Skip to main content
TrustRadius
SQLite

SQLite

Overview

What is SQLite?

SQLite is an in-process library that implements a self-contained, serverless, zero-configuration, transactional SQL database engine. The code for SQLite is in the public domain and is thus free for use for any purpose, commercial or private. SQLite is one of…

Read more
Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

SQLite is a widely used and highly versatile database engine that has found its place in various applications. It seamlessly integrates …
Continue reading
Read all reviews

Reviewer Pros & Cons

View all pros & cons
Return to navigation

Product Demos

#1 QR Code Scanner with SQLite Database Android Studio Tutorial (Demo + Intro)

YouTube

SQLite Database in Android Studio | 38 | Android Development Tutorial for Beginners

YouTube

SQLite in VSCode (open db, run query, view results) demo

YouTube

Login, SignUp and Change Profile Form with SQLite in Android

YouTube

Android SQLite for Beginners 2019

YouTube

Android Populating Spinner data from SQLite Database (Demo)

YouTube
Return to navigation

Product Details

What is SQLite?

SQLite Video

SQLite Fundamentals - Why SQLite?

SQLite Integrations

SQLite Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives
Return to navigation

Reviews and Ratings

(46)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

SQLite is a widely used and highly versatile database engine that has found its place in various applications. It seamlessly integrates with different programming languages, particularly C#, making it a popular choice for developers working with C++ applications. Additionally, SQLite is commonly employed in web and mobile applications that require quick and immediate access to small databases without the need for complex server setups.

Users appreciate SQLite for its speed, reliability, and user-friendly interface. Its self-contained, serverless nature eliminates the need for extensive configuration, allowing developers to focus on their projects rather than database setup. SQLite's transactional capabilities make it suitable for both small and large-scale projects, allowing users to efficiently manage data across different platforms.

Furthermore, SQLite plays a crucial role in ETL processes by facilitating data ingestion from multiple sources like REST APIs, SFTP, and WebDAV repositories. Its extra data transformation tools make it a preferred choice for manipulating client data and packaging it for import/export to primary RDBMS solutions.

The flexibility of SQLite extends to embedded database solutions as well. With support for cross-platform deployment, developers can create a single database model that caters to mobile, desktop, and embedded systems. This makes it an excellent choice for creating relational database management systems across various devices.

Apart from its technical capabilities, SQLite offers an attractive proposition in terms of community support and open-source availability. Developers can modify the engine according to their specific needs while benefiting from an active community that provides assistance on platforms like Stack Overflow.

Overall, SQLite proves to be an easy-to-use, lightweight, and reliable database solution that meets a range of requirements. From low-scale data storage in application development using C# Xamarin/Maui or ASP.Net Core to file-based data integration and ETL processes, SQLite offers a robust foundation for managing data effectively.

Easy to Use: Many users have found SQLite to be easy to use, with a simple and intuitive syntax. Some reviewers have appreciated its simplicity in operation and integration, making it a convenient choice for developers.

High Compatibility with Android Applications: Several users have highlighted that SQLite is highly compatible with Android applications, making it easy to use in mobile development. This compatibility allows developers to seamlessly integrate SQLite into their Android projects without any major issues.

Frequent Updates and Active Maintenance: Reviewers have mentioned that SQLite is frequently updated, indicating that it is actively maintained and improved. This continuous improvement ensures that the database remains up-to-date with the latest features and enhancements, providing a reliable solution for developers.

Slow transaction speed: Some users have found that the transaction speed of SQLite is slow, impacting their ability to efficiently process and retrieve data. This can result in delays and hinder overall performance, especially when dealing with large datasets or complex queries.

Confusing search windows: Several reviewers have mentioned that the presence of multiple search windows in SQLite can lead to confusion and make it more challenging to navigate and perform searches effectively. The abundance of search options without clear organization or guidance can be overwhelming for users, particularly those new to the database.

Limited database size: Users have expressed dissatisfaction with the restricted maximum database size of about 2GB in SQLite. This limitation can be problematic for larger applications or projects that require storing a significant amount of data. It may necessitate frequent data management tasks such as archiving or purging old records to stay within the limited capacity.

Based on user reviews, SQLite is recommended as a starting SQL DB and for cross-platform database development. Users find SQLite helpful for querying data with different databases and consider it the best option for storing data in DB for mobile applications. They also suggest using SQLite for application prototyping and redistributable applications.

