MariaDB

MariaDB Server is a relational database that, according to its own site, was originally designed as an enhanced drop-in replacement for MySQL. Two organisations stand behind it. The MariaDB Foundation, a non-profit incorporated in Delaware and funded by sponsors, is the contact point for the open-source server and states it will stay under GPLv2 and independent of commercial entities.

MariaDB Corporation, a founding member of the Foundation and its primary code contributor, sells enterprise subscriptions, tooling and a managed service called MariaDB Cloud. The server provides an SQL interface and includes JSON and GIS features, plus vector search in the enterprise platform. You can download the server and run it yourself at no licence cost, or buy support and managed hosting.

• Community Server under GPLv2. The server itself is free software with a stated promise to remain GPLv2. Several release lines are maintained at once, with the Foundation naming 12.3, 11.8, 11.4 and 10.11 in its Q3 2026 maintenance releases and retiring 10.6.
• Storage engines and plugins. The Foundation describes a rich ecosystem of storage engines, plugins and tools around the server. This lets a team pick an engine per table, add features by plugin and keep MySQL-style SQL familiarity while avoiding vendor lock-in.
• MySQL compatibility. The site hosts comparison pages on features and compatibility with MySQL, because the server was designed as an enhanced drop-in replacement. Teams migrating from MySQL should read these pages before switching, as differences exist in versions and some features.
• Connectors. The download page lists connectors for C, Java, ODBC, Python and Node.js alongside the server, with packages for Linux repositories, RPM and DEB. Applications written in other languages generally connect through these drivers.
• Clustering and high availability. Enterprise tiers add standard replication, automatic failover through the MaxScale proxy, Galera synchronous clustering from Platform Plus and Raft-based clustering. Platform Ultimate adds conflict detection and resolution plus an MCP server for agentic AI.
• Vector search and HTAP. The enterprise platform lists native vector search, JSON, transactional and analytical workloads, and an Exa add-on for real-time HTAP. These items sit on the commercial pricing page, not in the community download.

• A web agency running many WordPress sites. Installs the community server from the distribution repositories, takes nightly dumps and uses replication for a read copy. Avoids licence fees while keeping the familiar MySQL tooling that hosting panels already support.
• A start-up that wants a managed database. Starts on the free Foundation tier of MariaDB Cloud, which runs the Community Server, then moves to Power when it needs point-in-time restore, more replicas or a stronger SLA.
• An enterprise with strict uptime targets. Buys a Platform Plus or Ultimate subscription for Galera or Raft clustering, geo-distributed deployment and support through the vendor, then asks sales for a quote tailored to the number of nodes.

For self-hosting, open the Download page on mariadb.org, choose a server version, operating system and architecture, and follow the repository or package instructions; RPM and DEB packages exist for ppc64le, s390x and aarch64 as well. The Foundation encourages trying new releases and giving feedback through JIRA, Zulip or mailing lists.

The documentation hub covers installation, SQL reference and migration. For the managed route, MariaDB Cloud has a Start free option on its pricing page. The enterprise platform has no self-service checkout: the page offers Request a Quote and a Help me choose tool. Learning resources include MariaDB University, linked from the vendor's site.

The server is made by the original MySQL developers and the foundation states it will stay GPLv2 and independent of commercial entities.

A buyer can run it alone or take the vendor's cloud service, which starts at an hourly rate and has a tier built on the community server. The foundation is incorporated in Delaware, and the cloud tiers cap storage at 1000 GB on the lowest one.

MariaDB is entry #2 of 22 in the database management systems list: it follows PostgreSQL and comes before SQLite. We give no score here: the first three places go to challengers where they exist, the rest follow in ranked order.

Counting headquarters, 15 out of 22 sit in North America; for MariaDB that is the United States.

Pricing as recorded: Free server under GPLv2; MariaDB Cloud billed per hour, published.

The server costs nothing under GPLv2. MariaDB Cloud lists three tiers: Foundation, free to start and built on the Community Server; Power, starting at $0.16 per hour; and PowerPlus, starting at $0.21 per hour. The compute table prices Foundation instances from $0.13182 per hour for the Sky-2x4 size up to $1.9766 for Sky-16x128, while Power and PowerPlus sizes say Contact us. Enterprise Platform, Platform Plus and Platform Ultimate are self-managed subscriptions priced on request, with no amounts printed. Support options, such as Standard and RDBA, are listed as add-ons for Power tiers.

Source: the pricing material on mariadb.org, as read for Best Database Management Systems in 2026 and last reviewed on 7 November 2026.

MariaDB splits into a foundation that keeps the server GPLv2 and a company that sells MariaDB Cloud, so check which of the two you are signing with.

Running the server yourself keeps the GPLv2 terms, but backups, replication and patching then fall to your own staff.

MariaDB Cloud runs on AWS, GCP and Azure across more than 40 regions, so customers can choose a region. The comparison table lists encryption in transit and at rest for data and backups, portal role-based access, IP allowlists and PrivateLink or Private Service Connect on PowerPlus.

Uptime targets are 99.95 percent on Foundation multi-node and 99.995 percent on higher tiers. A separate Trust Center and a security policy page exist; certifications were not read.

Integrations the vendor names (12):

• MariaDB Connector/C
• Connector/J
• Connector/ODBC
• Connector/Python
• Connector/Node.js
• MaxScale proxy
• Galera Cluster
• Kubernetes Operator
• MariaDB GridGain
• AWS
• Google Cloud
• Azure

We pick the closest products in the same guide by tags, price model and region.

• MongoDB (#5 of 22): Suits: Teams building around JSON documents who prefer a managed cloud service. (United States)
• Apache Cassandra (#7 of 22): Masterless wide-column database for large write volumes across several machines. Suits: Teams writing very large volumes across data centres, with staff to operate it.
• Couchbase (#8 of 22): JSON document database with SQL++ queries, sold as Capella or as Server.
• MySQL (#9 of 22): Oracle-owned relational server, free under GPLv2, paid editions on request. Best for: Teams running widely supported web stacks who accept Oracle as owner.
• ScyllaDB (#15 of 22): Wide-column database compatible with Cassandra and DynamoDB APIs. Watch out: wide-column model without joins or flexible document queries.

Read from the vendor’s own pages on 5 November 2026.

• mariadb.org/about: foundation status, GPLv2 promise, sponsors, features
• mariadb.org/download: download options, connectors, release lines
• mariadb.com/pricing: enterprise platform tiers and quote-based pricing
• mariadb.com/pricing/cloud: cloud tiers, hourly prices, regions, SLA, backup and security features

The same four questions are asked of every database management systems product: time to value, real cost, the way out and the intended buyer. That puts MariaDB at #2 of 22. Method and commercial relationships are in our editorial process.