Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Firebird Logo
12,266 views|9,686 comparisons
Oracle Logo
Read 135 MySQL reviews
11,756 views|9,542 comparisons
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 6, 2024

We compared Firebird SQL and MySQL based on our user's reviews in several parameters.

Firebird SQL requires improvements in performance, speed, documentation, error messages, query optimization, and compatibility. Users value its integration, scalability, resource management, and security. The customer service is highly praised, but some users reported mixed experiences with deployment times. Pricing is reasonable with positive ROI. MySQL excels in data management, performance, reliability, compatibility, ease of use, and security. Users appreciate efficient customer service and reasonable pricing. Deployment times vary but can be lengthy. Performance, documentation, support, scalability, and security enhancements are suggested.

Features: Firebird SQL stands out with its seamless integration with various programming languages, scalability for large datasets, and efficient resource management. In contrast, MySQL is valued for its efficiency in handling large amounts of data, compatibility with various platforms, and ease of use.

Pricing and ROI: The setup cost for Firebird SQL is appreciated for its affordability and ease of implementation. On the other hand, MySQL is praised for its reasonable pricing, affordable setup cost, and flexible licensing options., Firebird SQL demonstrates positive ROI based on user feedback, while MySQL is praised for its reliability, cost-effectiveness, scalability, community support, troubleshooting resources, and management of large databases.

Room for Improvement: Firebird SQL faces room for improvement in performance, speed, documentation, error messages, query optimization, and compatibility with other databases. MySQL requires enhancements in performance, documentation, support channels, scalability, compatibility, and security features.

Deployment and customer support: Comparing the reviews, Firebird SQL had mixed reviews ranging from a week to several months for deployment, setup, and implementation, indicating the need to consider context. MySQL had mixed reviews as well, with some users reporting separate durations of several months for deployment and a week for setup, while others mentioned a total duration of a week., Firebird SQL's customer service is highly regarded for its prompt and efficient assistance. Users praise their knowledgeable and friendly support team, resolving issues effectively. MySQL's customer service is also highly praised for prompt and helpful assistance, with a reliable support team offering efficient solutions.

The summary above is based on 32 interviews we conducted recently with Firebird SQL and MySQL users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.

To learn more, read our detailed Firebird SQL vs. MySQL Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: How does MySQL compare with Firebird SQL?
Answer: MySQL and Firebird SQL are both open-source Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMSs). They are reportedly popular choices if you have a wide variety of applications, but they have strengths and weaknesses, as shared below: Some say MySQL is a general-purpose RDBMS known for its scalability, performance, and reliability. It may be a good choice for various applications, including web applications, e-commerce platforms, and enterprise systems. Firebird SQL, as shared by its users, is a lightweight RDBMS known for its portability, security, and ease of use. It may be a good choice for embedded systems, mobile applications, and resource-constrained environments. It may be best to use MySQL if: You need a scalable and reliable RDBMS for a high-traffic application. You need to support a wide range of data types and features. You need an RDBMS that is well-integrated with other open-source software. It may be best to use Firebird SQL if: You need a lightweight and portable RDBMS for an embedded system or mobile application. You need an RDBMS that is easy to set up and manage. You need an RDBMS that is known for its security.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"We are happy with the event capabilities of Firebird SQL database. We can raise events from it and display them in our application.""The product was easy to use.""Firebird SQL is an open-source solution and can run on most operating systems, such as Linux, Unix, and Windows.""I find the ease of deployment to be the most valuable aspect of this solution.""I appreciate the fact that, once the database is embedded, it doesn't need to be administered, and removes the requirement for a specific server.""The documentation is very well written.""Robustness is the absolutely main feature.""The solution is very useful for stock management."

More Firebird SQL Pros →

"One of the most valuable features is MySQL's ability to run our email system. We use a system called Colab.""However, it is easy to scale MySQL using the functions provided with the product.""The most valuable feature of MySQL is auto-scaling.""The solution is great for small applications in particular.""Compared to other databases, MySQL is cheaper and we were using the community edition which was free of cost. ML is fully integrated with the database in HeatWave. It has also many other features. MySQL is a far better solution in terms of pricing.""The feature that I have found most valuable is its ubiquity. MySQL is everywhere, so if I need to find a developer to do things to it that I don't know, it's very easy to find someone who has expertise in it.""The feature I found most valuable is activity performance.""It is easy to use. It is simple to implement, which makes it suitable for our projects because we have deadlines. MySQL is also open-source, which is another plus point."