Users highly recommend SQLite for applications that need to sync with a server database. They find it useful for syncing important data when users come under network coverage. Additionally, SQLite is praised for being free to use and easy to implement, making it a popular choice among mobile and website application developers.

Many users suggest trying out SQLite for lightweight and free mobile phone applications or small-scale projects. SQLite is considered compact, simple, and easy to learn, making it suitable for small applications that need to be up and running quickly. It is also recommended as an education tool for learning SQL, as well as for local developer environments.

While there are several positive recommendations for SQLite, some users suggest considering other SQL apps such as PostGreSQL and MySQL. Additionally, limitations of SQLite include limited storage capacity and lack of horizontal scalability for future needs. However, these critiques do not overshadow the overall positive feedback about SQLite's usability, stability features, and compatibility with various platforms.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-13 of 13)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Markus Hopfenspirger | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use it as a database for my mobile Apps developed with C# Xamarin / Maui and for a couple of smaller WebApps developed with C# and ASP.Net Core.
  • Performance is very good
  • Data Security in case of Crashes during a transaction
  • Ease of use
  • Native encryption support
  • Better C# integration
Database for Mobile Apps, Desktop Client Apps with offline functionality, Smaller Server Apps or Server Apps with one Database per User / Company.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We have been using SQLite for a long time now along with Python. it is excellent as it works as an independent Database thus allowing us to create easily scalable applications. WE use it in our machine learning application to store static data which needs regular retrievals of for Data cluster creation.
  • SQLite is easy top install and portable.
  • Table creation is easy with SQLite when using Python.
  • Not being Multi user it doesn't allow multiple user to create concurrent queries
  • no inbuilt Data viewer is available for SQLite
I First Used SQLite with Python when I was a fresher and didn't know much about Databases. SQLite helped me create initial projects with ease and helped me understand RDBMS. Currently, we use SQLite to store DATA outputs which are in the form of JSONS produced by our Algorithm containing Hirerachical trees of the datasets from sample data which are later used by our application for processing.
Sumon K Chowdhury | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SQLite is an excellent tool because it's easy to use with many languages, especially C#. Because SQLite is quicker and easier to integrate, we use it for C++ applications. And yes, we also used it with web and mobile applications when we needed instant access to a small database. It's the most widely used database with many high-profile applications. We can use it to create long-term storage for our applications without installing anything. It is a transactional SQL database engine self-contained, serverless, and requires zero configuration. This software is fast, reliable, suitable for small and big projects, user-friendly, and easy to learn.
  • Easy-to-use.
  • An easy-to-use query.
  • Simple to understand syntax.
  • Simple in both operation and integration.
  • In Android applications, it is simple to use.
  • Frequently updated cross-platform database.
  • The transaction moves slowly.
  • Too many search windows are confusing.
  • Database size is limited to about 2GB, which is not good.
SQLite is a lightweight and efficient database management system. With SQLite, performance increases as memory are added. It's reliable and well-tested before release. SQLite handles memory allocation and I/O errors gracefully. SQLite provides bug lists and code-change chronologies. All bugs are disclosed, and it's compatible with iOS, Android, MAC, and Windows. SQLite is open-source, allowing developers to tailor it to their specific needs.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SQLite is my number one choice when I am looking for an embedded database for any cross platform solution. With SQLite, we have been able to create one database model and deploy it across all platforms, including mobile, desktop, and embedded systems. I have not found a better supported multi-platform solution than SQLite. For example, in a recent mobile app upgrade, we were able to roll out full text search across iOS, macOS, Windows, and Android, all from a prepopulated database generated once and deployed multiple times.
  • Compatibility across many platforms
  • Speed and low resource use
  • Full Text Search out of the box
  • Excellent user community and adoption across the industry
  • Scaling beyond embedded instances will require moving to another platform
  • Vendor supplied tools are not as comprehensive as other RDBMS solutions
  • The documentation lacks the professional polish of its competitors
Nothing beats SQLite if you are wanting an easy to use embedded database solution that runs out of the box across a wide range of platforms. If your solution is not likely to scale into a N-tier or client-server architecture, you will find that SQLite serves you well for your application's lifetime.

