MariaDB - a better MySQL?
January 05, 2025

MariaDB - a better MySQL?

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with MariaDB Platform

We use MariaDB whenever we need a database server compatible with MySQL Server, and do not wish to use Oracle MySQL Server. MariaDB largely has been an excellent choice, particularly when there are documented bugs with Oracle MySQL Server that prevent us from using it in a specific environment or application. Due to its branched codebase and rapid development cycle, MariaDB does not replicate various bugs or performance issues that MySQL Server can exhibit in specific scenarios.

Pros

  • Rapid Release Cycle
  • MySQL Compatibility
  • Speed and Performance

Cons

  • Upgrades can be problematic in specific environments
  • Upgrades are a manual process
  • Documentation is difficult to find
  • For specific environments we have been able save money by downscaling VMs due to MariaDB's lower footprint compared to MySQL for some of our web applications.
  • As MariaDB is MySQL compatible, we have saved money by not retooling our data layers when using MariaDB for applications that support MySQL.
  • We have had a marginal increase in maintenance and administration costs due to differences in MariaDB's update cycle and its manual upgrade process compared to MySQL.
If you know MySQL, you know MariaDB. Your operations team will need to gain a small amount of additional experience and training, but your development or DBA team can use their existing MySQL knowledge as-is, with only really needing to learn all of the things MariaDB does that MySQL does not do.
MariaDB is perhaps the best open source database server available, combining a wide range of supported platforms, MySQL compatibility, a low footprint, and reasonably high performance. If you have cost constraints, or limited server resources, I recommend MariaDB, particularly if you have experience with MySQL. It is not the most feature rich database server, but it will be sufficient for most web driven use cases.

Do you think MariaDB Platform delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with MariaDB Platform's feature set?

Yes

Did MariaDB Platform live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of MariaDB Platform go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy MariaDB Platform again?

Yes

MariaDB is ideal when your environment or application is affected by specific MySQL Server bugs that are not being resolved any time soon, and you need a more or less drop in replacement. It is also the best solution when you have limited resource constraints - in my experience performance is improved in limited resource environments when using MariaDB as opposed to MySQL Server.

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