Best Relational Databases in 2026
Updated
If your application stores structured data in relationships, relational databases offer a range of deployment and operating approaches to assess. Compared on deployment model and managed service, the entries also provide criteria such as backup retention, high availability, and read replicas. Check maximum connections and JSON data support against your workload, and weigh free-plan availability alongside paid-from prices. MySQL, Aiven for PostgreSQL, and Amazon RDS are among the options shown. Consider which responsibilities your team wants to operate, what continuity capabilities matter, and how your application’s data requirements shape the choice.
Relational Databases, one module each.A lit port is something its maker publishes; 20 of 20 with a known API signal have a public API.
- 01 Microsoft SQL Server API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 02 MySQL API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.4Free
- 03 Aiven for PostgreSQL API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.2$5/mo
- 04 Amazon RDS API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.2Free
- 05 Azure SQL Database API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.2Free
- 06 HSQLDB API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.2$8.33/mo
- 07 InterSystems IRIS API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.2Free
- 08 SQLite API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.2$12.50/mo
- 09 CUBRID API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.1Free
- 10 H2 Database Engine API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.1Free
- 11 Neon API yesFREE yesDOCS 7.1$0.11/mo
- 12 Crunchy Bridge API yesFREE noDOCS 6.7$9/mo
- 13 DigitalOcean Managed Databases API yesFREE noDOCS 6.7$15/mo
- 14 EDB Postgres AI Hybrid Manager API yesDOCS 6.7
- 15 Render API yesDOCS 6.7$25/mo
- 16 SAP Customer Data Platform API yesFREE noDOCS 6.7$1.15/mo
- 17 Google Cloud SQL API yesFREE noDOCS 6.6$0.04/mo
- 18 RaimaDB API yesDOCS 6.6
- 19 Actian Zen API yesDOCS 6.5
- 20 Teradata Database API yesDOCS 6.5
- 21 C++Builder FREE yesDOCS 5.8Free
- 22 ALTIBASE FREE yesDOCS 5.7Free
- 23 Firebird FREE yesDOCS 5.7€199/mo
- 24 MariaDB Server FREE yesDOCS 5.7Free
- 25 openGauss FREE yesDOCS 5.7Free
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Platform | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | Managed service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft SQL Server | 7.4 | Free plan | Yes | both | No | ||
| 2 | MySQL | 7.4 | Free plan | Yes | both | Yes | ||
| 3 | Aiven for PostgreSQL | 7.2 | Free plan | $5/mo | Yes | 5 /mo | cloud | Yes |
| 4 | Amazon RDS | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | No | both | Yes | |
| 5 | Azure SQL Database | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | cloud | Yes | |
| 6 | HSQLDB | 7.2 | Free plan | $8.33/mo | Yes | self_hosted | ||
| 7 | InterSystems IRIS | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | No | both | Yes | |
| 8 | SQLite | 7.2 | Free plan | $12.50/mo | Yes | self_hosted | No | |
| 9 | CUBRID | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self_hosted | No | |
| 10 | H2 Database Engine | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Yes | both | ||
| 11 | Neon | 7.1 | Free plan | $0.11/mo | Yes | cloud | Yes | |
| 12 | Crunchy Bridge | 6.7 | No | $9/mo | No | 9 /mo | cloud | Yes |
| 13 | DigitalOcean Managed Databases | 6.7 | No | $15/mo | No | 15.15 /mo | cloud | Yes |
| 14 | EDB Postgres AI Hybrid Manager | 6.7 | No | both | Yes | |||
| 15 | Render | 6.7 | $25/mo | Yes | 25 /mo | |||
| 16 | SAP Customer Data Platform | 6.7 | No | $1.15/mo | Yes | cloud | Yes | |
| 17 | Google Cloud SQL | 6.6 | No | $0.04/mo | No | cloud | Yes | |
| 18 | RaimaDB | 6.6 | No | both | No | |||
| 19 | Actian Zen | 6.5 | No | both | ||||
| 20 | Teradata Database | 6.5 | No | |||||
| 21 | C++Builder | 5.8 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self_hosted | ||
| 22 | ALTIBASE | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | No | both | ||
| 23 | Firebird | 5.7 | Free plan | €199/mo | Yes | self_hosted | ||
| 24 | MariaDB Server | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self_hosted | ||
| 25 | openGauss | 5.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | self_hosted | No |
Is your platform on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.