If you’re running any kind of business, even a small start-up with just one or two employees, it’s vital to have a place to store all of your digital data. Few people have the space or resources to host their own databases, however; even if you don’t have much to store, organizing it can still be difficult on your own. That’s where database software comes in. We’ve listed the top ten free database software you can use for all of your digital storage needs without breaking the bank.

Top 10 Best Free Database Software

  • InterBase – Best Free Database Software for Versatility
  • Amazon RDS – Best Free Database Software for Security
  • MySQL – Best Free Database Software for High Data Volumes
  • Microsoft SQL – Best Free Database Software for Customization
  • PostgreSQL – Best Free Database Software for Reliability
  • Neo4j – Best Free Database Software for Graph Databases
  • OrientDB – Best Free Database Software for 2nd Gen NoSQL
  • MariaDB – Best Free Database Software for Galera Cluster Support
  • MongoDB – Best Free Database Software for Query Search
  • Oracle Cloud Free Tier – Best Free Database Software for Cloud Databases

1. InterBase – Best Free Database Software for Versatility

PRICING: Free, paid service starts at $64

InterBase is easy to embed into most of the major operating systems and platforms. It’s supported in many languages, and its security is top-notch.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Can be embedded into various mobile and desktop OS
  • Server and client data storage

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Cross-platform encryption
  • Easy to install and quick to use

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Multi-generational architecture runs slowly with certain search operations

2. Amazon RDS – Best Free Database Software for Security

PRICING: free, paid on-demand service starts at $.016 per hour

Amazon RDS has flexible pricing based on your usage, but that doesn’t mean your security is at risk with lower rates. It keeps a back-up copy of your data separately from its main servers, and it offers customizable access and permission controls.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Automation of common management tasks like data migration
  • Maintains a copy of your data at a separate location

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Provides security audits and offers patches to constantly improve security
  • Host of use-controlled security features to monitor and restrict access

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • No automated partition management

3. MySQL – Best Free Database Software for High Data Volumes

PRICING: Free, paid service starts at $2000

MySQL is a relational database that makes handling large amounts of information a breeze. There’s no storage limit to your data, and its Workbench tool allows you to design your database in whatever way you need.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Host-based verification
  • Available in multiple programming languages

REASONS TO BUY:

  • No database storage capacity limit
  • Great for packaged software

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • UI needs improvement

4. Microsoft SQL – Best Free Database Software for Customization

PRICING: free, paid service starts at $209

Like Amazon RDS, Microsoft SQL’s rates are based on how much you want to use at any given time rather than a flat rate. Its toolset is easily customizable, too; you can pull in data from any other source and assign different user roles, all with individualized levels of access.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Unique SQL language (“Transact-SQL”) with additional functionality
  • Data access can be customized based on user roles

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Can combine data from any source with their connector library
  • Can query other databases without altering any data

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Licensing process is complicated and repetitive

5. PostgreSQL – Best Free Database Software for Reliability

PRICING: free, no paid plans

This database type is so good that it’s used in commercial products from Amazon, Google, and more. That’s because it’s a truly free license, meaning you won’t be upsold on other products and you can use it how you see fit for no charge, even commercially. Its community is constantly updating and improving the software, and you know if the big names trust it, so can you.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Supports JSON for non-relational queries
  • Linking with other databases for queries
  • Full-text search

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Great for enterprise-level databases
  • Support for a wide variety of data types

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • More features available in other paid applications that include this license

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6. Neo4j – Best Free Database Software for Graph Databases

PRICING: free, paid service begins at $65 per month

A graph database makes it easy to visualize the information in your database, and Neo4j AuraDB provides you with all the tools you need to manage your database smoothly. It offers cloud- and self-hosting as well as free webinars and learning tools so you can even use it with no graph-based experience.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Default interconnection of data
  • Powerful Cypher Query language
  • Built-in browser application to create and retrieve graph data

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Can use its graph model to develop AI models
  • Offers analytics and data discovery

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Can be hard to visualize data in high volumes

7. OrientDB Community Edition– Best Free Database Software for 2nd Gen NoSQL

PRICING: free, paid plans start at $5970

As an alternative to Neo4j, OrientDB brands itself as a hybrid between a graph and a document-based database. It can handle more complex domains without sacrificing performance, is scalable, and can store up to 120,000 records per second.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Multi-master replication
  • Enhanced query planner

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Supports scalability
  • Can run on any platform with no configuration

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Unorganized community documentation
  • Steep price for Enterprise version

8. MariaDB – Best Free Database Software for Galera Cluster Support

PRICING: free, paid on-demand service begins at $0.125 per GB

MariaDB is a true workhorse of a database, free or otherwise. Its use of Galera cluster technology prevents data loss, and it supports transactional, analytical, and hybrid workloads.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Offers Galera cluster technology
  • Wide range of plugins to keep everything in a single database

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Compatible with a variety of high-performing data storage engines

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Indexing is slow
  • Performance speed drops with large data volumes

9. MongoDB – Best Free Database Software for Query Search

PRICING: free, paid service starts at $57 per month

The stand-out feature of MongoDB is it’s search abilities. It uses “sharding,” which is a process that divides large data sets into smaller groups and distributes them among multiple servers. This way, it can handle large data searches without any dips in speed or performance. It also allows for non-standard, or ad-hoc, queries.

KEY FEATURES:

  • More than 80 metrics to track cluster health and integration
  • Uses JSON for storage
  • Sharding for better queries

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Global cloud database with MongoDB Atlas
  • Automatic version updates and patches applied

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Free plan only allows 16 MB maximum for documents

10. Oracle Cloud Free Tier– Best Free Database Software for Cloud Databases

PRICING: Free tier, paid on-demand service starts at $0.098 per hour

With the Oracle Cloud Free Tier, you can choose from two autonomous databases, both of which come with tools like Oracle APEX and SQL Developer at no cost. It offers some of the most powerful cloud-based services that other databases will eventually charge you for.

KEY FEATURES:

  • Divides tables into several pieces to store in different areas
  • Real application clustering

REASONS TO BUY:

  • Cloud-based and physical-location solutions
  • Automatic updates and security patches available
  • $300 free credit incentive for 30 OCI trial

REASONS TO AVOID:

  • Credit card information is required even for the free tier
  • Customization of memory sizes and configurations is lacking

References and Links

  • https://blog.capterra.com/free-database-software/
  • https://clickup.com/blog/free-database-software/
  • https://learn.g2.com/free-database-software
  • https://mariadb.com/products/skysql/pricing/
  • https://miroconsulting.com/blog/oracle-autonomous-database-requirements-limitations-licensing/
  • https://neo4j.com/
  • https://orientdb.org/docs/3.0.x/misc/Overview.html
  • https://www.embarcadero.com/es/products/interbase
  • https://www.guru99.com/free-database-software.html
  • https://www.knowledgenile.com/blogs/pros-and-cons-of-mongodb/
  • https://www.oracle.com/cloud/free/#always-free
  • https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/free-database-software/

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