Both Android and iOS provide comprehensive support for SQLite, and SQLite's own high level of compatibility between versions means that you only need to create a database once to deploy it across multiple platforms.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SQLite has been instrumental in our ETL pipeline. We utilize it heavily to ingest JSON and XML from multiple sources like Rest API, SFTP, and WebDAV repositories. It is performant for our needs and allows our development staff to work in a familiar language for them, reducing our technical debt and improving our response time. We manipulate our data on the client and package it for export or import to our primary RDBMS solution. The extra data transformation tools SQLite has available made it an easy choice to make use of.
  • Direct data transformation from JSON/CSV to table
  • Easy to format data exported to desired layout and file type
  • Direct ingestion from Rest API
  • Familiar language syntax for SQL Server developers
  • Lack of procedures makes for convoluted data manipulation via nested triggers
  • Linked Server with MySQL/SQL Server would be very much appreciated
  • Basic Table manipulation, not drop and recreate
The portability and ease of use has us doing local development, and then shipping the database to production for implementation. This compact deliverable object is great. Until multiple developers need to access it at a time. It is a caveat, but we create a database per integration as it is easier to manage. Using a SQLite database to manage more than one integration or task is not something we would recommend.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I am a regular user of the SQLite database in my several iOS projects. Even other teams also using SQLite in my organization. It is fast and I can say easy to install in existing and new projects. It supports many cross-platforms as well like iOS, Android, MAC, windows as well. SQLite is fully open source and developers can modify it according to their use. SQLite database can be used for small to large scale projects. It is available for a long time in the market so it has a very large community and easy to get any type of help from StackOverflow.
  • It supports many cross-platform like iOS, Android, MAC, Windows projects
  • It is open source, and all code are public, developers can easily modify.
  • Easy to integrate in existing or new projects
  • In many case SQLite wont support Relational database feature.
  • If a application which scale-out very fast, for that type of project we need to use carefully
One SQLite database structure can be used by one or many other platforms like iOS, Android, even python as well. Many third-party ORM's and data layers are available in the market for SQLite, which make developer life easy. and it saves development time. It supports JSON and CSV files. SQLite can work with in-memory data or external files.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our team is using SQLite for relational data storage for a web development project in dot.net. It is a lightweight database and very easy to manage using open-source tools.
  • Very easy to deploy and use.
  • Highly compatible with most of the popular programming languages.
  • Fast
  • Freeware
  • Lightweight database
  • Limitations in terms of data table size
  • No built in data encryption methods/ techniques
  • Not suitable for large applications
SQLite is best suited for scenarios where the team requires a lightweight relational data storage solution for small to medium-sized applications. Also, the team needs to keep the cost of the project minimal.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use SQLite for file based data integration and ETL's. Only the IT Department uses SQLite due to its technical nature.
  • In memory database is extremely fast
  • Supports nearly all database capabilities
  • Lightweight footprint for using on many types of devices (mobile, PC, consumer devices)
  • Not multi-user due to its file locking design, but this supports its efficiency and speed strengths
  • Doesn't offer all join options typically available in standard databases
  • High repetitive single table writes can be problematic
[SQLite is well suited for:]
  • Mobile app development (storing user application data on a smart device)
  • Supporting fast ETL's in scripting type programs or console applications
  • Usable on embedded and low power hardware such as Raspberry Pi's
[SQLite is not well suited for:]
  • Would not be good as a centralized database where many clients are trying to read/write at the same time
Rogério Rodrigues | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use SQLite in our mobile projects by the Application development team.
SQLite solves our problem for storage in the APP database for offline data.
  • Xamarin.Forms Compatibility
  • Free
  • Easy Implementation
  • Limited for many rows
  • Documentation
SQLite is perfect for applications that need to save data offline and then synchronize. It is not good if you have many lines in the local SQLite base.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SQLite is a perfect relational database management system if your database is not of Enterprise level in terms of size and security. I have been working on this for quite some time now and I also go back to this database whenever we are starting with a new project and the development phase is involved. It's lightweight, reliable and robust to meet any of the database needs that you may come across. The best thing is that it is a zero-configuration server-less database which means you do not require to dedicate any specific server or space in memory for this database. The ease and fastness of working on this is unparalleled.
  • The biggest one has to be that it is freeware and open source as well. It means for an entry level person who wants to learn relational database and even for a team in the early development stage where security and size of the data are not much, it is a perfect fit in those cases.
  • It requires no extra configuration or space because it a server-less installation and also done in just a few mins. So, installing this is never a blocker. It is the actual lite version of SQL as the name suggests and it very powerful and capable of doing all the things which SQL can do, but lacks some of the security and advanced features.
  • It prepares the data for us in a structured form in terms of Tables with a file size less than 1 Mb for the complete database entries. It saves us a lot of physical space.
  • It is the most suitable DB for Android systems because mobile apps do not have a lot of space or resources for a separate DB, but this one integrates with the whole ecosystem very nicely and we are able to make the most out of it and that too with a file lesser than 1 Mb in size.
  • Although it is excellent at what it does, you should be really careful and plan accordingly if you know that your database is going to scale at a huge level because it is not suitable of databases which are of Enterprise level and demands top-notch security and protection.
  • If your project involves multiple people working on the same database simultaneously, then that becomes a big problem, because it only allows single write at one time. You really need to be forward thinking in a manner to predict if this database will cater to all the needs of your project.
  • The most common difficulty with this is the lack of some of the basic functionality which is present in the other premier databases like Joints, Stored Procedure calls, Security and permission grants. If you do require all those things then you are better off not using this software.
  • Lastly, if you are using this in an Andriod App development cycle then also your options are limited because it does not integrate with PostgreSQL and MySQL.
As I have mentioned before, SQLite is suited best in development phases where the data table is not huge and the data security is also not the primary concern. Secondly, if you are working on an Android App development in that case also this is the best database by far which meets all your requirements without taking any space or memory.

