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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
8th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (8th)
Percona Server
Ranking in Open Source Databases
18th
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 March 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 5.9%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Percona Server is 2.4%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MariaDB5.9%
Percona Server2.4%
Other91.7%
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

AB
Co-Founder at Vsigma IT Labs Pvt Ltd
Has supported web application data needs but requires design adjustments to manage complex queries efficiently
Complex queries in MariaDB where the query needs to parse thousands of lines or data values face some performance issues. For small and medium-size volume, it is pretty good. If it goes beyond certain data and complex queries, we see performance issues. We tried the advanced replication feature between different regions, replicating data specifically residing on MariaDB to two different regions of MariaDB data, and there were some technical snags in terms of slowness and longer processing time. Point-in-time recovery in MariaDB is good for small databases. When data volume increases beyond 5 GB or 10 GB per day or runs into double-digit GBs, we found some performance issues. For data below 10 GB, it works fine. Performance is the primary focus area for MariaDB, particularly during transactions or complex query jobs where slow performance is observed. MariaDB is scalable and easy to scale.
Umair Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Database Administrator at Systems Limited
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

"The initial setup of MariaDB is simple enough."
"What I like best about MariaDB is that it is open-source and reliable."
"I would say that for most use cases it works fine."
"The solution runs very quickly. It's not slow at all."
"MariaDB is scalable."
"The solution's high availability is its most valuable aspect."
"The solution is very easy to implement."
"The product has good documentation and you can find many examples online."
"We find the product mostly stable."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in terms of security."
"Replication could be better, and it's not so simple. It would be better if they had a replication server. It would make things a lot easier. You need to have that replication server, but not in the same server farm. Then there will be a bit of latency between both because you should have one in one city and another one in a different city. That kind of solution should be more baked into every single database today. Mirroring the database in a live environment where any record written on the production server replicates instantly across the fiber on the other server wasn't easy. Many people don't even bother with that, and they just run one server."
"The price could be less expensive."
"The GUI could be improved a bit. The user interface needs to be improved."
"The maintenance and performance could be a bit better."
"It would be helpful if I could specify multiple drives for the database storage."
"The solution is not scalable."
"The performance could be a bit better."
"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."
"It is an open-source solution."
"It is free of charge."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"The product is not expensive."
"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."
"The tool is open-source."
"We use the solution's free version."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
9%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business27
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise26
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?
MariaDB is in the pricey range, especially for huge databases handling terabytes of data. The cost depends on the volume of data and different features enabled during configuration, such as backup ...
What needs improvement with MariaDB?
Sometimes, complex queries that were supported in Oracle are not available in MariaDB. Advanced indexing is not available. Oracle is very advanced compared to MariaDB, and those advanced features a...
Ask a question
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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: March 2026.
884,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.