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Business Intelligence · head to head

Google Data Studio vs MariaDB

Google Data Studio logo

Google Data Studio

Business Intelligence

Free data visualization by Google

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
MariaDB logo

MariaDB

Database & Data Management

The open source relational database for the enterprise

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Google Data Studio google Data Studio has been renamed Looker Studio; the vendor's own landing page states it is free to use ("It's easy and free"), with no enterprise pricing tier visible on the consumer product itself.; MariaDB jSON support using text fields rather than native binary type; lacks MySQL's JSON syntax and functions
  • They diverge on capability: Google Data Studio covers Free Platform, MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Data Studio and MariaDB actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Data Studio and MariaDB differ
AttributeGoogle Data StudioMariaDB
Pricing modelfreeUnknown
PlatformsWebLinux, Unix, Windows, macOS
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDatabase & Data Management
Founded19982009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Google Data Studio

  • Free Platform
  • Real-time Collaboration
  • Custom Visualizations
  • Data Blending
  • Sharing
  • Google Analytics
  • BigQuery
  • Google Sheets

Only in MariaDB

  • MySQL Compatibility
  • Aria Storage Engine
  • ColumnStore
  • Galera Cluster
  • MaxScale
  • Spider Engine
  • Temporal Tables
  • phpMyAdmin

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Google Data Studio

  • Self-service analyticsnot MariaDB
  • Data explorationnot MariaDB
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot MariaDB
  • Collaborative analysisnot MariaDB
  • Embedded analyticsnot MariaDB

MariaDB

  • Transaction processingnot Google Data Studio
  • Data storagenot Google Data Studio
  • Application backendnot Google Data Studio
  • Reportingnot Google Data Studio
  • Data analyticsnot Google Data Studio

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Google Data Studio

  • Google Data Studio has been renamed Looker Studio; the vendor's own landing page states it is free to use ("It's easy and free"), with no enterprise pricing tier visible on the consumer product itself.

MariaDB

  • JSON support using text fields rather than native binary type; lacks MySQL's JSON syntax and functions
  • Galera Cluster maximum performance limited to the slowest node in cluster
  • InnoDB tables limited to 1,017 columns and 64 secondary indexes
  • Transaction size limits in Galera (128K rows and 2GB by default)
  • Less strict SQL type checking than PostgreSQL; allows implicit conversions

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Data Studio

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited Reports
    • Data Connectors
    • Collaboration

MariaDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the MariaDB review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Google Data Studio if

  • You need free platform.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want real-time collaboration.
Google Data Studio review

Choose MariaDB if

  • You need mysql compatibility.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want aria storage engine.
MariaDB review

Questions people ask

Is Google Data Studio or MariaDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Data Studio starts at Free and MariaDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Data Studio or MariaDB?
Google Data Studio starts at Free and MariaDB at Free.
Does Google Data Studio or MariaDB run on more platforms?
Google Data Studio runs on Web. MariaDB runs on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS.
Can I use Google Data Studio for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Google Data Studio best used for?
Google Data Studio is most often used for self-service analytics, data exploration, ad-hoc reporting, collaborative analysis. Of those, self-service analytics and data exploration are not what MariaDB is typically brought in for.
What can Google Data Studio do that MariaDB cannot?
Google Data Studio covers Free Platform, Real-time Collaboration, Custom Visualizations, Data Blending. MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, Aria Storage Engine, ColumnStore, Galera Cluster.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

MariaDB: Is MariaDB completely free and open source?

Yes. MariaDB Server is licensed under GPLv2 and guaranteed to remain perpetually free and open source, independent of any commercial entities.

Source
MariaDB: Is MariaDB backward compatible with MySQL?

Yes. MariaDB was designed as a drop-in replacement for MySQL. Every application, driver, and configuration that worked with MySQL works with MariaDB without code changes.

Source
MariaDB: What are the storage engine options in MariaDB?

MariaDB supports multiple storage engines including InnoDB (transactional, default), Aria (crash-safe, good for read-heavy workloads), and MyISAM. The Aria engine is faster than InnoDB for certain read-heavy queries and full table scans.

Source
MariaDB: How much does MariaDB cost?

MariaDB Community Server is completely free to download and use. MariaDB offers paid enterprise support and managed cloud services for organizations needing professional support.

Source
MariaDB: Does MariaDB support native JSON storage?

MariaDB stores JSON using text fields (the JSON type is an alias for LONGTEXT), not as a native binary type like MySQL does. JSON support exists but is less sophisticated than MySQL's JSON functions and syntax.

Source
MariaDB: What scaling options does MariaDB provide?

MariaDB supports both scaling up (more cores, memory, storage) and scaling out (read replication, Galera Cluster with multi-node replication). However, Galera Cluster performance cannot exceed the slowest node in the cluster.

Source
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