MariaDB
GPL-only MySQL fork under a foundation, with Galera clustering and native vectors.
Overall in database engines
2of 5 · score 64.6
Data coverage
100%
26 of 26 fields sourced
Best for
- •MySQL-shaped workloads where GPL-only licensing or Oracle stewardship is a blocker
- •Synchronous multi-primary clustering without buying anything
- •Vector search inside a MySQL dialect you can self-host
Strong on
- +Online schema change Yes 1/5
- +Vector search Native type + ANN index 1/5
- +Isolation levels Read uncommitted, Read committed, Repeatable read, Serializable 1/5
- +Concurrency model MVCC (undo log) 2/5
- +Governance Foundation 2/5
- +Ops burden 3 3/5
Weak on
- −Ops burden 3 3/5Better: SQLite: 1
- −Extension ecosystem 3 4/5Better: PostgreSQL: 5
- −Migration tooling 3 3/5Better: PostgreSQL: 5
- −JSON support Text functions only 3/5Better: PostgreSQL: Binary JSONB + indexes
vs MySQL
- •Ahead on Vector search: Native type + ANN index vs Native type
- •Ahead on Embed in closed source: Partial vs No
- •Behind on Client libraries: 4 vs 5
- •Behind on Migration tooling: 3 vs 4
How MariaDB scores among 5 database engines26 of 26 fields known
Engine & SQL10
Concurrency model2nd
MVCC (undo log)
2/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · MVCC (heap row versions)
mariadb.com · 2026-07-01
Isolation levels1st
Read uncommitted, Read committed, Repeatable read, Serializable
1/5
mariadb.com · 2026-07-01
JSON support3rd
Text functions only
3/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · Binary JSONB + indexes
mariadb.com · 2026-07-01
Operations7
Connection model3rd
Thread per connection
3/5
Leader: SQLite · In-process (no connections)
mariadb.com · 2026-07-01
Managed options3rd
Amazon RDS, Google Cloud SQL, MariaDB SkySQL
3/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · Neon, Supabase, Amazon RDS, Amazon Aurora, Google Cloud SQL, Azure Database, PlanetScale
· 2026-07-01
Ops burden3rd
3
3/5
Leader: SQLite · 1
· 2026-07-01
Ecosystem5
Extension ecosystem
3
4/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · 5
· 2026-07-01
Client libraries
4
4/5
Leader: SQLite · 5
· 2026-07-01
Migration tooling3rd
3
3/5
Leader: PostgreSQL · 5
· 2026-07-01
Positioning
The open source relational database, made by the original developers of MySQL.
mariadb.org · 2026-07-01
Licence & governance3
Embed in closed source
Partial
4/5
Leader: SQLite · Yes
· 2026-07-01
History1
Alternatives4
DuckDB
MySQL
PostgreSQL
SQLiteCompare
Sources18
- mariadb.com/kb/en/alter-table/2 fields
- mariadb.org/about/2 fields
- mariadb.com/kb/en/mariadb-embedded-server/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/innodb/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/innodb-lock-modes/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/set-transaction/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/json-data-type/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/full-text-indexes/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/vectors/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/sql-mode/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/innodb-limitations/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/galera-cluster/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/mariabackup/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/thread-pool-in-mariadb/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/server-system-variables/1 field
- github.com/MariaDB/server1 field
- mariadb.org/1 field
- mariadb.com/kb/en/mariadb-license/1 field
