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MariaDB vs Percona Server comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 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 Open Source Databases
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (4th)
Percona Server
Ranking in Open Source Databases
17th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 6.7%, down from 9.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Percona Server is 1.9%, down from 2.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases
 

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.
Umair Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Open-source and free to use with a good community
I would love to see the flashback in Percona MySQL or even in Percona PostgreSQL. It's available in Oracle, the flashback. In Oracle, there's the utility of a flashback. It stores all the information in the tables for a few days. That way, if I accidentally delete my records from the table or I need to check the value of a column or row two days back, I can. If Percona had flashback capabilities, it would be ideal. I would love to see training be easier to find. I had some complications finding the training that Percona provides. It is not displayed on the website. For example, if I want to train myself via a Percona expert through virtual files or through recorded videos or something like that, it's really difficult to find any sort of course. You have to email them first, and they will ask you whether it is for yourself or it is for the corporate sector. The course content should just be readily available and not hidden.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a stable solution."
"The product has been stable and reliable."
"From the user's perspective, the performance of the columnar queries is very good in terms of the database when comparing it to the Oracle, and MySQL."
"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is the replication mode."
"What I like best about MariaDB is that it is open-source and reliable."
"MariaDB performs well as the backend database for our cloud-based telephony solution."
"The integration with other products is seamless."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it is a cloud-based tool, so it is pretty fast."
"We find the product mostly stable."
 

Cons

"It does not have tools for debugging procedures and functions."
"It doesn't have the same level of maturity metrics as Postgres."
"Lacks time series data and additional driving support would be helpful."
"Integration with AWS could be improved."
"Master-master replication is something that needs to be simplified."
"In the next release, I would like to see improvements in the scalability and redundancy features."
"Document caching is an area of concern in the product, where improvements are required to help MariaDB improve on the previous queries as they are retained, and you can roll back to them."
"Data continuity could be improved."
"If Percona had flashback capabilities, it would be ideal."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."
"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."
"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."
"The product is not expensive."
"The licensing cost is approximately $4000.00 per year and the licensing is based on the software and the number of posts that you make."
"I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."
"We use the solution's free version."
"MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
24%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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.
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Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Pricefalls Marketplace, Micpoint, Rent the Runway, Transmart, Wattpad, Singular Group, Invoca, 3E
Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. Percona Server and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.