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MariaDB vs SQLite 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
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
Relational Databases Tools (5th)
SQLite
Ranking in Open Source Databases
11th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 6.5%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQLite is 4.4%, up from 4.0% 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.
Neeraj Tiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
Pretty easy to execute my SQL queries but issues while uploading and importing my dataset
It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries. Since I was a beginner, it was comfortable for me to learn SQL using SQLite. However, when I used it for my professional work and for my assignments, I found some complications. Maybe I'm not proficient with it, that's why. The main benefit for me was learning. Since I was new to SQL, SQLite helped me understand how to work with structured data.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the global transaction IDs (GTIDs) feature. It's quite reliable for replication between a master and a replica server, and it's a feature that MySQL also has but implemented differently."
"MariaDB is stable and the initial setup is straightforward."
"The integration with other products is seamless."
"MariaDB performs well as the backend database for our cloud-based telephony solution."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is a relational database, which is fairly reliable...It is a stable solution."
"I haven't faced any technical issues with the product, and it works fine."
"Great monitoring and performance stability."
"I am editing."
"SQLite’s most valuable feature is the ability to store granular-level backups of databases."
"I use Flutter Technology with the JSF plugin."
"The product is lightweight and highly scalable."
"I haven't encountered any problems in my use cases. So, it has been a stable product for me."
"It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries."
"Sometimes, you want data to persist within the app even when there's no internet connectivity. To avoid showing blank screens, we can use SQLite to store data locally and then sync it with the cloud database when connectivity is restored."
 

Cons

"Data continuity could be improved."
"The stability could always continue to be improved upon."
"MariaDB could be improved by adding more automation."
"MariaDB doesn't handle long or complex SQL queries quite as well as Oracle Database."
"The price could be less expensive."
"In future releases, mainly the addition of security features would be beneficial for MariaDB."
"The only potential area for improvement could be the pricing model, which might benefit from being more flexible or a bit cheaper."
"The license should be cheaper and closer to that offered by MySQL, Oracle and other products."
"Compared to other tools, the performance was less effective than that of Microsoft Access."
"The performance could be better."
"It could have a user-friendly GUI and better intelligence features."
"A potential drawback is that the database file stored within the application's local storage could be accessible to users."
"There are some difficulties on the server side. When syncing data with databases like SQL Server or Oracle, SQLite requires a kind of double effort."
"I primarily use SQLite for small-scale applications due to its limitations in storing large amounts of data. For larger-scale projects, I typically opt for MySQL or other alternatives. Storing a large number of dates in SQLite can significantly impact its performance."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is a monthly subscription to use MariaDB."
"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."
"I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."
"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."
"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."
"We use the solution's free version."
"My company uses the free version of the solution."
"It's not expensive."
"The tool is open-source."
"I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten."
"It's a good value."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

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.
What do you like most about SQLite?
It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries.
What needs improvement with SQLite?
There were some complications. For example, you have to upload the dataset into SQLite, and once it's uploaded, you might find difficulties working with it.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
Oracle, Bloomberg, Bentley, Mozilla
Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. SQLite and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.