MariaDB vs PostgreSQL comparison

MariaDB and PostgreSQL are both solutions in the Open Source Databases category. MariaDB is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.3, while PostgreSQL is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3. MariaDB holds a 6.2% mindshare in OSD, compared to PostgreSQL’s 14.3% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of MariaDB users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of PostgreSQL users who would recommend it.

MariaDB

Read 61 MariaDB reviews

4,900 Views
2,499 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

PostgreSQL

Read 125 PostgreSQL reviews

7,517 Views
6,540 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

MariaDB

PostgreSQL

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

PostgreSQL and MariaDB compete in the open-source database category. PostgreSQL has the upper hand in offering a wide range of features suitable for complex queries and diverse procedural languages, while MariaDB stands out for its speed and performance in web applications.

Features: PostgreSQL supports advanced SQL standards and complex queries, offers diverse procedural language support, and is fully ACID compliant, making it ideal for write-intensive tasks and scalability. MariaDB is known for its speed, handling high-traffic web applications efficiently, and its robust replication system, performing well with read-heavy workloads.

Room for Improvement: PostgreSQL could improve in handling large datasets quickly, adding more MySQL-compatible SQL functions, and simplifying its installation and configuration process. MariaDB may struggle with write-intensive applications and complex queries on large datasets, and it can enhance stability during power outages and improve support for advanced analytics and scalability features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: PostgreSQL and MariaDB provide versatile deployment options across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. PostgreSQL benefits from strong community support with extensive resources, though commercial support may be necessary for consistent customer service. MariaDB also relies on community support with available commercial support options, and users appreciate the active communities that facilitate troubleshooting.

Pricing and ROI: Both PostgreSQL and MariaDB are open-source, offering cost-effective solutions without licensing fees, which is appealing to startups and smaller enterprises. PostgreSQL is considered to provide significant ROI due to its robust features available at no cost, and MariaDB offers flexibility and reliability, ensuring a favorable return on investment with adequate community support.

To learn more, read our detailed MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL

February 2026

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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

MariaDB

Ranking in Open Source Databases

8th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Relational Databases Tools (8th)

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 (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 6.2%, down from 6.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL is 14.3%, down from 18.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
PostgreSQL	14.3%
MariaDB	6.2%
Other	79.5%

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

Anand Bandi

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.

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Akhilesh Chipre

Senior Assosiate Consultant at Applied Materials

Real-time data capture optimizes database performance but Views create problems

One of the most valuable features is real-time data capture; it optimizes database performance. I think using real-time data capture reduces job running time and the amount of data sent at once with batch loads. Replicating the same data daily isn't optimal, so real-time reception improves application performance and reduces latency.

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

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it is a cloud-based tool, so it is pretty fast."

"It is a scalable solution. It easily scales up and scales down."

"The initial setup of MariaDB is simple enough."

"I haven't faced any technical issues with the product, and it works fine."

"What I like best about MariaDB is that it is open-source and reliable."

"The technical support of MariaDB is very helpful, and they came and tuned our queries with one-to-one assistance."

"It's open source."

"A valuable feature is that we can use it for quite a few things, all the things you'd expect from a server—along the lines of Linux's Lightweight Directory."

More MariaDB pros

"We use the solution to store tables. It is stable and performs well."

"I like that you can move any relational database from Oracle to PostgreSQL. I also like that it's pretty stable."

"The performance is good."

"It's a transactional database, so we use Postgres for most of our reporting. That's where it's helping."

"Postgres is rock solid when deployed according to best practices as documented by the PostgreSQL community. When it's installed correctly, PostgreSQL is an enterprise-grade solution."

"What I like is that it's quite powerful in terms of performance."

"The built-in code procedural language is the most valuable. It has a built-in layer for code procedures. Its installation is very easy and quick, and it is free. It is also stable, and its performance is also good."

"Clustering will be the number 1 feature. It is also open-source so it is free. It can also be clustered, to allow fault tolerance."

Cons

"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."

"The GUI could be improved a bit. The user interface needs to be improved."

"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."

"MariaDB doesn't handle long or complex SQL queries quite as well as Oracle Database."

"MariaDB should provide HA and archive logging... I haven't had the opportunity to use the features provided by the solution since I don't know how to see them."

"The product needs more features and more functionality. It's imperative that it supports more platforms, and supports more operating systems."

"The ability to create stored procedures in MariaDB is an area where the tool lacks a bit."

"While MariaDB is a good relational database, it can be inflexible for complex use cases."

More MariaDB cons

"The price could be better."

"It could be more secure."

"It still needs to be more mature and have some backup feature. We are normally dealing with Oracle's data, and we have very strong online tools to back up the data and do other things. PostgreSQL still needs to do more in this area as well as in the high availability area. There are many external tools that you can use for PostgreSQL's high availability, but there is no embedded tool within PostgreSQL for high availability. It could have a feature similar to Oracle for working on a distributed system. It can have some scripts to improve the monitoring and some tools to do performance analysis. We have a workaround for most of such requirements except for the support for a distributed system, which is very difficult to have. This area should be included in the core of the database itself."