More MySQL Pros →

Cons
"Database sharing is a capability that Firebird SQL lacks.""In the next release, it should support JSON, XML, and replication with third-party tools.""It would be good to have more automation and integration with the tools from other vendors.""Technical support and performance could be better. We have some problems with this solution, but we don't know if the problem is with the database or the configuration. For example, sometimes, the users can't access the database.""The main feature I expect is to be able to work with different databases at the same time because that's a wishlist item for me.""The solution could improve by providing partitioning and encryption. It is not at the higher level of database solution but it could be with some upgrades.""The security of the users could improve in Firebird SQL.""I don't think the solution is very scalable, because the scalability of the performance when using more than one process is not very good."

More Firebird SQL Cons →

"Clusters are hard to perform so we use no SQL alternates like MongoDB.""It does not stand out regarding scalability. When the company size increases, the user base having actual experience with (very) large MySQL solutions is reduced.""The solution could have better integration and security features.""The analytics features are in need of improvement.""Some problems with big table operations, and a struggle to keep the servers responding in peak situations.""MySQL's performance requires attention. For optimal performance, one should review and sometimes revise the code, particularly when using server-side scripting.""It could be a little bit simpler to use.""​MySQL needs improvements on its diagnostic features.​"

More MySQL Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It is a public domain system as every customer can install it on their system without paying any license fee."
  • "It is okay."
  • "There is a yearly maintenance fee for the use of the solution."
  • "There is no licensing cost for this solution, as it is open-source."
  • "I was using the free version of Firebird SQL."
  • "The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is freely available."
  • "We are using the free solution, so there is no cost involved."
  • "Firebird SQL is an open-source solution, which means it is a free product."
  • More Firebird SQL Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "When you know the setup will continue to grow, make sure you have the paid support."
  • "​Enterprise editions and support are definitely needed for the heavy users who need direct support. ​"
  • "MySQL Enterprise Support is not cheap, though might still be cheaper than Oracle or SQL Server. They may not have local support depending on where you’re based, but there are many smaller agencies out there that will readily provide support. You’ll need to spend some time looking around."
  • "Can range from free to quite expensive, depending on the environments and requirements, so better to really set goals ahead of setting it up."
  • "I am using the Community Edition, which is available free of charge."
  • "This is an open-source product that can be used free of charge."
  • "It's an open-source database management system that can be used free of charge."
  • "Microsoft licensing for SQL Server is probably ten times more expensive. I used to work for the government, and I remember when we were looking into upgrading to the enterprise version of SQL Server 2019, the licensing was going to cost 350,000. To get the equivalent in the cloud, it was going to be about four grand to get the same processing power and everything else. With MySQL, it was going to be about 300 for the same licensing. Cost-wise, for sure, there is a huge difference. Would you prefer to pay 300 a month or 3,000 to have the same amount of data resources? You might lose a few options that you need, but it isn't worth the price difference."
  • More MySQL Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Open Source Databases solutions are best for your needs.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:PostgreSQL was designed in a way that provides you with not only a high degree of flexibility but also offers you a cheap and easy-to-use solution. It gives you the ability to redesign and audit your… more »
    Top Answer:Robustness is the absolutely main feature.
    Top Answer:MySQL encrypts connections to protect your data and the biggest benefit from this is that nobody can corrupt it. If you move information over a network without encryption, you are endangering it… more »
    Top Answer:I may be considered a MySQL veteran since I have been using it since before Oracle bought it and created paid versions. So back in my day, it was all free, it was open-source and the best among… more »
    Top Answer:One thing I would improve related to MySQL is not within the product itself, but with the guides to it. Before, when it was free, everyone was on their own, seeking tutorials and how-to videos online… more »
    Ranking
    4th
    Views
    12,266
    Comparisons
    9,686
    Reviews
    8
    Average Words per Review
    397
    Rating
    8.0
    1st
    Views
    11,756
    Comparisons
    9,542
    Reviews
    26
    Average Words per Review
    423
    Rating
    8.5
    Comparisons
    Learn More
    Firebird
    Video Not Available
    Overview

    Firebird SQL is an open-source, cross-platform relational database management system that offers an enterprise-level database solution. The solution is designed to be highly secure, efficient, and compatible with various platforms and programming languages. Firebird can operate in both embedded and server modes.

