Alternative choices depend on data model, consistency requirements, and operational complexity tolerance. Updated for MariaDB 11.4+ features.
| Feature | MariaDB 11.4+ | MySQL 8.0+ | PostgreSQL 16+ | SQLite 3.45+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| License | 🏛️ GPL v2 / LGPL v2.1 | 🏛️ GPL v2 | 🏛️ PostgreSQL License (liberal) | 🏛️ Public Domain |
| Performance | ⚡ High for read-heavy workloads, enhanced optimizer | ⚡ High for mixed OLTP/OLAP | ⚡ Excellent for complex queries | ⚡ Very fast for embedded use |
| Storage Engine | 💾 Multiple (InnoDB, MyISAM, Aria) | 💾 Multiple (InnoDB, MyISAM) | 💾 Native MVCC | 💾 Single file-based |
| Replication | 🔁 Master-slave, Galera cluster | 🔁 Master-slave, Group Replication | 🔁 Streaming replication, logical | 🔁 File-based sync |
| ACID Compliance | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| JSON Support | 📝 Advanced (10.2+) with new functions | 📝 Yes (5.7+) | 📝 Advanced (9.3+) | 📝 Via extensions |
| Full-text Search | 🔍 Yes | 🔍 Yes | 🔍 Advanced with pg_trgm | 🔍 Basic |
| Stored Procedures | 🧩 Yes (SQL/PSM) | 🧩 Yes (SQL/PSM) | 🧩 PL/pgSQL, PL/Python, others | 🧩 Limited via triggers |
| Triggers & Events | ⚙️ Yes | ⚙️ Yes | ⚙️ Yes | ⚙️ Yes |
| Partitioning | 🗂️ Yes | 🗂️ Yes | 🗂️ Yes | 🗂️ Manual implementation |
| Security | 🔒 SSL by default (11.4+), enhanced validation | 🔒 SSL support | 🔒 Robust authentication options | 🔒 File-level permissions |
| Online Schema Changes | 🔄 Yes (11.4+ with ALGORITHM=COPY, LOCK=NONE) | 🔄 Yes (with limitations) | 🔄 Yes (with limitations) | 🔄 Limited |
| Community Support | 👥 Strong (open-source governance) | 👥 Oracle-backed | 👥 Very strong | 👥 Extensive |
| Commercial Support | 💼 Available from multiple vendors | 💼 Oracle support | 💼 Many vendors | 💼 Self-support |
| Memory Usage | 💾 Moderate | 💾 Moderate | 💾 Higher than MySQL/MariaDB | 💾 Minimal |
| Setup Complexity | ⚙️ Moderate (enhanced security by default in 11.4+) | ⚙️ Moderate | ⚙️ Moderate-High | ⚙️ Zero-config |
| Use Case | 🎯 General purpose, web apps, security-first | 🎯 Enterprise, web apps | 🎯 Complex analytics, GIS, custom apps | 🎯 Embedded, mobile, prototyping |
| Real-world Benchmarks | 📊 Sysbench: 125k QPS (read) 16k QPS (write) Enhanced in 11.4+ |
📊 Sysbench: 115k QPS (read) 14k QPS (write) WordPress: Baseline performance |
📊 Sysbench: 95k QPS (read) 12k QPS (write) Analytics: 35% faster than MySQL |
📊 Speedtest: <1ms latency Up to 50k QPS Embedded: Zero-copy operations |
These benchmarks represent typical performance values from common testing scenarios, but your actual results may vary based on:
Note: These are representative values from published benchmarks and may not reflect your specific use case. Always test with your actual workload.