MariaDB Platform vs. Microsoft SQL Server

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
MariaDB Platform
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
MariaDB is an open-source relational database made by the original developers of MySQL, supported by the MariaDB Foundation and a community of developers. The community states recent additional capabilities as including clustering with Galera Cluster 4, compatibility with Oracle Database, and Temporal Data Tables, allowing one to query the data as it stood at any point in the past.N/A
Microsoft SQL Server
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.
$1,418
Per License
Pricing
MariaDB PlatformMicrosoft SQL Server
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Subscription
$1,418.00
Per License
Enterprise
$13,748.00
Per License
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
MariaDB PlatformMicrosoft SQL Server
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
MariaDB PlatformMicrosoft SQL Server
Considered Both Products
MariaDB Platform
Chose MariaDB Platform
MS SQL Server is like a BlackBox in many cases. Honestly we did not need advanced functionality that SQL server offers, just a plain DBMS. MariaDB is easier to manage, cross operating system, "lighter" with better performances than SQL server. We went with MariaDB Platform even …
Chose MariaDB Platform
MariaDB is very similar to MySQL, but MariaDB has more alternative database engines and ideas for the future where MySQL is offers the stable and more mature version (if not stale).

Chose MariaDB Platform
We tried Percona also, but we sometimes having trouble with it and on some cases it having lesser performance than MariaDB.
MySQL is the the facto standard, we use this only in scenario that it cannot be replaced by MariaDB.
MSSQL is used only if the client ask for Windows …
Chose MariaDB Platform
MariaDB is the clear winner compared to any other database I've used. Reliable, scale-able, affordable--you name the consideration and MariaDB is the winner.
Chose MariaDB Platform
MariaDB is much easier to set up and maintain compared to PostgreSQL makes it much faster to launch our application and relatively easier to upgrade its version so we can make sure the installed version is up to date with the latest patch, which is especially important if we …
Chose MariaDB Platform
MariaDB is cheaper than Oracle Database and MSSQL server. MySQL owned by Oracle. So MariaDB has too many forks, but enough people in the community. PostgreSQL has a larger community and better administration. However, it s not like MariaDB w/ Galera. MariaDB is not good for …
Chose MariaDB Platform
MariaDB stacks up the the competition just fine. Due to is ture open source nature we do not have to worry about licencing and spending money on nothing. Moreover, MariaDB does everything that we need to get done. We can run data that is a million rows or many smaller projects …
Chose MariaDB Platform
Thanks to MySQL compatibility, everything you've learned while using it can be utilized when using MariaDB. Therefore it's a better choice than MongoDB and MSSQL if you're looking to switch away from MySQL. MariaDB is also a very mature and stable product, unlike MongoDB that …
Chose MariaDB Platform
We know others DB alternatives like MySQL, Microsoft SQLServer, PostgreSQL. We selected MariaDB because it offer advanced features like active-active cluster, with no costs and easy to learn. With MariaDB was easy to migrate ours applications that use MySQL, with no …
Chose MariaDB Platform
MariaDB costs much less than SQL Server to acquire and maintain. In comparison to Cassandra, it gives us operational use and helps in Agile development.
Microsoft SQL Server
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
MS SQL Server is easier to use compared to other RDBMS which really speeds up development time and relatively easier to find a problem when it happens as well. It's also pretty quick to run a query, especially in a large table make it pretty convenient if we need to monitor the …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft is more appropriate for the requirements of this particular organisation due to its ability to handle structured data efficiently and the fact that it is already widely used.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
MariaDB PlatformMicrosoft SQL Server
Small Businesses
Redis™*
Redis™*
Score 9.0 out of 10
SingleStore
SingleStore
Score 9.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Redis™*
Redis™*
Score 9.0 out of 10
SingleStore
SingleStore
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Redis™*
Redis™*
Score 9.0 out of 10
SingleStore
SingleStore
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
MariaDB PlatformMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
7.0
(29 ratings)
9.6
(96 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Usability
6.4
(3 ratings)
9.9
(10 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.7
(16 ratings)
7.9
(25 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(5 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
MariaDB PlatformMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
MariaDB
  • Applications where the users need [to] execute many short queries.
  • With new storage engines such as Aria, which allows to replace MyISAM with some improvements, and XtraDB, which evolves InnoDB.
  • To fuse the legacy features with the features available in NoSQL databases.
  • Connection management, which allows multiplying the number of concurrent accesses.
  • New clustering engines, such as Galera, which allow interesting possibilities for Cloud adoption.
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Microsoft
Microsoft SQL Server is a great RDBMS and meets all of our requirements. If you need a stable DB platform to support your line of a business application you'll be well served. Licensing costs are far cheaper, more portable and a lot more user friendly than Oracle. Product support and security patches from Microsoft are strong.
