MariaDB

After Oracle acquired MySQL, MariaDB grew up as the community's alternative, and it keeps that independent character today. MariaDB Server is a relational database. Its licence is version 2 of the GNU General Public License.

Who maintains it

The open source server is maintained by the MariaDB Foundation, which says it accepts contributions on technical merit. MariaDB plc sells MariaDB Enterprise Server and support, and lists headquarters in Silicon Valley and Ireland. The server was made by the original developers of MySQL, and its founder is also credited as founder of MySQL.

Reach and features

The foundation says MariaDB is part of most cloud offerings and is the default database in most Linux distributions. Recent additions it highlights are clustering through Galera Cluster 4, Oracle Database compatibility features and temporal data tables, which allow a query to see the data as it stood at any point in the past.

Release lines

Version 13.0.2, published on 15 September 2026, is the latest stable release. The other maintained lines are 12.3.3, then 11.8.9 and 11.4.13, followed by 10.11.19 and finally 10.6.28. The foundation describes the 12.3 series as a long-term release with three years of maintenance, a sensible base for teams wanting a stable branch with a known support horizon.

Licence and cost

The community server carries no licence fee under the GPL, though anyone planning to redistribute it inside a product should first read the licence conditions. Enterprise pricing is not published, so buyers need a quotation from MariaDB plc.