MariaDB
The open source relational database
★ 4.4
Community-developed fork of MySQL, created by MySQL's original developers. Drop-in MySQL replacement with additional features and better open-source governance.
free
Pricing
Yes
Self-Hostable
Features
- ✓ MySQL compatible (drop-in replacement)
- ✓ Additional storage engines (Aria, ColumnStore)
- ✓ Galera Cluster for multi-master replication
- ✓ Thread pool for better concurrency
- ✓ JSON and GIS support
- ✓ Oracle compatibility mode
- ✓ Better open-source governance
- ✓ Faster development cycle than MySQL
Pros
- + Drop-in MySQL replacement
- + Better open-source governance
- + Additional features over MySQL
- + Default in many Linux distros
- + Active community development
Cons
- − Less corporate backing than MySQL
- − Some MySQL features lag behind
- − Smaller ecosystem than MySQL/PostgreSQL
- − Enterprise features require paid version