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Pros
MariaDB
  • Simpler learning curve. MariaDB is a cleaner, simpler system that is (IMO) easier to learn and easier to manage effectively than many other database systems.
  • Lower hardware requirements. After migrating to MariaDB from another database software system, we find that our hardware needs have substantially decreased.
  • MariaDB support is very responsive. It's like they actually care. On the few occasions we've run into technical issues, support has always come through with what we needed. Once it was showing me a relatively new feature the server supported that I wasn't aware of, that, once I was able to properly make use of it helped me resolve a serious production performance issue.
  • Architectural flexibility. As an example, the ready availability of synchronous (Galera) versus asynchronous replication schemes without being locked into one of the other by enormous technical complexity or punitive licensing, allows the customer to find what really works best for their needs.
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Microsoft
  • Easy to configure and use with Visual Studio and Dot Net
  • Easy integration with MSBI to perform data analysis
  • Data Security
  • Easy to understand and use
  • Very easy to export database and tables in the form of SQL query or a script
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Cons
MariaDB
  • Driver Support - Some third party applications use database drivers that cause unexplained slowness with MariaDB. This can be worked around by using the MySQL drivers, but it's not clear what causes the problem in the first place.
  • Support - While online communities are helpful in diagnosing problems, there isn't as much professional documentation/support available for MariaDB as some of the other major database options.
  • Data Visualization - It would be helpful if there were more built in options for analyzing statistics and generating reports.
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Microsoft
  • The import/export process can be tricky to follow with lots of steps and could be better for importing flat files
  • Obtaining help from Microsoft is cumbersome and often other internet sources are better and quicker
  • The documentation is not great and again it's generally better to obtain help elsewhere if needed
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Likelihood to Renew
MariaDB
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
We understand that the Microsoft SQL Server will continue to advance, offering the same robust and reliable platform while adding new features that enable us, as a software center, to create a superior product. That provides excellent performance while reducing the hardware requirements and the total cost of ownership of our solution.
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Usability
MariaDB
MariaDB is very usable and stable to be used in production settings as an alternative to MySQL. The shortcomings of SQL are present but well understood in the community, and if the decision were to be made again, I would choose MariaDB over MySQL on future projects.
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Microsoft
SQL Server mostly 'just works' or generates error messages to help you sort out the trouble. You can usually count on the product to get the job done and keep an eye on your potential mistakes. Interaction with other Microsoft products makes operating as a Windows user pretty straight forward. Digging through the multitude of dialogs and wizards can be a pain, but the answer is usually there somewhere.
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Reliability and Availability
MariaDB
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Its does not have outages.
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Performance
MariaDB
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
SSAS data cubes may some time slow down your Excel reports.
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Support Rating
MariaDB
We have launched several inquiries to MariaDB support and they have always responded very quickly and have not been tutoring for the duration of the incident/problem.
Likewise, they want to hold constant meetings with the client to get their opinion as well as how they can help.
I see a very human support and concerned about the customer.
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Microsoft
We managed to handle most of our problems by looking into Microsoft's official documentation that has everything explained and almost every function has an example that illustrates in detail how a particular functionality works. Just like PowerShell has the ability to show you an example of how some cmdlet works, that is the case also here, and in my opinion, it is a very good practice and I like it.
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In-Person Training
MariaDB
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
It was good
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Online Training
MariaDB
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
very hands on and detailed training
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Implementation Rating
MariaDB
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Other than SQL taking quite a bit of time to actually install there are no problems with installation. Even on hardware that has good performance SQL can still take close to an hour to install a typical server with management and reporting services.
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Alternatives Considered
MariaDB
MariaDB stacks up the the competition just fine. Due to is ture open source nature we do not have to worry about licencing and spending money on nothing. Moreover, MariaDB does everything that we need to get done. We can run data that is a million rows or many smaller projects on the same environment with little overhead. One of the best features that MariaDB has is the ability of backup or dump data to standard text sql statements. That was one of the reasons why we choose MariaDb because it makes backups or transferring data a snap
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Microsoft
[Microsoft] SQL Server has a much better community and professional support and is overall just a more reliable system with Microsoft behind it. I've used MySQL in the past and SQL Server has just become more comfortable for me and is my go to RDBMS.
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Scalability
MariaDB
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
SQL server does handle growing demands of a mid sized company.
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Return on Investment
MariaDB
  • Low CAPEX if you have a team that use open source software day by day
  • Medium OPEX if you have a team that use open source software day by day
  • Perfect to use in academic ambient to support researchers and students
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Microsoft
  • Increased accuracy - We went from multiple users having different versions of an Excel spreadsheet to a single source of truth for our reporting.
  • Increased Efficiency - We can now generate reports at any time from a single source rather than multiple users spending their time collating data and generating reports.
  • Improved Security - Enterprise level security on a dedicated server rather than financial files on multiple laptop hard drives.
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