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Database & Data Management · head to head

MariaDB vs QuickBooks

MariaDB logo

MariaDB

Database & Data Management

The open source relational database for the enterprise

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
QuickBooks logo

QuickBooks

All industries

Smart, simple online accounting software for small business

From
$30/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only MariaDB has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: MariaDB jSON support using text fields rather than native binary type; lacks MySQL's JSON syntax and functions; QuickBooks chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count
  • They diverge on capability: MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MariaDB and QuickBooks actually diverge.

Attributes where MariaDB and QuickBooks differ
AttributeMariaDBQuickBooks
Starting priceFree$30/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Unix, Windows, macOSWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryDatabase & Data ManagementAll industries
Founded20091983

Identical on both: 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 QuickBooks

  • Income & expense tracking
  • Invoicing
  • Payment processing
  • Financial reporting
  • Tax preparation
  • Bank reconciliation
  • Bill management
  • Mobile apps

What people use each for

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

MariaDB

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

QuickBooks

  • Bookkeepingnot MariaDB
  • Invoicingnot MariaDB
  • Expense trackingnot MariaDB
  • Financial reportingnot MariaDB
  • Tax preparationnot 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

QuickBooks

  • Chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count
  • Even the top Advanced tier caps bulk invoice uploads at 1,000 transaction lines per batch
  • Payroll is a separate paid add-on billed per employee per month (USD 6 to 10 depending on plan) on top of the base subscription

Pricing, plan by plan

MariaDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the MariaDB review.

QuickBooks

$30/month
  • Simple Start$30/month
    • Income & expense tracking
    • Invoice & payments
    • Tax deductions
  • Essentials$60/month
    • Everything in Simple Start
    • Bill management
    • Time tracking
  • Plus$90/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Inventory tracking
    • Project profitability
  • Advanced$200/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • Dedicated account team
    • 25 users

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 QuickBooks if

  • You need income & expense tracking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want invoicing.
QuickBooks review

Questions people ask

Is MariaDB or QuickBooks better?
Neither clearly leads. MariaDB starts at Free and QuickBooks at $30/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MariaDB or QuickBooks?
MariaDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MariaDB and $30/month for QuickBooks.
Does MariaDB or QuickBooks run on more platforms?
MariaDB runs on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS. QuickBooks runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
Can I use MariaDB for free?
Yes. MariaDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. QuickBooks starts at $30/month.
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 QuickBooks is typically brought in for.
What can MariaDB do that QuickBooks cannot?
MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, Aria Storage Engine, ColumnStore, Galera Cluster. QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Invoicing, Payment processing, Financial reporting.

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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