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Databases · head to head

MariaDB vs Nebula

MariaDB logo

MariaDB

Databases

The open source relational database for the enterprise

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Nebula logo

Nebula

Networking

Certificate based overlay network from Slack, with identity and firewall rules carried in the certificate

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: MariaDB jSON support using text fields rather than native binary type; lacks MySQL's JSON syntax and functions; Nebula the open source project has no user interface, no enrolment workflow and no revocation service, so certificate issuing, distribution and expiry become scripts you write and then have to keep working.
  • They diverge on capability: MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, Nebula covers Certificate carried identity.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MariaDB and Nebula actually diverge.

Attributes where MariaDB and Nebula differ
AttributeMariaDBNebula
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsLinux, Unix, Windows, macOSLinux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD
CategoryDatabasesNetworking
Founded2009Unknown

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 MariaDB

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

Only in Nebula

  • Certificate carried identity
  • Group based host firewall
  • Lighthouse discovery
  • Noise protocol encryption
  • Unsafe routes
  • Managed option

What people use each for

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

MariaDB

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

Nebula

  • Flattening a network across several clouds and datacentres without VPC peering or route tablesnot MariaDB
  • Very large fleets where a central policy service on the connection path is unacceptablenot MariaDB
  • Environments that already run an internal certificate authority and want the network to use itnot MariaDB
  • Replacing per host iptables rules with policy written against roles that follow the hostnot MariaDB

Where each one falls short

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

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

Nebula

  • The open source project has no user interface, no enrolment workflow and no revocation service, so certificate issuing, distribution and expiry become scripts you write and then have to keep working.
  • Revoking a compromised host means distributing a blocklist entry to every other host and reloading them, which is a fleet wide operation rather than a click, and easy to get wrong under pressure.
  • Changing a host group membership means reissuing and redeploying its certificate, so policy changes are a deployment rather than a configuration edit.
  • There is no identity provider integration or single sign on in the open source version, so it maps well to servers and badly to a fleet of user laptops.
  • NAT traversal is best effort and hosts behind symmetric NAT need a relay configured deliberately, so connectivity failures show up as intermittent rather than immediate and are awkward to diagnose.

Pricing, plan by plan

MariaDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the MariaDB review.

Nebula

Free
  • NebulaFree
    • Full functionality under the MIT licence
    • No host limit
    • You operate the certificate authority and lighthouses
  • Defined Networking$undefined/month
    • Hosted control plane and enrolment
    • Managed certificate lifecycle and revocation
    • Policy and DNS interface

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Nebula if

  • You need certificate carried identity.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD.
  • You also want group based host firewall.
Nebula review

Questions people ask

Is MariaDB or Nebula better?
Neither clearly leads. MariaDB starts at Free and Nebula at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MariaDB or Nebula?
MariaDB starts at Free and Nebula at Free.
Does MariaDB or Nebula run on more platforms?
MariaDB runs on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS. Nebula runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, FreeBSD.
Can I use MariaDB for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is MariaDB best used for?
MariaDB is most often used for transaction processing, data storage, application backend, reporting. Of those, transaction processing and data storage are not what Nebula is typically brought in for.
What can MariaDB do that Nebula cannot?
MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, Aria Storage Engine, ColumnStore, Galera Cluster. Nebula covers Certificate carried identity, Group based host firewall, Lighthouse discovery, Noise protocol encryption.

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
Nebula: Does it use WireGuard?

No. Nebula predates the common WireGuard mesh tools and uses the Noise protocol framework with its own certificate format.

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
Nebula: Can I run it without Defined Networking?

Yes, entirely. Defined Networking sells the control plane conveniences, not the network itself.

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
Nebula: How do I revoke a host?

Add its certificate fingerprint to the blocklist in the configuration of the other hosts and reload them. There is no online revocation check.

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
Nebula: Is it a good fit for laptops?

Less so than the identity provider based tools. There is no single sign on, so every laptop needs a certificate issued and renewed by whatever process you build.

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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