Is MariaDB or TriNet better?

Neither clearly leads. MariaDB starts at Free and TriNet at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, MariaDB or TriNet?

MariaDB has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for MariaDB and On request for TriNet.

Does MariaDB or TriNet run on more platforms?

MariaDB runs on Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS. TriNet runs on Web.

Can I use MariaDB for free?

Yes. MariaDB has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. TriNet starts at On request.

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 TriNet is typically brought in for.

What can MariaDB do that TriNet cannot?

MariaDB covers MySQL Compatibility, Aria Storage Engine, ColumnStore, Galera Cluster.

Database & Data Management · head to head

MariaDB vs TriNet

MariaDB

Database & Data Management

The open source relational database for the enterprise

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

TriNet

Payroll & Benefits

Big company benefits and a team deeply involved in running your HR

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

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; TriNet no fixed pricing is published; the site states pricing depends on company size and state and requires talking to a consultant for a quote, per trinet.com, August 2026

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which MariaDB and TriNet actually diverge.

Attributes where MariaDB and TriNet differ
Attribute	MariaDB	TriNet
Starting price	Free	On request
Pricing model	Unknown	quote
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	Linux, Unix, Windows, macOS	Web
Category	Database & Data Management	Payroll & Benefits
Founded	2009	Unknown

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 TriNet

Nothing recorded that MariaDB does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

MariaDB

Transaction processingnot TriNet
Data storagenot TriNet
Application backendnot TriNet
Reportingnot TriNet
Data analyticsnot TriNet

TriNet

No use cases recorded yet. See the TriNet review.

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

TriNet

No fixed pricing is published; the site states pricing depends on company size and state and requires talking to a consultant for a quote, per trinet.com, August 2026

Pricing, plan by plan

MariaDB

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the MariaDB review.

TriNet

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the TriNet review.

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 TriNet if

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

TriNet review

Questions people ask

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

MariaDB vs TriNet

MariaDB

TriNet

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in MariaDB

Only in TriNet

What people use each for

MariaDB

TriNet

Where each one falls short

MariaDB

TriNet

Pricing, plan by plan

MariaDB

TriNet

Which should you pick?

Choose MariaDB if

Choose TriNet if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on MariaDB

More on TriNet

Keep looking

Other head to heads