    Firebird is an open-source project with an active community of developers and users. It is released under the Initial Developer's Public License (IDPL) and the InterBase Public License, allowing for free use, modification, and distribution. 

    The Firebird solution requires minimal configuration and its architecture allows it to efficiently handle databases ranging from a few KB to multiple terabytes. It is available for various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, macOS, and several Unix-like platforms.

    What are the key features of Firebird SQL?

    1. ACID Compliance: Firebird provides full support for ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) transactions, ensuring data integrity and consistency, even in the event of system failures or concurrent access.
    2. SQL Language Support: Firebird SQL provides extensive support for ANSI SQL, which is the standard SQL language, making it compatible with a wide range of applications and tools.
    3. Multi-Generational Architecture: Firebird employs a multi-generational architecture, which allows multiple versions of the same data to coexist within the database.
    4. Concurrency and Performance: Firebird offers efficient concurrency control mechanisms, including multi-version concurrency control (MVCC), which allows multiple transactions to access and modify data simultaneously without locking or blocking each other, improving overall performance.
    5. Embedded mode: In the embedded mode, the database engine is integrated directly into the application.
    6. Security Features: Firebird provides user authentication, role-based access control, and encryption capabilities. It supports various authentication methods, such as native Firebird user accounts, external authentication sources (e.g., Windows domains), and single sign-on (SSO) mechanisms.
    7. Backup and Restore: Firebird offers built-in backup and restore utilities, allowing users to create full or incremental backups of the database, as well as restore from these backups when needed.

    As part of being a commonly used open-sourced solution, Firebird boasts a vibrant community of developers and users. The community provides extensive documentation, third-party tools, and active forums for support. Businesses can also opt for professional support services offered by third-party vendors for added assurance.

    To summarize, Firebird SQL is a robust, scalable, and cost-effective database solution suitable for a wide range of applications and business sizes. Its comprehensive SQL support, security features, and cross-platform compatibility, combined with the active community support, make it a compelling choice for businesses looking to leverage the power of open-source software without compromising on performance or security.

      MySQL is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS) owned by Oracle. Before Oracle acquired the product, it was completely free for users. After the merge, the solution started offering paid services with more features, alongside a free version. MySQL can easily integrate with a wide variety of programming languages, which makes it one of the most flexible and reliable products among its competitors. This cost-effective solution helps users deliver high-performance and scalable database applications through several products. They include:

      • MySQL HeatWave: This is an in-memory query accelerator for MySQL. It is a parallel, columnar, hybrid query-processing engine with algorithms for distributed query processing. This database service is used for transactions, analytics, and machine learning (ML). It offers simplified, secure real-time analytics. It can be deployed on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Amazon AWS, Azure, and users' data centers.

      • My SQL Enterprise Edition: This edition of the solution includes the most comprehensive set of advanced features, technical support, and management tools. The combination functions achieves security, scalability, reliability, and uptime, while reducing risk, cost, and complexity, in managing MySQL applications.

      • MySQL Standard Edition: This edition utilizes industrial-strength performance and reliability to help users deliver high-performance and scalable Open Transaction Processing (OLTP) applications.

      • MySQL Classic Edition: This is an embedded database for independent software vendors (ISVs), original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and value-added resellers (VARs), that are developing applications using the MyISAM storage engine.

      • MySQL Community Edition: This is the free version of the product, which is supported by a large active community of open-source developers.

      • MySQL Cluster CGE: This is a distributed database that combines linear scalability and high availability. It offers in-memory real-time access across partitioned and distributed databases.

      • MySQL Embedded: This product offers MySQL as an embedded database and is most widely used by ISVs, OEMs, and VARs. It is utilized for making applications, hardware, and appliances more competitive by bringing them to market faster while lowering their cost of goods sold (COGs).

