FirebirdSQL vs. Microsoft SQL Server

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Firebird
Score 9.8 out of 10
N/A
FirebirdSQL is an open-source database which can be embedded.N/A
Microsoft SQL Server
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.
$1,418
Per License
Pricing
FirebirdSQLMicrosoft SQL Server
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Subscription
$1,418.00
Per License
Enterprise
$13,748.00
Per License
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
FirebirdMicrosoft SQL Server
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
FirebirdSQLMicrosoft SQL Server
Considered Both Products
Firebird
Chose Firebird
It is cost-effective, maintenance-free, easy to deploy and use on Linux and Windows environments and it works steadily. It has an open-source license. Installing Oracle was quite difficult in comparison to Firebird.
Chose Firebird
It came a time when the practice of SQLite was lagging behind and of course, we were looking at the cost that was being involved and so Firebird made the breakthrough for us from both. It has an open-source license and it is easy to deploy on Windows and Linux environments.
Chose Firebird
As you know, the version of an application is very good for a period in the world of information technologies, it is the first in the performance / cost table. But some periods come and that practice lags behind. When Firebird made such a breakthrough, we preferred this …
Chose Firebird
Back then I evaluated Oracle 8, IBM DB2, Mimer, SAP DB, MySQL, Borland Interbase (not Embarcadero Interbase and that one has the same roots as Firebird) and most likely other RDBMS. Firebird was free, usage was ok, it was (for my application) maintenance free and speed was ok …
Microsoft SQL Server
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
You could consider i did use Mysql since i worked with some websites that were using a mysql database. I could not give a side by side comparision since i don't use those like i use the Microsoft SQL , but so far it worked well. I prefer Microsoft SQL due to support and info …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
UI of the Microsoft SQL Server makes it easy to use and learn. The better technical support and documentation give it an extra edge over other databases. The Microsoft ecosystem provides additional advantages, as we can seamlessly use other Microsoft products, such as Power …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is faster and more compatible, but it does cost more, so you're paying for those features. I use the others in many other places where critical transaction processing time and compatibility aren't of great concern.
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL is slower than MySQL and Access but far more feature-rich and reliable. Access is almost obsolete nowadays, so not too many people are considering it, but unless budget or an open-source ethos is a factor, Microsoft SQL is superior in every way. Many commonly used …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
The first database application taught when I was in school was Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server was used where I first started, so I had the opportunity to improve myself in MySQL. SQL is also used in my current workplace. It is widely used in very large projects due …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
We have a few different DB's in the organization, including: Pervasive, Oracle, Db2, MySQL. Many of them are of limited use for one specific application. These don't really compare to MS SQL server. Oracle is heavy and cumbersome and overkill for smaller apps. Pervasive - …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a comprehensive solution as transactional database, data warehouse, analytics, reporting, and ETL. It also integrates with the cloud well (Azure). The ease of use and setup makes this better than Oracle Database because the query syntax is also different …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
I think both tools are really powerful and close to each other but since I moved to Europe I realized that most of the companies have been using SQL Server which in my opinion means something. The support from Microsoft I also consider a bit better and you can also find more …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft was the original creator of the SQL database, and thus, they still rule the market and drive innovation when it comes to data warehousing systems. It's comparable in price and allows you to retain the structured datasets that you lose when you change to a NoSQL …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
[Microsoft] SQL Server has a much better community and professional support and is overall just a more reliable system with Microsoft behind it. I've used MySQL in the past and SQL Server has just become more comfortable for me and is my go to RDBMS.
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle are both extremely powerful and scalable enterprise relational database platforms. Microsoft SQL sets itself apart with its ease of use and licensing and support model. Microsoft is good company to work with and they provide clear and …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
It just boils down to why learn anther product when you are going to run across it so seldom. Developers determine what database engine I am going to need so I just tend to pick products for implementation that use a well know product that has lots of support resources …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
The most known and widely used competitor of Microsoft SQL is most probably the open-source MySQL. If given the choice I would personally choose MySQL over Microsoft's SQL Server, mainly because it is totally free and open source, but also because it integrates better with …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server was our first choice as we are a Microsoft partner.
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
[Microsoft SQL Server] offers a full solution, Inhouse Applications and hosted application continue to use SQL as backend database. Allows easy creation of development environments and continuous feature release.
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
All of the platforms have their own benefit. I was not the decision maker in selecting Microsoft SQL Server, as it was already being utilized when I joined the company, 7 years ago. I can say that I feel more comfortable with utilizing this platform as opposed to the other ones.
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
The free version is very powerfull and easy to install and use for small companies.
