We want to know how you’re really using MariaDB — and databases in general. Not the marketing version or the one-off case study. The real story: what you’re building, how you are using it, what’s working, and what’s frustrating.

Last year we ran the first State of MariaDB survey. 275 of you took part, and the results became a public report linked from mariadb.org/survey. Now we’re back with the 2026 edition — the second annual survey — fresh questions, tailored to five different roles, open to non-MariaDB users too, and built to help MariaDB grow. We also include a few old questions so we can map trends. 

Tailored to different roles

New for 2026: beyond the general questions, you get a short set specific to what you actually do —

• Application developers — building apps or AI features on a database
• DBAs, SREs & DevOps — running databases in production
• Architects & decision-makers — choosing which database to use
• Engine & extension developers — building on or extending the database
• Cloud, hosting & tooling providers — offering databases to others
• Analytics & BI — working with reports, dashboards, and data warehousing

So you only answer what’s relevant to you — and we get sharper, more useful data about your corner of the MariaDB world. Not on this list? You’ll still get the general questions.

Fresh questions, to help MariaDB improve

Most of the questions are new this year, focused on where MariaDB can get better and grow faster — AI and vectors, analytics, the ecosystem and tooling, managed services and availability, and the day-to-day challenges of running it. A few questions are kept from 2025 so we can track trends year over year.

Open to non-users, too

This year, you don’t have to use MariaDB to take part. If you’re on MySQL, PostgreSQL, or another database, we especially want to know why. Understanding what keeps people away — or brings them in — is one of the most useful things we can learn for MariaDB’s future. Whatever you run, we have questions for you.

Why we run it

The survey gives the MariaDB Foundation an objective, evidence-based picture of how databases and MariaDB are really used — real data instead of opinions — as a basis for the community’s decisions and positioning. The results are published as a public report anyone can read and cite.

The details

• Anonymous — no login, no email required
• About 8 minutes — you only see the questions that apply to you
• Fresh questions — and a few from 2025 to show trends
• Open until mid-October
• Results — published as a public report at mariadb.org/survey after it closes

Take the survey

→ Take the MariaDB Database Survey 2026

Spread the word

Please encourage database users in your network to fill in the survey. The more voices, the more useful the picture.

If you really want to make my day, post on LinkedIn: “I just filled in MariaDB’s Database Survey 2026. How about you? Curious to see the compiled results — even if you don’t use MariaDB, they want to know why. #mariadb”

Cheers,
Robert Silén
MariaDB Foundation