In this MariaDB tutorial, we will learn about the topic MariaDB Vs SQL Server. Additionally, we will cover the following topics.
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server
- MariaDB vs SQL Server Performance
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server Express
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server Command
- MariaDB Vs MySQL
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server Vs PostgreSQL
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server Vs Oracle
- MariaDB Vs MySQL Vs SQL Server

MariaDB Vs SQL Server
Let us see the comparison between MariaDB and MS SQL Server.
MariaDB | MS SQL Server |
Created by MariaDB Corporation Ab and MariaDB foundation in 2009. | Created by Microsoft Corporation and initially released on April 24, 1989. |
MariaDB is created in C, C++, Pearl, and Bash Languages. | MS SQL Server is created in C, C++. |
MariaDB is an open-source RDBMS, highly available, secure, interoperable. | It is a Microsoft relational DBMS. |
The primary database model for MariaDB is Relational DBMS. | The primary database model for MS SQL Server is also Relational DBMS. |
It consists of 2 secondary database models – Document store and Graph DBMS. | It also consists of 2 secondary models – Document store and Graph DBMS. |
It is Open Source. | It is Commercial. |
You can operate it on FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris, and Windows. | You can operate it on Windows and Linux. |
It supports two replication methods – Master-master replication and Master-slave replication. | It also supports the replication method but it depends on the SQL- Server Edition. |
Headquarters at Redwood City, California, United States Of America | Headquarters at Santa Clara, California, United States Of America |
Also, check: How to install MariaDB
MariaDB vs SQL Server Performance
MariaDB and SQL Server are the two most popular Relational Database Systems. To choose between two of them becomes very crucial. The decision depends on various factors like performance, speed, and security.
Here, the performance of MariaDB and SQL Server are analyzed to check which platform is better. Different SELECT, INSERT and DELETE queries were executed on both the Database Management System on the Windows system and their execution time was recorded.
Queries | MariaDB | SQL Server |
INSERT-Statement | 42 secs | 12 secs |
UPDATE US_city SET filename = ’US Data’ | 10 secs | 0 secs |
SELECT * FROM US_city | 3 secs | 15 secs |
DELETE FROM US_city | 9 secs | 0 sec |
SELECT * FROM citizens | Fatal error: Maximum execution time of 300 seconds exceeded | 1 sec |
Here, you can see the difference between the execution time of both MariaDB and SQL Server corresponding to each query.
The first INSERT query was run on a loop(100 times) to store a zip file for each user. MariaDB sometimes crashed for files above the size of 13MB. After the completion of the loop, MariaDB took 42 seconds which is considered very slow meanwhile SQL server did it in 12 seconds.
Two SELECT queries were run, firstly MariaDB was faster but in the second case where they both had to display data of 5000 rows, MariaDB failed as the execution time exceeded 300 seconds, while the SQL server did it in 1 second to display all the records.
Read: How To Check MariaDB Version
MariaDB Vs SQL Server Express
Here, we need to see some PROS and CONS of MariaDB and SQL Server Express.
PROS Between Them
MariaDB
- Every development steps for MariaDB can be reviewed and debated on a public mailing list. Contribution to MariaDB is easy and patch flows are transparent and public & it has documentation that may help developers in their day-to-day database administration.
- It has more cutting edge features.
- MariaDB has dynamic column support which helps for some NoSQL type functionalities. One database interface can provide for both SQL and NoSQL for various development needs.
SQL Server Express
- It has various rich development tools like Visual Studio, Visual Web Developer and SQL Server Management which makes it the best choice for anyone who develops in Microsoft environment.
- It is very easy to manage SQL server instances as we can connect to local database, write , execute and test queries.
- With wide variety of versions, its completly free of cost. You can upgrade to higher tiers but that requires a fee.
- It is very easy to have a backup or restore the data and can be deployed to all editions of SQL Server and Microsoft Azure SQL Database.
CONS Between Them
MariaDB
As compared to SQL Server Express, MariaDB does not have any major cons.
SQL Server Express
There are some hardware limitations like 4 cores, 1GB for memory utilized per instance, 10GB maximum size, etc.
