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MariaDB vs MySQL 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
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
MySQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
1st
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
148
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 6.6%, down from 13.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of MySQL is 11.6%, down from 18.4% 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.
Muzzamil  Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
Native encryption ensures secure data management with a simple deployment
The most valuable feature is the on-premises data encryption facilities. By default, we can provide encryption, and this feature in MySQL is why we prefer it over other databases. The native encryption in MySQL encourages us to use this database model more frequently compared to Oracle and other databases. With Oracle, we have to buy another solution for encryption and masking, but MySQL supports native encryption, which enhances our return on investment. It perfectly supports our ROI, and we have no issues with its functionality.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product has been stable and reliable."
"The solution's high availability is its most valuable aspect."
"Great monitoring and performance stability."
"MariaDB is scalable."
"It's open source."
"The solution runs very quickly. It's not slow at all."
"MariaDB is a fast and flexible tool."
"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it is a cloud-based tool, so it is pretty fast."
"For starters, it's free, which is always nice, and it's also pretty straightforward to use. It's a nice conventional database."
"It is a very stable solution. I deployed the product six years ago, and it still works fine."
"It is free, which is probably its most valuable feature. It is a pretty full-featured relational database. It really does everything we need it to do."
"The ML modules in MySQL are advantageous since they make data handling easy and quick at MNQM."
"MySQL is a scalable tool. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...The solution's technical support is good. I rate the technical support a nine out of ten."
"MySQL is a popular database platform for businesses because it is extremely easy to use."
"The most valuable feature of MySQL is its reliability and performance."
"The easy access to the data and the ability to sort the data with multiple methods are very valuable features."
 

Cons

"The GUI could be improved a bit. The user interface needs to be improved."
"The price could be less expensive."
"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."
"I am editing."
"A well-known issue for a lot of different users is associated with write-intensive applications."
"Master-master replication is something that needs to be simplified."
"While MariaDB is a good relational database, it can be inflexible for complex use cases."
"The dashboard and pricing need improvement."
"Improvements are required in character set support, scalability, and big data sets."
"Even for the best database, we always want the database to perform much better, so we wish MySQL would be much better, in terms of performance."
"The GUI could improve in MySQL."
"It could be a little bit simpler to use."
"The licensing of the solution is on the expensive side."
"In an upcoming release, there should be something added similar to EPL. For example, when using the flow diagram, we can create a schema. We have two useful features to add or create the table, but there should be some UI features to allow us to drag and drop to create other schemas. This would be very helpful."
"The product is a little bit complex and it is difficult to find sufficient documentation."
"Oracle should start putting in some of the enterprise features in the standard feature. There are some key features that should be part of the standard."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We pay for a yearly license."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"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."
"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."
"The price could be less expensive."
"The tool is open-source."
"We use the solution's free version."
"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."
"There is not a license required for this solution."
"​Enterprise editions and support are definitely needed for the heavy users who need direct support. ​"
"The price of the solution is good because we have a good partner."
"The solution does not come with a licensing fee."
"We are using the free community edition of MySQL."
"We are using the free version of MySQL. We prefer paying for a yearly license."
"MySQL is cheaper than Microsoft SQL Server."
"MySQL is free."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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.
Why are MySQL connections encrypted and what is the biggest benefit of this?
MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it, m...
Considering that there is a free version of MySQL, would you invest in one of the paid editions?
I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among sim...
What is one thing you would improve with MySQL?
One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos onli...
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
839,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.