We have collected some of the most popular database management systems (DBMS) nowadays. Let’s start by defining what a database management system is.
What is a database management system?
A database management system (DBMS) is a software used to define, manipulate, retrieve, store and manage data in databases.
To sum up, database management systems are in charge of:
- Defining rules to validate and manipulate data.
- Interacting with databases, applications and end users.
- Retrieving, storing and analyzing data.
- Updating data.
Popular database management systems
The release numbers below reflect the state of each product in September 2026. Release cadences differ enormously across this list — SQLite ships several times a year, Oracle works in multi-year long-term releases — so check the vendor before planning an upgrade.
MySQL
MySQL is a free, open source relational database management system (RDBMS). It was initially owned by MySQL AB, before being acquired by Sun Microsystems (part of Oracle Corporation since 2010). MySQL was originally developed by Ulf Michael Widenius, Swedes David Axmark and Allan Larsson, founders of MySQL AB.
Many database-driven web applications, such as WordPress, Joomla and phpBB, as well as many popular websites like MediaWiki, Twitter and Facebook, use MySQL.
Developer: Oracle Corporation.
Original author: MySQL AB.
Latest MySQL release (September 2026): MySQL 9.7, a long-term support version. Oracle now runs two streams, quarterly Innovation releases and an LTS roughly every two years.
Worth checking: MySQL 8.0 reached the end of its extended support in April 2026. If you are still running it, you are running a version that no longer receives security fixes. MySQL 8.4 LTS is supported until 2029 and is the usual next step.
MySQL license: GNU General Public License version 2 and proprietary.
MariaDB
MariaDB is a community-developed, free and open source relational database management system. It is a fork of MySQL. MariaDB was originally developed by Ulf Michael Widenius, Swedes David Axmark and Allan Larsson, founders of MySQL AB and the MariaDB Foundation. Ulf Michael Widenius is the current lead developer and CTO of MariaDB.
MariaDB is also included in numerous Linux distributions, such as CentOS, Debian and RHEL. Besides, it is used by many organizations such as Wikipedia, Google or Tumblr.
Developer: MariaDB Corporation Ab and MariaDB Foundation.
Latest MariaDB release (September 2026): MariaDB 12.3, a long-term support version. LTS releases come out yearly and are supported for three years.
MariaDB license: GPL version 2.
Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft SQL Server is a commercial relational database management system. It is available in multiple editions, divided into three main categories: mainstream, specialized and discontinued editions.
Developer: Microsoft.
Latest Microsoft SQL Server release (September 2026): SQL Server 2025, released in November 2025. SQL Server 2022 remains supported.
Microsoft SQL Server license: proprietary license.
Oracle DBMS
Oracle DBMS is a commercial, multi-model database management system. It is also known as Oracle Database or just Oracle. It is commonly used for running: online transaction processing (OLTP) and data warehousing (DW).
Note that the product has been renamed. Oracle dropped the “c” naming it used through 19c and 21c, and the current line is branded Oracle AI Database. If you are searching for documentation, the version number is what carries across, not the old suffix.
Developer: Oracle Corporation.
Latest Oracle long-term release (September 2026): Oracle AI Database 26ai.
Still widely deployed: Oracle Database 19c, whose premier support runs to 2029.
Oracle DBMS license: proprietary license.
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL is a free, open source relational database management system (RDBMS). It was initially developed as a successor of the Ingres database, developed at the University of California, Berkeley.
Developer: PostgreSQL Global Development Group.
Latest PostgreSQL release (September 2026): PostgreSQL 18. Each major version is supported for five years.
PostgreSQL license: PostgreSQL license.
MongoDB
MongoDB is an open source, NoSQL, document-oriented database management system. MongoDB Inc. offers an integrated suite of cloud database services, as well as commercial support. This document-oriented database software is commonly used for high-volume data storage.
Developer: MongoDB Inc.
Latest MongoDB release (September 2026): MongoDB 8.3.
MongoDB license: Server Side Public License (SSPL).
Redis
Redis, short for “Remote Dictionary Server”, is an open source, NoSQL, key-value database management system.
Developer: Redis Ltd.
Original author: Salvatore Sanfilippo.
