MariaDB
Backend & DatabasesA relational SQL database server, created by MySQL's original developers, available as free Community Server and as a commercial Enterprise Platform with support.
Open-source alternative to:
What the free edition leaves out
Scroll sideways to view all columns →We have not been able to confirm enough from official sources to give a verdict. “Not confirmed” means the official pages we read did not say, so we do not guess.
| Feature | Free edition | Details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSO / SAML | Not confirmed | Single sign-on is not described on the pages read. | Source ↗ |
| Role-based access control | Free | The Server documentation has a roles overview: roles are created with CREATE ROLE, granted to users and can be a user's default role. | Source ↗ |
| Audit logs | Free | The Server documentation lists a MariaDB Community Audit Plugin that records connections, queries and table access. A separate MariaDB Enterprise Audit page also exists in the same docs. | Source ↗ |
| Multi-user / teams | Not confirmed | User accounts are not described as limited or gated on the pages read. | Source ↗ |
| Backups and restore | Free | The Server documentation includes a mariadb-backup overview under Backup and Restore. The Enterprise comparison page names a separate MariaDB Enterprise Backup. | Source ↗ |
| API access | Not confirmed | Access is through SQL and connectors; a separate HTTP or REST API for the Community Server is not described on the pages read. | Source ↗ |
| Support SLA | Paid | Technical support is sold through a MariaDB Subscription in Standard and Premium levels. The support page lists first-response times in its SLA rows and 24x7 coverage for urgent issues. | Source ↗ |
Best for
Teams that want a mature MySQL-compatible SQL database under GPL, with an optional commercial support and enterprise product behind it.
Why choose it over MySQL
The server is GPLv2 and, according to MariaDB's site, is the default over MySQL in the majority of Linux distributions. The Community Server page describes it as compatible with MySQL and says it is guaranteed to stay open source. Roles, an audit plugin and a backup tool are part of the Server documentation.
Where it falls short
MariaDB plc sells a separate Enterprise Platform (Enterprise Server, Enterprise Cluster, MaxScale, Enterprise Manager, a Kubernetes operator and more) and support subscriptions, and its Community Server page recommends that platform to teams that want to save time. Support with response-time SLAs comes only with a paid subscription.
Open-source alternative to
- MySQL — MariaDB's site describes Community Server as compatible with MySQL and has a MySQL-to-MariaDB migration section, so it can replace MySQL as the database server.
- Oracle Database — MariaDB's site has an Oracle-to-MariaDB migration section and lists Oracle compatibility, so it can replace Oracle Database for some workloads.
Category
Backend & DatabasesTopics
Tech stack
C++
CLanguages as reported by GitHub for the repository.
