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MariaDB Logo
8,428 views|7,360 comparisons
PostgreSQL Logo
13,969 views|11,367 comparisons
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Jul 13, 2022

We performed a comparison between MariaDB vs PostgreSQL based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions say the deployment is straightforward and simple.
  • Features: Users of both solutions are happy with the products’ stability, scalability, and ease of use.

    MariaDB users like the solution’s performance, security, and monitoring features. Users would like to see an improved GUI, more data intelligence, and additional partitioning support.

    PostgreSQL users like that the solution is lightweight, offers clustering, and is flexible and easy to manage. Users would prefer if the solution had more integration capabilities, a better graphical interface, and more customization abilities.
  • Pricing: MariaDB is an open-source solution. PostgreSQL has an open-source version as well as a paid one, which users say is reasonably priced.
  • Service and Support: Users of MariaDB are satisfied with the support they receive. PostgreSQL users mention that the community support is sufficient.
  • ROI: Users of both solutions report seeing an ROI.

Comparison Results: Both solutions are easy to deploy, have good features, an open-source version, good support, and a proven ROI. Which solution you choose will depend on what suits your company’s specific needs and requirements best.

To learn more, read our detailed MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The product has good documentation and you can find many examples online.""MariaDB is a user-friendly solution. Performance wise, it's better than SQL. With SQL, I would need to write a number of queries. In contrast, MariaDB is light.""What I like best about MariaDB is that it is open-source and reliable.""I haven't faced any technical issues with the product, and it works fine.""I would say that for most use cases it works fine.""The most valuable feature of MariaDB is that it is open-source and we can easily migrate from other databases, such as Oracle to MariaDB.""From a customer perspective, MariaDB is a good choice for cluster configuration. It's also easy to operate and cheap.""The solution is very stable. It was originally built under MySQL. It has a similar level of stability."

More MariaDB Pros →

"The initial setup is quick and easy.""Scalable, stable, and easy to manage database system, with a straightforward installation.""The main value is that it is open source, which means it is free. Our organization has the initiative to go to open source to cut down on cost. Oracle costs us $6 million a year right now, which is killing us, and Postgres costs nothing. So, there is a big push to go to Postgres.""The performance is good.""Postgres is rock solid when deployed according to best practices as documented by the PostgreSQL community. When it's installed correctly, PostgreSQL is an enterprise-grade solution.""It's a useful solution, that can be widely used.""I like that you can move any relational database from Oracle to PostgreSQL. I also like that it's pretty stable.""The product is easy to use and works fast for relational databases."

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Cons
"The PL/SQL performance is slow if you have big batch jobs running overnight.""With respect to clustering and the master-slave configuration, sometimes the slave goes out of synch.""Maria DB has to improve from a management perspective.""Replication could be better, and it's not so simple. It would be better if they had a replication server. It would make things a lot easier. You need to have that replication server, but not in the same server farm. Then there will be a bit of latency between both because you should have one in one city and another one in a different city. That kind of solution should be more baked into every single database today. Mirroring the database in a live environment where any record written on the production server replicates instantly across the fiber on the other server wasn't easy. Many people don't even bother with that, and they just run one server.""It would be good if they can maybe improve the mass import in the database. Currently, for importing a large number of data, we create a CSV file and upload all the things in the system. The system does not activate them by default. We have to do this manually. This may be due to the version we are using, but this is something we would like to see improved.""Lacks time series data and additional driving support would be helpful.""The maintenance and performance could be a bit better.""The difficult part related to the product stems not from the tool itself but is related to learning how to implement the product in the right way without creating any wrong configuration that could cause security issues or performance issues."

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"It would be good to have machine learning functionality in this solution, similar to Microsoft SQL Server and other solutions. Machine learning capability for a basic level or a common user would be useful. It can also have good reporting capabilities.""PostgreSQL uses high memory compared to its counterparts when a highly demanding load is involved, especially one that makes many concurrent connections to the database.""The user interface could be a bit better.""I'm not really able to customize it.""It could be improved by using parallelization. You want basically, distributed computing.""I find it difficult to get connectors on the tool. For example, .NET has only one free provider in PostgreSQL. I need to pay the provider if I need something more sophisticated features. Other languages like PHP and Java have good community support. We need community support for .NET.""Integration with other platforms could be improved.""I'd like to see better memory management. I think that that's one of the few areas that Postgres does not handle as well as MySQL does or did."

More PostgreSQL Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."
  • "It's an open-source solution."
  • "The licensing cost is approximately $4000.00 per year and the licensing is based on the software and the number of posts that you make."
  • "I used the open-source version, which is available free of charge."
  • "This is an open-source product, which can be used free of charge."
  • "This is an open source solution with no licensing fees."
  • "MariaDB is open-source and self-hosted."
  • "When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."
  • More MariaDB Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "Affordable solution."
  • "It is free. There is no license on it."
  • "It is also open-source so it is free."
  • "PostgreSQL is a free and open-source database."
  • "It is free, but if you need support, you can go for the commercial version called EnterpriseDB. They provide paid support, and they can even do hosting for you if you want standby and support."
  • "It is open-source. If you use it on-premise, it is free. It also has enterprise or commercial versions. If you go for the cloud version, there will be a cost, but it is lower than Oracle or Microsoft."
  • "The solution requires a license."
  • "We do not pay for licensing."
  • More PostgreSQL Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:There is the need for a robust IDE for MongoDB. The existing PHP admin console doesn't meet the client's requirements effectively.
    Top Answer:Price-wise, the product is affordable. The product is not expensive.
    Top Answer:There is the need for a robust IDE for MongoDB. The existing PHP admin console doesn't meet the client's requirements effectively.
    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:We often use PostgreSQL for operations monitoring because we are a manufacturing company.
    Ranking
    3rd
    Views
    8,428
    Comparisons
    7,360
    Reviews
    29
    Average Words per Review
    429
    Rating
    8.1
    2nd
    Views
    13,969
    Comparisons
    11,367
    Reviews
    7
    Average Words per Review
    391
    Rating
    8.6
    Comparisons
    Learn More
    MariaDB
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    PostgreSQL
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    Overview

