What is MariaDB?
MariaDB Server is the innovative open-source database. Created by the original developers of MySQL, MariaDB is the natural successor with active development, performance improvements, and new storage engines. The MariaDB Foundation ensures the project remains free and open forever. Diamond, Platinum, Gold, and Silver sponsors support ongoing development. Active community with events, blogs, and documentation. 2025 saw notable external contributions. MariaDB is drop-in compatible with MySQL while offering advanced features and better performance.
Key Features
- ✓MySQL compatible
- ✓Galera Cluster
- ✓ColumnStore
- ✓Aria storage engine
- ✓Spider partitioning
- ✓Improved performance
- ✓Active development
- ✓Community-driven
- ✓Foundation governed
- ✓Enterprise and Community editions
- ✓Replication
- ✓JSON support
🔒 Privacy & Data Protection
MariaDB is developed by the Finnish-based MariaDB Foundation ensuring open governance. Fully open-source and self-hosted – all data stays on your servers. For organizations wanting MySQL alternatives with community governance, MariaDB delivers European-led database innovation.
Best For
💰 Pricing
MariaDB Community Server is completely free and open-source under GPLv2. MariaDB Enterprise available for business support.
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