whichdb
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MariaDB vs PostgreSQL

MariaDB: Community-led MySQL fork with extra storage engines, built-in Galera and a faster feature cadence. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.

key differences

  • Licensing: MariaDB is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0); PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License).
  • Only MariaDB has columnar storage, encryption at rest, time travel.
  • Only PostgreSQL has materialized views, pub/sub.

choose mariadb for

  • +Drop-in replacement for legacy MySQL deployments
  • +Linux distribution default database for LAMP stacks
  • +Temporal auditing with system-versioned tables
  • +HA clusters with Galera

best at · OLTP, Content, Geo

choose postgresql for

  • +General-purpose application backend
  • +SaaS multi-tenant data
  • +Geospatial applications with PostGIS
  • +Semantic search alongside relational data with pgvector

best at · OLTP, Geo, Search

MariaDBCommunity-led MySQL fork with extra storage engines, built-in Galera and a faster feature cadence.
PostgreSQLThe extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Spatial, Vector, Columnar / OLAP
Document, Spatial
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
MariaDB Foundation and MariaDB plc
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
First release
2009
1996
Latest version
13.0.2 (Sep 15, 2026)
18.6 (Aug 13, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GPL-2.0
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
56.2
93.2
Rank
#19
#1
GitHub stars
8.5K
22.6K
Stack Overflow questions
14.6K
178.8K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
Addon
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong, Eventual
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Multi primary, Client server
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, DigitalOcean, Akamai
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
✓
✓
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
✓
✓
Vector search
✓
✓
Geospatial
✓
✓
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
✓
✓
Triggers
✓
✓
Stored procedures
✓
✓
Materialized views
—
✓
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
✓
Columnar storage
✓
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
✓
Encryption at rest
✓
—
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
✓
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
✓
✓
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
SQL, PL/SQL (Oracle mode)
SQL, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Go, C#, Ruby
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Content, Geo, Vector search
OLTP, Geo, Search, Content
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

MariaDB vs PostgreSQL: FAQ

What is the difference between MariaDB and PostgreSQL?

MariaDB: Community-led MySQL fork with extra storage engines, built-in Galera and a faster feature cadence. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. Licensing: MariaDB is open source (copyleft) (GPL-2.0); PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License). Only MariaDB has columnar storage, encryption at rest, time travel. Only PostgreSQL has materialized views, pub/sub.

When should I choose MariaDB over PostgreSQL?

Choose MariaDB for drop-in replacement for legacy MySQL deployments, linux distribution default database for LAMP stacks and temporal auditing with system-versioned tables. Choose PostgreSQL for general-purpose application backend, SaaS multi-tenant data and geospatial applications with PostGIS.

Is MariaDB or PostgreSQL more popular?

PostgreSQL ranks #1 on the WhichDB Score (93.2/100) and MariaDB ranks #19 (56.2/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are MariaDB and PostgreSQL open source?

Yes. MariaDB is open source. License: GPL-2.0. Yes. PostgreSQL is open source. License: PostgreSQL License.