    MariaDB is an open source relational database created by the original founders of MySQL. It is considered one of the most popular and trusted database servers throughout the world. MariaDB is a valued component found in most cloud offerings and is the default in many Linux tools. It is also widely used by Wikipedia, WordPress, and Google, among other well-known sites. Maria DB easily melds data into concise information from a vast array of applications, such as banking, online shopping, websites, and more.

    MariaDB was originally created to improve MySQL performance. It is the most widely chosen database server due to the solution being super fast, robust, user-friendly, and easily scalable. MariaDB also offers a substantial ecosystem of plugins, storage engines, and numerous other valuable tools that make it very attractive for a significant offering of use cases.

    The solution’s newest functionalities include compatibility with Oracle Database and Temporal Data Tables, and advanced clustering with Galera Cluster 4, which make it easier for users to research data history from any point in the past. Additionally, the most recent versions include JSON and GIS features. MariaDB is committed to staying an open source solution.

    MariaDB Features

    • More storage: MariaDB works with more storage engines than MySQL and most other database servers available. Some storage options include, but are not limited to ARCHIVE, MERGE, CSV, MEMORY, BLACKHOLE, MyISAM, ColumnStore, MyRocks, and Cassandra.

    • Super fast: MariaDB offers faster authentication checks. The FlushSSL permits SSL certificates to be reloaded without a server restart, resulting in huge time savings.

    • Improved testing: MariaDB offers an extending testing suite that runs faster and can test more than ever before. Bugs can be easily fixed and invalid tests removed.

    • Genuinely open source: Every code in MariaDB is GPL, LGPL, or BSD. Client libraries [for Windows (ODBC), Java (JDBC), or C] allow linking to closed source software. All fixed bug cases and development plans are completely public. MariaDB is a community-developed solution representing the true spirit of open source products.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Faustine C., Engineering Supervisor- Corporate Data Solutions and Services at TZ Telecoms Corporation, shares, “The software provides a lot of information on what is happening inside the database. For most performance parameters it is easy to know if something is not right in the configuration or optimization which helps engineers take remedial fine-tuning measures. For example, if the database is underperforming it is easy to know which performance parameter can be adjusted to handle the workload. It is difficult to troubleshoot database issues if many performance parameters can not be monitored or debugged which is the case with some database management systems. It provides great monitoring of data storage, processing, and performance stability which is really important for real-time data storage and processing. It's a user-friendly product.”

    A PeerSpot user who is a Senior Engineer at a tech services company relates, “ The solution's high availability is its most valuable aspect. We have found the product to be stable and the initial setup is pretty simple. I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. I'm very happy with it overall. I would recommend the solution to others. It's easy to find details about the product online and to learn about it.”

    PostgreSQL is a versatile and reliable database management system commonly used for web development, data analysis, and building scalable databases. 

    It offers advanced features like indexing, replication, and transaction management. Users appreciate its flexibility, performance, and ability to handle large amounts of data efficiently. Its robustness, scalability, and support for complex queries make it highly valuable. 

    Additionally, PostgreSQL's extensibility, flexibility, community support, and frequent updates contribute to its ongoing improvement and stability.

    Sample Customers
    Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities
    1. Apple 2. Cisco 3. Fujitsu 4. Instagram 5. Netflix 6. Red Hat 7. Sony 8. Uber 9. Cisco Systems 10. Skype 11. LinkedIn 12. Etsy 13. Yelp 14. Reddit 15. Dropbox 16. Slack 17. Twitch 18. WhatsApp 19. Snapchat 20. Shazam 21. SoundCloud 22. The New York Times 23. Cisco WebEx 24. Atlassian 25. Cisco Meraki 26. Heroku 27. GitLab 28. Zalando 29. OpenTable 30. Trello 31. Square Enix 32. Bloomberg
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Manufacturing Company16%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Comms Service Provider13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Comms Service Provider12%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Educational Organization8%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider13%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    University8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Comms Service Provider12%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Government7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business39%
    Midsize Enterprise22%
    Large Enterprise39%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise58%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business46%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise35%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business26%
    Midsize Enterprise14%
    Large Enterprise60%
    Buyer's Guide
    MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    MariaDB is ranked 3rd in Open Source Databases with 30 reviews while PostgreSQL is ranked 2nd in Open Source Databases with 6 reviews. MariaDB is rated 8.0, while PostgreSQL is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of MariaDB writes "Allows for fetching data from multiple correlated or related databases in a single query, user-friendly and easy to handle". On the other hand, the top reviewer of PostgreSQL writes "Easy to manage, good integration, powerful plugins, improves performance, and saves on storage space". MariaDB is most compared with SQL Server, Oracle Database, MySQL, Firebird SQL and Percona Server, whereas PostgreSQL is most compared with Firebird SQL, EDB Postgres Advanced Server, MySQL, SQLite and YugabyteDB. See our MariaDB vs. PostgreSQL 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.