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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
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (8th)
SAP SQL Anywhere
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
32nd
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 June 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 3.5%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SQL Anywhere is 1.4%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
MariaDB3.5%
SAP SQL Anywhere1.4%
Other95.1%
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

"It's a very easy product to set up."
"We have seen a return on investment because we are going to save a lot of revenue from not having to use Oracle licenses."
"It delivers fast processing times, particularly for frequent select queries and insert/update operations."
"From the user's perspective, the performance of the columnar queries is very good in terms of the database when comparing it to the Oracle, and MySQL."
"MariaDB has a straightforward initial setup with easy-to-understand documentation."
"We have been running our instance since 2013 and it needs almost no maintenance."
"The solution is very easy to implement."
"I recommend this solution; it's great for web applications and it just works."
"It works well in general."
"SQL Anywhere is easy and it did not cost as much as SQL Microsoft."
"It's a great product to use if you are already have an integration with SAP's ERP/CRM systems."
"We've found the solution very reliable overall. It's very fast."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is very helpful."
"The auto-backup replication is a perfect feature. That is the feature I liked the most."
"The most valuable features of SAP SQL Anywhere are the ease of use and the user interface is intuitive."
 

Cons

"The price could be less expensive."
"The only potential area for improvement could be the pricing model, which might benefit from being more flexible or a bit cheaper."
"I’m not sure if it can scale, so I’m not sure how it would fare for significant companies."
"MariaDB's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"The maintenance and performance could be a bit better."
"Master-master replication is something that needs to be simplified."
"The difficult part related to the product stems not from the tool itself but is related to learning how to implement the product in the right way without creating any wrong configuration that could cause security issues or performance issues."
"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."
"It is not as secure as it could be."
"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."
"The interface is not easy in comparison to the SQL Server. It could be more user-friendly."
"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."
"Performance issues when syncing the MBO packages to the server."
"A problem we are experiencing now is when doing a backup in SQL 2012 and 14 there's a problem with the license."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"MariaDB is open-source and self-hosted."
"We use the solution's free version."
"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."
"This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
"We pay for a yearly 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."
"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."
"The product is not expensive."
"SQL Anywhere cost us about $400."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is affordable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
University
8%
Healthcare 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?
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...
What is your primary use case for MariaDB?
My client has been using MariaDB for the last four years. We are using MariaDB in the cloud.
Ask a question
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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: June 2026.
899,283 professionals have used our research since 2012.