Also, check: How to create a user in MariaDB
MariaDB Vs SQL Server Command
If you are making the transition from MariaDB to SQL server or vice versa, you need to compare the similar commands on each platform.
Here is the comparison between commands of both MariaDB and SQL Server.
Commands | MariaDB | SQL Server |
Create Database | CREATE DATABASE TestDB GO | CREATE DATABASE TestDB2; |
Switching To A Different Database | USE TestDB GO | USE TestDB; |
Verifying The Creation Of A Database | exec sp_databases GO | show databases; |
Create A Table | create table customer(id int,name varchar(30)) GO | create table customer(id int,name varchar(30)); |
Insert Data Into Tables | insert into customer values (1,’John’) GO | insert into customer values (1,’John’); |
Create Stored Procedure | create procedure showcustomers as select * from customer GO | create procedure showcustomers() select * from customer; |
Calling A Stored Procedure | exec showcustomers GO | call showcustomers; |
Getting The Current Date | select CONVERT(date, GETDATE()) GO | select current_date; |
Getting The Current Time | select CONVERT(time, GETDATE()) GO | select current_time; |
Getting The Current Time And Date | select getdate() | select current_date, current_time; |
Modifying Date Format | select FORMAT(getdate(),’MM-dd-yyyy’) as date GO | select date_format(current_date,’%m%d%Y’); |
Assigning The Value To A Variable | declare @var int=1 select @var GO | set @var=1; select @var; |
List Of Tables In Current Database | SELECT * FROM information_schema.tables GO | SHOW TABLES; |
List Of Views In Current Database | SELECT * FROM information_schema.views GO | SHOW TABLES; |
Also, check: How to Create Database in MariaDB
MariaDB Vs MySQL
MariaDB is a fork of MySQL Database Management System which was developed in 2009 whereas MySQL was developed in the mid-90s and was one of the first open-source databases available in the market.
Here is the major difference between MariaDB and MySQL.
Parameter | MariaDB | MySQL |
Storage Engines | It has 12 new storage engines. | It has fewer options for a storage engine as compared to MariaDB. |
Speed Improvements | It is faster as compared to MySQL. | It is comparatively slower than MariaDB. |
Initial release | 2009 | 1995 |
Server operating systems | FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, Windows, and even Solaris | FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris OS X, and Windows |
Faster cache/indexes | With more memory storage engines, an insert statement can be completed 24% faster than the standard MySQL. | The memory storage engine of MySQL is slower as compared to MariaDB. |
Larger and Faster Connection Pool | It has an advanced thread pool capable of running faster and supports up to 200,000+ connections. | The thread pool provided by MySQL can’t support up to 200,000 connections per time. |
Improved Replication | Replication and updates can be done 2x faster as compared to the traditional MySQL. | Its community edition comes with the static number of threads to be connected but in Enterprise edition plan comes with thread capabilities. |
New Features/Extensions | It has some new features and extensions including the JSON, WITH, and KILL statements. | These new features of MariaDB are not present in MySQL. |
Missing Features | MariaDB lacks some of the features but if offers alternative open-source plugins to address these features. | Only Enterprise edition users have access to proprietary code. |
Priority code | It doesn’t allow propriety content and is a closed source. | It uses some propriety code in its Enterprise edition. |
Data Masking | No | Yes |
Dynamic columns | No | Yes |
Monitoring | SQLyog | MySQL workbench |
Routing | MariaDB MaxScale | Mysql Router |
Analytics | MariaDB ColumnStore | No |
Secondary database model | Document store and Graph DBMS | Document store |
Forks | 4k | 7.2k |
Famous companies using | Docplanner, Nrise, Accenture, Grooveshark. | Airbnb, Netflix, Uber Technologies, Dropbox. |
Headquarters | Redwood City, California, United States Of America | Cupertino, California, United States Of America |
Read: How to Grant User Access to a MariaDB Database
MariaDB Vs SQL Server Vs PostgreSQL
All the three Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) are popular and have good performance. Here, you need to see the comparison between these three is as follows.
