Firebird SQL vs MariaDB vs PostgreSQL comparison

Read 59 MariaDB reviews

4,149 Views
3,815 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Read 125 PostgreSQL reviews

8,785 Views
7,651 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Firebird SQL

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Firebird SQL, MariaDB, and PostgreSQL based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Oracle, PostgreSQL, Firebird and others in Open Source Databases.

To learn more, read our detailed Open Source Databases Report (Updated: April 2025).

Open Source Databases

Download the complete report

Helped 849,190 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of Firebird SQL is 18.0%, down from 20.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MariaDB is 6.5%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL is 18.2%, down from 21.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

Doug Meuross

Strategic Advisor at TradeWindow

A reliable tool that offers good performance and is easy to use

I have had no issues with the stability of the product since it has always been a 100 percent reliable product and much better than the other databases available in the market. The multi-platform part is not good, especially when locked into things like Windows. You can judge your platform with Linux or Unix or whatever since they are good.

Read full review

KumarManish

Senior Technical Manager at Johnson Controls, Inc.

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.

Read full review

AdityaSharma3

Vice President Business at Techmagnate: Digital Marketing Agency

Transaction processes are fast and good replication capability

Use cases include querying data warehouses and databases to fetch data for clients already working on PostgreSQL. We also use Postgres for building reports It's a transactional database, so we use Postgres for most of our reporting. That's where it's helping. The query speed is fast, and the…

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 feature of the solution is that it is reliable, offers good performance, and is easy to use."

"I can deploy it on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows — it's very easy."

"Robustness is the absolutely main feature."

"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application."

"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 documentation is very well written."

"The most valuable feature of Firebird SQL is the creation of databases."

"I like that we don't have to pay external fees to migrate this data. So, we are looking to relocate from Postgres or EDB."

More Firebird SQL pros

"It is an absolutely stable solution."

"The speed and functionality are the most valuable features."

"The solution is very easy to implement."

"It delivers fast processing times, particularly for frequent select queries and insert/update operations."

"For non-production purposes. I'm just using it for my personal project, so it works quite well. I haven't faced any errors yet."

"It's a very easy product to set up."

"The solution is very stable. It was originally built under MySQL. It has a similar level of stability."

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

More MariaDB pros

"We managed to reduce the storage space needed to 10% of the original size, without affecting data integrity, and we significantly improved the performance."

"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."

"It is easy to install and easy to manage. There is no license on it, so it is free. There is high compatibility with Oracle, and there are many tools for the migration of data from Oracle to Postgre."

"The performance is good."

"The main value is that it is open source, which means it is free. Our organization has the initiative to go to open source to cut down on cost. Oracle costs us $6 million a year right now, which is killing us, and Postgres costs nothing. So, there is a big push to go to Postgres."

"It is very simple to manage."

"The community support and the open-source community for it are good."

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

Cons

"This solution isn't very user-friendly, or intuitive, which could be improved when it is developed."

"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."

"We would like to improve the management of very large databases."

"It would be nice to have a graphical user interface to handle the product."

"Technical support and performance could be better. We have some problems with this solution, but we don't know if the problem is with the database or the configuration. For example, sometimes, the users can't access the database."

"In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools."

"It would be interesting if they added functionality with redundancy, reputation, and variability."

"The solution could improve by providing partitioning and encryption. It is not at the higher level of database solution but it could be with some upgrades."

More Firebird SQL cons

"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 configuration could be improved. It should be easier."

"The only potential area for improvement could be the pricing model, which might benefit from being more flexible or a bit cheaper."

"I would like to see a better user interface which would make the tool less complex."

"The PL/SQL performance is slow if you have big batch jobs running overnight."

"The solution should do some fine-tuning on maybe the transaction per second so that users can get more than they can on the Microsoft SQL Server."

"I would like to see more compatibility going forward. This would help if there is a need to change databases."

"There could be a command-line prompt for repairing the database and fixing indexes, similar to what was available in the old MyISAM storage engine."

More MariaDB cons

"PostgreSQL’s performance could be improved."

"PostgreSQL could improve by adding data warehousing tools."

"A better graphic user-interface would be nice to see."

"PostgreSQL could improve by being more user-friendly. In SQL Server they have a studio where you can easily do management but not in this solution."

"I have noticed that user and access management should be improved."

"The price could be better."

"I had some issues when I integrated with the Jupyter Notebook."