It is not suited for applications where the Database is in Gigabytes or Terabytes. It is also not suited where you need to perform complex operations like Joins and Stored procedure calls and implying top security is the requirement of the project.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SQLite is used by the R&D department.
SQLite is the database engine we have chosen to handle data from the measurement device we developed, which runs an embedded Linux.
  • Our products are using SQLite in embedded Linux and in Windows software.
  • It is truly a stable cross-platform database.
  • The fact that it is a zero-configuration database engine, it is particularly a nice advantage when you work in the embedded world.
  • Being a single database file, it provides ease for those who need to quickly transfer data to someone else, or quickly browse data.
  • We experienced a problem due to a bug in the Linux library of SQLite.
  • All devices we already sold to our customers were impacted.
  • We could solve it by deploying the new library version which included the fix.
  • But as always, a piece of software is always better if it's bugs free.
I recommend the use of SQLite for embedded systems.
If you need to store a large amount of data, store blobs, use triggers, handle multiple accesses at the same time, and need to optimize indexes, then I would recommend using another database system.
SQLite should also be considered if the installation/configuration of a heavier database system is a problem.
Aaron Bratcher | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
SQLite provides a quick and easily accessible means to store data on the local mobile device. Because of it's broad inclusion in various devices, I can be sure of it's availability. When debugging applications, I can reliably get access to the contents of the file with a variety of available applications.
  • SQLite is readily available. It has been included with iOS for as long as there's been a way for 3rd party developers to write apps for it.
  • SQLite is small. When you think about the original iPhone and how little RAM it had, it's inclusion of SQLite is a testament to how little SQLite requires to work properly.
  • SQLite is fast. I've never had issues with the speed of data retrieval while using this product. When I think of local storage when creating an iOS app, the first thing I turn to is SQLite.
  • Better data recovery when the database becomes corrupt would be ideal. I've learned to minimize it by closing the database more frequently, but it can still happen.
  • Lack of built-in data encryption.
  • SQLite is a single-user DBMS. If a multi-user system is required, then an alternative is required.
Most situations for local data storage can be easily handled by SQLite. If data encryption is needed, there are special builds available. Moving beyond the mobile space, SQLite is not designed for extremely large quantities of data or multi-user . Special consideration should be made of how much data is expected over the life of the product use. It is also not designed for simultaneous multi-user access.
Marco Lostaunau | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It was being used for low scale data storage. It was easy to use and integrate to our application which made it the best choice.
  • SQLite is in the public domain and does not require a license making it perfect for smaller startups.
  • A lot of documentation available which will make training developers new to SQLite transition easily
  • Public code makes it more accessible however it makes it more vulnerable to possible attacks
  • Not as easy to scale into a larger application compared to Microsoft Sql Management Studio
It's more suited for a start up on a budget since it presents a very good solution for data storage, maintenance and allows database engineers to structure the tables more efficiently and with scalability in mind. I would say it's less appropriate for bigger companies and firms with a more lax budget. I currently use Microsoft SQL Server management studio and the main reason why we use it is because of its security.
Return to navigation