Parameter | MariaDB | SQL Server | PostgreSQL |
About | MySQL application compatible with open-source RDBMS, high available, secure, interoperable and have performance capabilities. | Microsoft’s flagship relational DBMS. | Widely used open-source RDBMS. |
Primary Database Model | Relational DBMS | Relational DBMS | Relational DBMS |
Secondary Database Models | Document store, Graph DBMS, Spatial DBMS. | Document store, Graph DBMS, Spatial DBMS. | Document store, Spatial DBMS. |
Developer | MariaDB Corporation Ab and MariaDB Foundation | Microsoft | PostgreSQL Global Development Group |
Initial Release | 2009 | 1989 | 1996 |
License | Open-Source | Commercial | Open-Source |
Implementation Language | C and C++ | C++ | C |
Server Operating Systems | FreeBSD, Linux, Windows, and even Solaris | Windows & Linux | OS X, HP-UX, FreeBSD, Linux, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, Unix, and Windows are some of the operating systems available. |
APIs & other methods | ADO.NET, JDBC, ODBC and Proprietary native API | JDBC, ADO.NET, ODBC, Tabular Data Stream (TDS), and OLE DB | ADO.NET, JDBC, native C library, ODBC, streaming API for large objects |
Supported Programming Languages | Ada, C#, C++, C D, Eiffel, Erlang, Go, Java, Haskell, JavaScript (Node.js), OCaml, Objective-C, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby, Scheme, Tcl | Delphi, C++, C#, Go, Java, PHP, Python, JavaScript(Node.js), R, Ruby, Visual Basic | .Net, C, C++, Delphi, Java, Perl, PHP, JavaScript(Node.js), Python, Tcl |
Server-Side Scripts | Yes | Transact SQL, .NET languages, R, Python, and Java | User-Defined Functions |
Partition Methods | There are several options for horizontal partitioning and Sharding. | Tables can be sharded using federation and dispersed across many files (horizontal partitioning). | In this, we can do partitioning by range, list, and hash |
Replication Methods | Multi-source replication and Source-replica replication | Yes, but it depends on the SQL-Server Edition | Source-replica replication |
Transaction Concepts | ACID | ACID | ACID |
In-memory capabilities | Yes | Yes | No |
User Concepts | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard |
Headquarters | Redwood City, California, United States Of America | Santa Clara, California, United States Of America | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Of America |
Read MariaDB Vs SQLite
MariaDB Vs SQL Server Vs Oracle
All the three Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) are popular and have good performance. Here, you need to see the comparison between these three is as follows.
Parameter | MariaDB | SQL Server | Oracle |
About | MySQL application compatible with open-source RDBMS, high available, secure, interoperable and have performance capabilities. | Microsoft’s flagship relational DBMS. | Widely used RDBMS. |
Primary Database Model | Relational DBMS | Relational DBMS | Relational DBMS |
Secondary Database Models | Document store, Graph DBMS, Spatial DBMS. | Document store, Graph DBMS, Spatial DBMS. | Document store, Graph DBMS, RDF Store, Spatial DBMS. |
Developer | MariaDB Corporation Ab and MariaDB Foundation | Microsoft | Oracle |
Initial Release | 2009 | 1989 | 1980 |
License | Open-Source | Commercial | Commercial |
Implementation Language | C and C++ | C++ | C and C++ |
Server Operating Systems | Solaris, FreeBSD, Linux, and Windows | Linux and Windows | AIX, HP-UX, Linux, OS X, Windows, Solaris, z/OS |
APIs & Access methods | ADO.NET, JDBC, ODBC and Proprietary native API | ADO.NET, ODBC, OLE DB, OLE DB, Tabular Data Stream (TDS) | JDBC, ODBC, ODP.NET, Oracle Call Interface (OCI) |
Supported Programming Languages | Ada, C#, C, C++, D, Eiffel, Erlang, Go, Java, Haskell, JavaScript (Node.js), Objective-C, Python, OCaml, PHP, Perl, PHP, ECL, Scheme, Ruby | C++, JAVA, Delphi, C#, Go, PHP, Python, JavaScript(Node.js), R, Ruby, Visual Basic | C, Delphi, C++, C#, Cobol, Clojure, Delphi, Erlang, Eiffel, Fortran, Groovy, Java, Haskell, JavaScript, Objective C, Lisp, OCaml, Perl, PHP, R, Ruby, Python, Scala, Visual Basic, Tcl. |
Server-Side Scripts | Yes | Transact SQL, .NET languages, R, Python, and Java | PL/SQL |
Partition Methods | There are several options for horizontal partitioning and Sharding. | Tables can be sharded using federation and dispersed across many files (horizontal partitioning). | Sharding and horizontal partitioning |
Replication Methods | Multi-source replication and Source-replica replication | Yes, but it depends on the SQL-Server Edition | Multi-source replication and Source-replica replication |
Transaction Concepts | ACID | ACID | ACID |
In-memory capabilities | Yes | Yes | Yes |
User Concepts | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard |
Headquarters | Redwood City, California, United States Of America | Santa Clara, California, United States Of America | Austin, Texas, United States Of America |
These are all the differences between all three.