"The solution could improve the integration."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is okay."

"There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."

"It's open-source and free."

"We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."

"I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."

"There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."

"Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."

More Firebird SQL pricing and cost advice

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

"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."

"It's an open-source solution."

"MariaDB is available for free."

"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."

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

"We pay for a yearly license."

"It is an open-source solution."

More MariaDB pricing and cost advice

"PostgreSQL is open-source, so if capable admins are available then the setup cost can be $0."

"The community version of Postgre is basically free."

"We do not pay for licensing."

"The solution requires a license."

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

"There is an annual license."

"The need for our customers to pay for licences is contingent on their projects and budgets."

"PostgreSQL is a free and open-source database."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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 c...

What do you like most about Firebird SQL?

Firebird SQL is an open-source solution.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Firebird SQL?

It's open-source and free.

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 pref...

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...

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.

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 ...

What needs improvement with PostgreSQL?

Postgres should focus on building a stronger knowledge base. They also need to expand their integration capabilities,...

Oracle MySQL Cloud Service vs Firebird SQL

Comparisons

MySQL vs Firebird SQL

Compared 27% of the time

SQLite vs Firebird SQL

Compared 16% of the time

DuckDB vs Firebird SQL

Compared 1% of the time

Compared 1% of the time

More Firebird SQL Competitors

SQL Server vs MariaDB

Compared 25% of the time

Oracle Database vs MariaDB

Compared 10% of the time

MySQL vs MariaDB

Compared 9% of the time

Percona Server vs MariaDB

Compared 5% of the time

SQLite vs MariaDB

Compared 3% of the time

More MariaDB Competitors

MySQL vs PostgreSQL

Compared 13% of the time

EDB Postgres Advanced Server vs PostgreSQL

Compared 11% of the time

Chroma vs PostgreSQL

Compared 7% of the time

LanceDB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 4% of the time

OpenSearch vs PostgreSQL

Compared 3% of the time

Product Reports

Embedded Database

Download Firebird SQL product report

Download MariaDB product report

Download PostgreSQL product report

Overview

Firebird SQL is an open-source, cross-platform relational database management system that offers an enterprise-level database solution. The solution is designed to be highly secure, efficient, and compatible with various platforms and programming languages. Firebird can operate in both embedded and server modes.

Firebird is an open-source project with an active community of developers and users. It is released under the Initial Developer's Public License (IDPL) and the InterBase Public License, allowing for free use, modification, and distribution.

The Firebird solution requires minimal configuration and its architecture allows it to efficiently handle databases ranging from a few KB to multiple terabytes. It is available for various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and several Unix-like platforms.

What are the key features of Firebird SQL?

ACID Compliance: Firebird provides full support for ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) transactions, ensuring data integrity and consistency, even in the event of system failures or concurrent access.
SQL Language Support: Firebird SQL provides extensive support for ANSI SQL, which is the standard SQL language, making it compatible with a wide range of applications and tools.
Multi-Generational Architecture: Firebird employs a multi-generational architecture, which allows multiple versions of the same data to coexist within the database.
Concurrency and Performance: Firebird offers efficient concurrency control mechanisms, including multi-version concurrency control (MVCC), which allows multiple transactions to access and modify data simultaneously without locking or blocking each other, improving overall performance.
Embedded mode: In the embedded mode, the database engine is integrated directly into the application.
Security Features: Firebird provides user authentication, role-based access control, and encryption capabilities. It supports various authentication methods, such as native Firebird user accounts, external authentication sources (e.g., Windows domains), and single sign-on (SSO) mechanisms.
Backup and Restore: Firebird offers built-in backup and restore utilities, allowing users to create full or incremental backups of the database, as well as restore from these backups when needed.

As part of being a commonly used open-sourced solution, Firebird boasts a vibrant community of developers and users. The community provides extensive documentation, third-party tools, and active forums for support. Businesses can also opt for professional support services offered by third-party vendors for added assurance.

To summarize, Firebird SQL is a robust, scalable, and cost-effective database solution suitable for a wide range of applications and business sizes. Its comprehensive SQL support, security features, and cross-platform compatibility, combined with the active community support, make it a compelling choice for businesses looking to leverage the power of open-source software without compromising on performance or security.

Firebird

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.”

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.

Sample Customers

Elekt Labs, Streamsoft, wobe-systems GmbH, DRB Systems, Moscow City Hospital #31

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

Open Source Databases