"The user interface for the clients could be easier to use as they are small businesses. From a technical support perspective, the documentation could be improved."

"I find it difficult to get connectors on the tool. For example, .NET has only one free provider in PostgreSQL. I need to pay the provider if I need something more sophisticated features. Other languages like PHP and Java have good community support. We need community support for .NET."

"Sometimes, it becomes slow because of the network. So, there is room for improvement in performance."

"It needs more integration."

"As PostgreSQL is an open-source product, you do have to do a bit more configuration and management yourself."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is free, but if you want the enterprise version you will need to pay for some licenses but the cost is less than other solutions, such as Oracle."

"My company uses the free version of the solution."

"It is 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."

"MariaDB is open-source and self-hosted."

"I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."

"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."

More MariaDB pricing and cost advice

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

"This solution can offer a cheaper choice for customers since it is open-source."

"It is an open-source platform."

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

"It could be much cheaper. If you would like to build an application on Amazon today, PostgreSQL is the standard database with Redshift. If you want other databases, you can add them, but PostgreSQL is the basis of everything. It's a question of money, that's it."

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

"The solution requires a license."

"Our company pays for it. There are free versions available, but for advanced features, you obviously have to pay."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

University

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	27
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	26

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	57
Midsize Enterprise	26
Large Enterprise	46

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about MariaDB?

The integration with other products is seamless.

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

Firebird SQL vs MariaDB

Compared 19% of the time

SQL Server vs MariaDB

Compared 15% of the time

MySQL vs MariaDB

Compared 9% of the time

Oracle Database vs MariaDB

Compared 5% of the time

Percona Server vs MariaDB

Compared 4% of the time

More MariaDB Competitors

Firebird SQL vs PostgreSQL

Compared 23% of the time

MySQL vs PostgreSQL

Compared 9% of the time

Chroma vs PostgreSQL

Compared 5% of the time

LanceDB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 5% of the time

OpenSearch vs PostgreSQL

Compared 4% of the time

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB

January 2026

Download MariaDB product report

Buyer's Guide

PostgreSQL

January 2026

Download PostgreSQL product report

Overview

MariaDB is an open source relational database created by the original founders of MySQL. It is considered one of the most popular and trusted database servers throughout the world. MariaDB is a valued component found in most cloud offerings and is the default in many Linux tools. It is also widely used by Wikipedia, WordPress, and Google, among other well-known sites. Maria DB easily melds data into concise information from a vast array of applications, such as banking, online shopping, websites, and more.

MariaDB was originally created to improve MySQL performance. It is the most widely chosen database server due to the solution being super fast, robust, user-friendly, and easily scalable. MariaDB also offers a substantial ecosystem of plugins, storage engines, and numerous other valuable tools that make it very attractive for a significant offering of use cases.

The solution’s newest functionalities include compatibility with Oracle Database and Temporal Data Tables, and advanced clustering with Galera Cluster 4, which make it easier for users to research data history from any point in the past. Additionally, the most recent versions include JSON and GIS features. MariaDB is committed to staying an open source solution.

MariaDB Features

More storage: MariaDB works with more storage engines than MySQL and most other database servers available. Some storage options include, but are not limited to ARCHIVE, MERGE, CSV, MEMORY, BLACKHOLE, MyISAM, ColumnStore, MyRocks, and Cassandra.
Super fast: MariaDB offers faster authentication checks. The FlushSSL permits SSL certificates to be reloaded without a server restart, resulting in huge time savings.
Improved testing: MariaDB offers an extending testing suite that runs faster and can test more than ever before. Bugs can be easily fixed and invalid tests removed.
Genuinely open source: Every code in MariaDB is GPL, LGPL, or BSD. Client libraries [for Windows (ODBC), Java (JDBC), or C] allow linking to closed source software. All fixed bug cases and development plans are completely public. MariaDB is a community-developed solution representing the true spirit of open source products.

Reviews from Real Users

Faustine C., Engineering Supervisor- Corporate Data Solutions and Services at TZ Telecoms Corporation, shares, “The software provides a lot of information on what is happening inside the database. For most performance parameters it is easy to know if something is not right in the configuration or optimization which helps engineers take remedial fine-tuning measures. For example, if the database is underperforming it is easy to know which performance parameter can be adjusted to handle the workload. It is difficult to troubleshoot database issues if many performance parameters can not be monitored or debugged which is the case with some database management systems. It provides great monitoring of data storage, processing, and performance stability which is really important for real-time data storage and processing. It's a user-friendly product.”

A PeerSpot user who is a Senior Engineer at a tech services company relates, “ The solution's high availability is its most valuable aspect. We have found the product to be stable and the initial setup is pretty simple. I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. I'm very happy with it overall. I would recommend the solution to others. It's easy to find details about the product online and to learn about it.”

MariaDB

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.

PostgreSQL

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities

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

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL

February 2026

Free Report: MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL

Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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