      My SQL Features

      The characteristics of each MySQL edition differ depending on what it offers and what clients it is catered towards. But the main features of the product include the following:

      • Internals and portability: These capabilities allow MySQL to work on multiple platforms and provide transactional and non-transactional storage engines. This set of features is tested with Purify, Vilgrind, and a broad range of different compilers.

      • Data types: Due to the flexibility of the data types feature of MySQL, the product is compatible with a very wide variety of data types, including fixed-length and variable-length string types.

      • Statements and functions: This feature allows MySQL full operator and function support. It supports a wide variety of functions and allows users to refer to tables from different databases in the same statement.

      • Security: The security features of MySQL provide users with a flexible privileged password system that enables host-based verification. The product offers encryption of all password traffic when users connect to a server.

      • Scalability and limits: MySQL supports large databases with up to approximately 50 million records and up to 64 indexes per table.

      • Connectivity: The connectivity features of the product allow clients to connect to MySQL using several protocols, providing them with freedom of choice in terms of which ones to use.

      • Localization: Through this feature, the product offers availability to users in many languages. The server time zone can be changed dynamically and allows clients to specify their own time zone for their convenience.

      • Clients and tools: The product includes several client and utility programs among its capabilities.

      MySQL Benefits

      MySQL brings many benefits to organizations that use it for their data. The most common ones include:

      • Due to its initial open-source nature, MySQL is an easy to understand and beginner-friendly product.

      • The solution still supports an open-source version as well, which means users can download, use, and modify it based on their requirements.

      • MySQL ensures the consistency of data by storing it efficiently and minimizing redundancy.

      • This is considered one of the fastest solutions on the market, a fact which is backed by many benchmark tests.

      • MySQL is very flexible and supports a large number of embedded applications.

      • The solution is compatible with many operating systems.

      • This product offers clients the option to roll back transactions, as well as commit, and crash recovery.

      Reviews from Real Users

      According to a database engineer at a retailer with more than 10,000 employees, MySQL is a great open-source product that offers great scalability and compatibility.

      Yong S., a solutions specialist, system integration, appreciates this product because it has different licensing options and is easy to set up.

      Sample Customers
      Elekt Labs, Streamsoft, wobe-systems GmbH, DRB Systems, Moscow City Hospital #31
      Facebook, Tumblr, Scholastic, MTV Networks, Wikipedia, Verizon Wireless, Sage Group, Glassfish Open Message Queue, and RightNow Technologies.
      Top Industries
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company15%
      Comms Service Provider15%
      Educational Organization8%
      Manufacturing Company7%
      REVIEWERS
      Computer Software Company20%
      Financial Services Firm10%
      University10%
      Comms Service Provider9%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Computer Software Company16%
      Comms Service Provider10%
      Financial Services Firm10%
      Manufacturing Company6%
      Company Size
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business92%
      Midsize Enterprise8%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business31%
      Midsize Enterprise17%
      Large Enterprise53%
      REVIEWERS
      Small Business45%
      Midsize Enterprise17%
      Large Enterprise37%
      VISITORS READING REVIEWS
      Small Business25%
      Midsize Enterprise15%
      Large Enterprise59%
      Buyer's Guide
      Firebird SQL vs. MySQL
      March 2024
      Find out what your peers are saying about Firebird SQL vs. MySQL and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
      763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

      Firebird SQL is ranked 4th in Open Source Databases with 8 reviews while MySQL is ranked 1st in Open Source Databases with 24 reviews. Firebird SQL is rated 7.8, while MySQL is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Firebird SQL writes "Strong event capabilities, allowing raising and displaying events in applications". On the other hand, the top reviewer of MySQL writes "A tool that offers an easy setup phase along with exceptional stability". Firebird SQL is most compared with PostgreSQL, MariaDB, SQLite and Oracle MySQL Cloud Service, whereas MySQL is most compared with PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Teradata, SQL Server and Oracle Database. See our Firebird SQL vs. MySQL report.

      See our list of best Open Source Databases vendors.

      We monitor all Open Source Databases reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.