltda., Fomento Econ‹mico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), FundaÊo Petrobras de Seguridade Social, Future Group, GFKL Financial Services AG, Grupo Posadas S.A.B. de C.V., Grupo Sinosserra, Guerra S.A. Implementos Rodovišrios, Hanatour International Service, Hays plc, Henan Mobile Co. Ltd, Hochschule Hof, Hong Kong and China Technology (Wuhan) Co. Ltd (Towngas Technology), Industries Corpa_al C.A., Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica, Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial, Kcell, LinkShare Corporation, MercadoLibre Inc., MetLife Inc., Nextgen Distribution, €BB-IKT GmbH, Octagon Research Solutions, Pacific Lutheran University, Paragon Data GmbH, Ping ltd., PJSC Trustbank, Prodaub _ Processamento de Dados de Uberl_ndia, Purdue University, Redknee Inc., Robi Axiata Limited, Shanghai Infoservice Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai Sihua Technologies Co. Ltd, Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de M_xico, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Suddenlink Communications, Suprajit Engineering Limited, Tallink Grupp, Terminales Ro de la Plata S.A., Therap Services LLC, Think Passenger Inc., Trafigura, Transmed S.A.L Lebanon, ValeShop, VelQuest Corporation, Vodafone Group plc, West Virginia Network, WIND Hellas Telecommunications S.A
Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. Oracle Database and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,706 professionals have used our research since 2012.