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Database & Data Management · head to head

MariaDB vs Salesforce

MariaDB logo

MariaDB

Database & Data Management

The open source relational database for the enterprise

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Salesforce logo

Salesforce

All industries

World's #1 CRM

From
$25/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; Salesforce sales Cloud tiers as captured 2 January 2024: Starter Suite $25/user/month, Professional $80/user/month, Enterprise $165/user/month, all USD billed annually
  • They diverge on capability: MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, Salesforce covers Contact management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MariaDB and Salesforce actually diverge.

Attributes where MariaDB and Salesforce differ
AttributeMariaDBSalesforce
Starting priceFree$25/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsLinux, Unix, Windows, macOSWeb, Ios, Android, Api
CategoryDatabase & Data ManagementAll industries
Founded20091999

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 Salesforce

  • Contact management
  • Opportunity management
  • Lead management
  • Reports & dashboards
  • Email integration
  • Workflow automation
  • Mobile access
  • AppExchange

What people use each for

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

MariaDB

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

Salesforce

  • Sales managementnot MariaDB
  • Customer servicenot MariaDB
  • Marketing automationnot MariaDB
  • Lead generationnot MariaDB
  • Analytics & reportingnot 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

Salesforce

  • Sales Cloud tiers as captured 2 January 2024: Starter Suite $25/user/month, Professional $80/user/month, Enterprise $165/user/month, all USD billed annually

Pricing, plan by plan

MariaDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the MariaDB review.

Salesforce

$25/month
  • Essentials$25/month
    • Account & contact management
    • Opportunity tracking
    • Lead management
  • Professional$80/month
    • Everything in Essentials
    • Complete CRM
    • Lead scoring
  • Enterprise$165/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Workflow automation
    • Advanced analytics
  • Unlimited$330/month
    • Everything in Enterprise
    • Unlimited customizations
    • 24/7 support

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 Salesforce if

  • You need contact management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want opportunity management.
Salesforce review

Questions people ask

Is MariaDB or Salesforce better?
Neither clearly leads. MariaDB starts at Free and Salesforce at $25/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, MariaDB or Salesforce?
MariaDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MariaDB and $25/month for Salesforce.
Does MariaDB or Salesforce run on more platforms?
MariaDB runs on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS. Salesforce 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. Salesforce starts at $25/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 Salesforce is typically brought in for.
What can MariaDB do that Salesforce cannot?
MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, Aria Storage Engine, ColumnStore, Galera Cluster. Salesforce covers Contact management, Opportunity management, Lead management, Reports & dashboards.

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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