Latest Redis release (September 2026): Redis 8.10.
Redis license: AGPLv3 since May 2025. This is the item on the list that has changed most, so it is worth spelling out: Redis left the BSD 3-clause license in 2024 for RSALv2 and SSPLv1, and added AGPLv3 in 2025. The 2024 move prompted a fork, Valkey, created in March 2024 under the Linux Foundation with AWS, Oracle, Google and Ericsson among its founding contributors. Valkey stays BSD-licensed and is a drop-in replacement, which makes it the usual destination for teams that need a permissive license.
IBM Db2
IBM Db2 is a database management product developed by IBM, formerly known as DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows. IBM restyled the name from “DB2” to “Db2” in 2017.
Developer: IBM.
Latest IBM Db2 release (September 2026): Db2 12.1.
IBM Db2 license: proprietary license.
Elasticsearch
Elasticsearch is a distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine. It is based on the Lucene library. Elasticsearch is the successor to a previous search engine called Compass, also designed by Shay Banon.
Developer: Elastic NV.
Original author: Shay Banon.
Latest Elasticsearch release (September 2026): Elasticsearch 9.5.
Elasticsearch license: triple-licensed since 2024 — AGPLv3, Elastic License 2.0 or Server Side Public License, at the user’s choice. Elasticsearch has its own fork story: the 2021 license change led AWS to create OpenSearch, which continues under Apache 2.0.
SQLite
SQLite is a public domain database engine that belongs to the embedded, relational database management systems family. It has bindings to many programming languages.
Developer: Dwayne Richard Hipp.
Latest SQLite release (September 2026): SQLite 3.53. The project has publicly committed to supporting SQLite through the year 2050.
SQLite license: Public domain.
Comparing database management systems
| DBMS | Type | Operating systems | License | Written in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MySQL | RDBMS | FreeBSD, Linux, MacOS, Solaris and Windows | GNU GPL v2 and proprietary | C and C++ |
| MariaDB | RDBMS | Linux, MacOS and Windows | GNU GPL v2 | Bash, C, C++, and Perl |
| Microsoft SQL Server | RDBMS | Linux and Windows | Proprietary | C and C++ |
| Oracle DBMS | Multi-model database management system | AIX, BS2000, HP-UX, Linux, MacOS and Windows | Proprietary | Assembly language, C and C++ |
| PostgreSQL | RDBMS | FreeBSD, Linux, MacOS, OpenBSD and Windows | PostgreSQL license | C |
| MongoDB | Document-oriented database | FreeBSD, Linux, MacOS and Windows | Server Side Public License | C++, JavaScript and Python |
| Redis | Key-value database | Unix-like | AGPLv3 (also RSALv2 and SSPLv1) | C |
| IBM Db2 | RDBMS | Linux, Unix-like and Windows | Proprietary | Assembly, C, C++ and Java |
| Elasticsearch | Search and index | Linux, MacOS and Windows | AGPLv3, Elastic License 2.0 or SSPL | Java |
| SQLite | RDBMS | Android, BSD, iOS, Linux, MacOS, Solaris, VxWorks and Windows | Public domain | C |
Top 10 database management systems
According to the DB-Engines ranking, as of August 2026 and out of 435 systems tracked, these are the ten most popular database management systems:
- Oracle
- MySQL
- Microsoft SQL Server
- PostgreSQL
- MongoDB
- Snowflake
- Databricks
- Redis
- IBM Db2
- Apache Cassandra
The head of the table barely moves. Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server and PostgreSQL have held the top four positions between them for years, with MongoDB the highest-placed non-relational system. What has changed is everything underneath. Snowflake and Databricks now sit at six and seven — cloud data platforms rather than databases in the traditional sense — and Databricks alone climbed two positions in the last twelve months. Microsoft Access, which was tenth in 2023, has dropped to seventeenth.
Worth noting that the ten systems profiled above are not the same ten as the ranking. SQLite and Elasticsearch now sit just outside, at eleventh and twelfth, and MariaDB at thirteenth. Popularity and technical fit are different questions, and the second one is the one that matters when you are choosing.
DB-Engines recalculates its ranking every month, so treat the list above as the snapshot it is — August 2026 — and follow the link for the live table.
