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Software · head to head

Grasshopper vs MariaDB

Grasshopper logo

Grasshopper

Software

The entrepreneur's phone system

From
On request
Rated
-
MariaDB logo

MariaDB

Software

The open source relational database for the enterprise

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only MariaDB has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Grasshopper available only in the USA and Canada; the site returns a not available in your region error outside those countries; MariaDB jSON support using text fields rather than native binary type; lacks MySQL's JSON syntax and functions

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Grasshopper and MariaDB actually diverge.

Attributes where Grasshopper and MariaDB differ
AttributeGrasshopperMariaDB
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebLinux, Unix, Windows, macOS
FoundedUnknown2009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Grasshopper

Nothing recorded that MariaDB does not also cover.

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.

Grasshopper

No use cases recorded yet. See the Grasshopper review.

MariaDB

  • Transaction processingnot Grasshopper
  • Data storagenot Grasshopper
  • Application backendnot Grasshopper
  • Reportingnot Grasshopper
  • Data analyticsnot Grasshopper

Where each one falls short

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

Grasshopper

  • Available only in the USA and Canada; the site returns a not available in your region error outside those countries
  • Plans start at $14/month only under a promotional discount of up to $75 off select plans, meaning the advertised entry price is not the standing rate

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

Grasshopper

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Grasshopper review.

MariaDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the MariaDB review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Grasshopper if

Nothing in the data separates Grasshopper from MariaDB on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

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.

Questions people ask

Is Grasshopper or MariaDB better?
Neither clearly leads. Grasshopper starts at On request and MariaDB at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Grasshopper or MariaDB?
MariaDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Grasshopper and Free for MariaDB.
Does Grasshopper or MariaDB run on more platforms?
Grasshopper runs on Web. MariaDB runs on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS.
Can I use MariaDB for free?
Yes. MariaDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Grasshopper starts at On request.
What can Grasshopper do that MariaDB cannot?
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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