Read How to Create Table in MariaDB
MariaDB Vs SQL Server Vs MySQL
All the three Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) are popular and have good performance. Here, you need to see the comparison between these three is as follows.
Parameter | MariaDB | SQL Server | MySQL |
About | MySQL application compatible with open-source RDBMS, high available, secure, interoperable and have performance capabilities. | Microsoft’s flagship relational DBMS. | Widely used open-source RDBMS. |
Primary Database Model | Relational DBMS | Relational DBMS | Relational DBMS |
Secondary Database Models | Document store, Graph DBMS, Spatial DBMS. | Document store, Graph DBMS, Spatial DBMS. | Document store, Spatial DBMS. |
Developer | MariaDB Corporation Ab and MariaDB Foundation | Microsoft | Oracle |
Initial Release | 2009 | 1989 | 1995 |
License | Open-Source | Commercial | Open-Source |
Implementation Language | C and C++ | C++ | C and C++ |
Server Operating Systems | FreeBSD, Linux, Windows, and even Solaris | Linux & Windows | FreeBSD, Linux, OS X, Windows, Solaris |
Other access methods & APIs | ADO.NET, JDBC, ODBC and Proprietary native API | JDBC, ADO.NET, ODBC, Tabular Data Stream (TDS), and OLE DB, | ADO.NET, JDBC, ODBC, Proprietary native API |
Supported Programming Languages | Ada, C#, C, C++, D, Eiffel, Erlang, Go, Javascript, Java, Haskell, Python, OCaml, Perl, PHP, Objective C, Ruby, TCL. | C++, Java, Delphi, C#, Go, PHP, Python, JavaScript(Node.js), R, Ruby, Visual Basic | Ada, C#, C++, C, D, Delphi, Eiffel, Erlang, Javascript, Java, Haskell, Python, OCaml, Perl, Objective-C PHP, Tcl, Scheme, Ruby |
Server-Side Scripts | Yes | Transact SQL, .NET languages, R, Python, and Java | Yes |
Partition Methods | There are several options for horizontal partitioning and Sharding. | Tables can be sharded using federation and dispersed across many files (horizontal partitioning). | It has horizontal partitioning, sharding with MySQL Cluster or MySQL Fabric |
Replication Methods | Multi-source replication and Source-replica replication | Yes, but it depends on the SQL-Server Edition | Multi-source replication and Source-replica replication |
Transaction Concepts | ACID | ACID | ACID |
In-memory capabilities | Yes | Yes | Yes |
User Concepts | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard | fine-grained access rights according to SQL-standard |
Headquarters | Redwood City, California, United States Of America | Santa Clara, California, United States Of America | Cupertino, California, United States Of America |
These are all the differences between all three.
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In this MariaDB Tutorial, we have learned about the topic MariaDB Vs SQL Server. Additionally, we have covered the following topics.
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server
- MariaDB vs SQL Server Performance
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server Express
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server Command
- MariaDB Vs MySQL
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server Vs PostgreSQL
- MariaDB Vs SQL Server Vs Oracle
- MariaDB Vs MySQL Vs SQL Server
I am Bijay having more than 15 years of experience in the Software Industry. During this time, I have worked on MariaDB and used it in a lot of projects. Most of our readers are from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
Want to learn MariaDB? Check out all the articles and tutorials that I wrote on MariaDB. Also, I am a Microsoft MVP.