MariaDBvs
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL: More advanced SQL standards compliance and stricter type checking; preferred for complex queries
MariaDB
The open source relational database for the enterprise
As of 30 August 2026, MariaDB is free to use. MariaDB is a community-developed, commercially supported fork of MySQL. Softwr lists it under Databases. MariaDB is made by MariaDB Foundation, launched in 2009, available on Linux, Windows, macOS.
Overview
What MariaDB does
MariaDB is a community-developed, commercially supported fork of MySQL. It is intended to remain free and open-source, with enhanced features, improved performance, and better storage engines compared to MySQL. MariaDB maintains compatibility with MySQL APIs and commands.
What people use it for
- Transaction processing
- Data storage
- Application backend
- Reporting
- Data analytics
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of MariaDB
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- MariaDBvsMySQL
MySQL: The predecessor; direct compatibility but updated independently by Oracle
- MariaDBvsMicrosoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server: Enterprise database with different licensing model and Windows-native tools
- MariaDBvsOracle Database
Oracle Database: Enterprise-grade database with advanced features and different scaling approach
- MariaDBvsAmazon Aurora
Amazon Aurora: Managed relational database service with MySQL/PostgreSQL compatibility in cloud
Capabilities
Features
MySQL Compatibility
Aria Storage Engine
ColumnStore
Galera Cluster
MaxScale
Spider Engine
Temporal Tables
phpMyAdmin
Integration with phpMyAdmin
DBeaver
Integration with DBeaver
HeidiSQL
Integration with HeidiSQL
Prisma
Integration with Prisma
Sequelize
Integration with Sequelize
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
SourceIs 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.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceHow 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.
SourceDoes 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.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceBehind it
Who makes MariaDB
- Company
- MariaDB Foundation
- Based in
- Espoo, Finland
- Founders
- Michael Widenius, David Axmark, Allan Larsson
Timeline
MariaDB over time
- Milestone2025-01-01
MariaDB 11.6 released with native vector search, AI capabilities, and up to 90% cost savings vs proprietary databases
Source - Funding2020-01-01
MariaDB Corporation goes public on NASDAQ as MRDB
Source - Funding2014-01-01
SkySQL formed as commercial entity to provide MariaDB enterprise support and services
Source - Milestone2012-01-01
MariaDB Server version numbering diverged from MySQL with release of 10.0
Source - Founded2009-10-29
MariaDB released as fork of MySQL by Michael Widenius in response to Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems
Source - Launch2009-10-29
First release MariaDB 5.1.38 with full MySQL compatibility
Source
Keep looking
Where to go from MariaDB
- MariaDB alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- MariaDB pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- MariaDB badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Databases softwareThe full category
- Best Databases softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Databases software for
Compare MariaDB with
- PostgreSQL
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Oracle Database
- SQLite
- Amazon Aurora
- IBM Db2
- Google Cloud SQL
- Presto
- Aiven
- OpenSearch
- TiDB
- Firestore
- Memcached
- MotherDuck
- Neo4j
- Qdrant
- Valkey
- OpenSearch
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Free plan12 researched notesHigh-performance vector database for similarity search and embedding-based retrieval
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Open source9 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for MariaDB, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on MariaDB
MariaDB alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
MariaDB pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare MariaDB
Put it head to head with anything we hold
MariaDB badge
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