Going to Professional and Standard, gives you all the support and the flexibility needed. It is known within the Database Administrator crew, and you can get support very easily over the …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Native to Windows and being required for other MS apps puts it above others in terms of usage. If we were not heavily dependent on Microsoft applications or OS, we might have considered other database solutions. It's an expensive solutions but it is a solid reliable solution. …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
I was not too impressed with Oracle. Following the manual prohibited installation. They did provide a phone number and explained the manual was wrong and provided me with the correct information with which I was able to install the product. This was awhile back and I do not …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is one of the fastest RDBMS systems available in the market. Pricing is a bit on the higher side but all the features it provides pretty much justifies it. It can be integrated with a large number of frameworks thus enabling to work on multiple frameworks …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is still the industry standard for the type of development we do, and the types of applications that we use. Almost every developer or analyst we hire has at least a reasonable grounding in the use of SQL servers, and it is almost universally compatible …
Chose Microsoft SQL Server
We stopped looking at alternatives to Microsoft SQL Server a long time ago simply because it meant only having one DBMS that we needed to learn and to support. If we were to implement other database solutions that don't run on SQL Server, we would have to spend more time moving …
Best Alternatives
FirebirdSQLMicrosoft SQL Server
Small Businesses
InfluxDB
InfluxDB
Score 8.8 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 7.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SQLite
SQLite
Score 9.6 out of 10
InterSystems IRIS
InterSystems IRIS
Score 7.7 out of 10
Enterprises
SQLite
SQLite
Score 9.6 out of 10
SAP IQ
SAP IQ
Score 10.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
FirebirdSQLMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(0 ratings)
7.9
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(0 ratings)
7.3
(0 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.0
(0 ratings)
7.9
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
FirebirdSQLMicrosoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend
When looking for low maintenance and a solution suited for all kinds of pc applications. It is great when you are looking to store physical files in folder locations and you can then reference the document in the database. It has an open-source community around it along with documentation for third-party drivers of the development environment.
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Microsoft SQL Server is ideal for highly available SQL workloads by using SQL Server Always On availability groups. Microsoft SQL Server might not be appropriate for solutions which require a very low resource footprint, since it requires significant CPU cores and RAM memory as well as high IOPS, always depending on the usage scenario.
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Pros
  • Reliable RDMS for the SMB's and we found its performance is really fast.
  • It allows us to store the physical files into the folder location and reference of the document in the database.
  • Easy to take back-ups, and portable.
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  • Easy to configure and use with Visual Studio and Dot Net
  • Easy integration with MSBI to perform data analysis
  • Data Security
  • Easy to understand and use
  • Very easy to export database and tables in the form of SQL query or a script
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Cons
  • Clustering features require alot of attention.
  • Remote access can be quite slow.
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  • The import/export process can be tricky to follow with lots of steps and could be better for importing flat files
  • Obtaining help from Microsoft is cumbersome and often other internet sources are better and quicker
  • The documentation is not great and again it's generally better to obtain help elsewhere if needed
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Likelihood to Renew
Because it is free and usually zero maintenance. Just the issue of more difficult format updates in the future lower the rating a bit.
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I think it is unlikely that sql server has disappointed someone, it is likely that someone will come initially discouraged if the needs and problems that occur are very challenging, but definitely have a SQL oriented system means having a solid base to work and on which maintain the their data securely
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Usability
Usability has improved by unifying the architecture. The only thing's missing out of the box is a simple GUI DB tool for viewing DB contents and maybe running some SQL queries.
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SQL Server mostly 'just works' or generates error messages to help you sort out the trouble. You can usually count on the product to get the job done and keep an eye on your potential mistakes. Interaction with other Microsoft products makes operating as a Windows user pretty straight forward. Digging through the multitude of dialogs and wizards can be a pain, but the answer is usually there somewhere.
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Reliability and Availability
No answers on this topic
Its does not have outages.
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Performance
No answers on this topic
SSAS data cubes may some time slow down your Excel reports.
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Support Rating
This is an open source project. It provides a fair amount of free documentation and I think forums somewhere...
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We managed to handle most of our problems by looking into Microsoft's official documentation that has everything explained and almost every function has an example that illustrates in detail how a particular functionality works. Just like PowerShell has the ability to show you an example of how some cmdlet works, that is the case also here, and in my opinion, it is a very good practice and I like it.
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In-Person Training
No answers on this topic
It was good
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Online Training
No answers on this topic
very hands on and detailed training
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Implementation Rating
Even somebody just starting to use RDBMS himself should get it working quickly, at least if he's got a GUI tool and some SQL knowledge.
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Other than SQL taking quite a bit of time to actually install there are no problems with installation. Even on hardware that has good performance SQL can still take close to an hour to install a typical server with management and reporting services.
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Alternatives Considered
It is cost-effective, maintenance-free, easy to deploy and use on Linux and Windows environments and it works steadily. It has an open-source license. Installing Oracle was quite difficult in comparison to Firebird.
Read full review
Microsoft SQL is slower than MySQL and Access but far more feature-rich and reliable. Access is almost obsolete nowadays, so not too many people are considering it, but unless budget or an open-source ethos is a factor, Microsoft SQL is superior in every way. Many commonly used tools, like Crystal Reports, support it.
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Scalability
No answers on this topic
SQL server does handle growing demands of a mid sized company.
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Return on Investment
  • The return on investment was of course because it freed us from paid relational databases.
  • We have never experienced a negative situation.
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  • Increased accuracy - We went from multiple users having different versions of an Excel spreadsheet to a single source of truth for our reporting.
  • Increased Efficiency - We can now generate reports at any time from a single source rather than multiple users spending their time collating data and generating reports.
  • Improved Security - Enterprise level security on a dedicated server rather than financial files on multiple laptop hard drives.
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ScreenShots