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MariaDB vs SAP SQL Anywhere comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 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 Relational Databases Tools
10th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (9th)
SAP SQL Anywhere
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
35th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 3.4%, down from 6.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SQL Anywhere is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MariaDB3.4%
SAP SQL Anywhere1.4%
Other95.2%
Relational Databases Tools
 

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.
MT
Automation Project Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Scalable, easy to use, but stability could improve
We use SAP SQL Anywhere because we have a lot of Power BI reports that connect with the SQL database that we have for our robotic process automation data. We create procedures and other elements within the solution The most valuable features of SAP SQL Anywhere are the ease of use and the user…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution runs very quickly. It's not slow at all."
"What I like best about MariaDB is that it is open-source and reliable."
"The stability of MariaDB is good, it has high availability."
"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is the replication mode."
"Installation is straightforward."
"It has worked very well for us so far."
"MariaDB is very stable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is a relational database, which is fairly reliable...It is a stable solution."
"SQL Anywhere is easy and it did not cost as much as SQL Microsoft."
"The most valuable features of SAP SQL Anywhere are the ease of use and the user interface is intuitive."
"It works well in general."
"We've found the solution very reliable overall. It's very fast."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is very helpful."
"It's a great product to use if you are already have an integration with SAP's ERP/CRM systems."
"The auto-backup replication is a perfect feature. That is the feature I liked the most."
 

Cons

"I’m not sure if it can scale, so I’m not sure how it would fare for significant companies."
"The scaling for database online transactions needs improvement."
"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."
"There is not much support available."
"It would be good if they can maybe improve the mass import in the database."
"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."
"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."
"Performance issues when syncing the MBO packages to the server."
"It is not as secure as it could be."
"The interface is not easy in comparison to the SQL Server. It could be more user-friendly."
"A problem we are experiencing now is when doing a backup in SQL 2012 and 14 there's a problem with the license."
"We have had some stability issues with SAP SQL Anywhere, but I am not sure if it is an application or network issue. We sometimes have a large amount of data being queried and it cannot handle it."
"It is not as secure as it could be; there needs to be more encryption and we can find passwords very easily."
"SAP SQL Anywhere needs to incorporate functionalities like SAP S/4HANA."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is open-source."
"MariaDB is an open-source software, meaning I don't need to pay for the product."
"MariaDB is available for free."
"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."
"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."
"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."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"It is free of charge."
"SQL Anywhere cost us about $400."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
University
8%
Healthcare Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise26
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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?
The key area where MariaDB could be improved is its native GUI tooling; while the command-line interface works perfectly fine, the built-in visual tools for administration, management, and query de...
What is your primary use case for MariaDB?
My main use case for MariaDB was web applications, and I have been using MariaDB for just about a year now as I was in the development team. A specific web application where I used MariaDB is a hea...
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Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Sybase SQL Anywhere
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
AOK Bundesverband, Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, Molson Coors Brewing Company, City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International, Wªrth Group, Takisada-Osaka Co. Ltd., Coelba, RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association, TALLY WEiJL
Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. SAP SQL Anywhere and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
910,564 professionals have used our research since 2012.