MariaDB

Product overview

MariaDB develops the open-source relational database that serves as the default MySQL replacement across most major Linux distributions. Created in 2009 by Michael Widenius, the original author of MySQL, the MariaDB Server has accumulated over one billion downloads through distribution packaging alone. The MariaDB Foundation, an independent European non-profit, governs the open-source project, while MariaDB Corporation develops commercial products. The Enterprise Platform bundles the database server with MaxScale (an intelligent proxy and load balancer), Galera Cluster for multi-master high availability, and ColumnStore for columnar analytics. The 2026 edition adds unified transactional, analytical, and vector search capabilities for AI workloads. MariaDB Cloud offers managed database-as-a-service on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with serverless and provisioned modes. MariaDB ranks 13th on the DB-Engines popularity index and serves roughly 700 enterprise customers including Deutsche Bank, Nokia, Samsung, and ServiceNow. The Community Server is free under GPL v2, while Enterprise subscriptions start at approximately $2,500 per server per year. Note: K1 Investment Management (US-based) acquired MariaDB in September 2024, taking it private. The legal entity remains Irish and the Foundation is European, but the corporate parent is non-European. KEY FEATURES: - GPL v2 open-source server with InnoDB, ColumnStore, MyRocks, and Galera Cluster storage engines - MaxScale intelligent database proxy for read/write splitting, failover, and query routing - Native vector search and PostgreSQL wire-protocol compatibility for AI applications - DB-Engines rank #13 globally with over 1 billion cumulative downloads - Enterprise subscriptions from ~$2,500/server/year; managed cloud with serverless option

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