Open-source is the future. Why? Because it is open to the public, because everyone can take a peek inside and see what’s under the hood, and because everyone can contribute to the development of the software.

For data management software, this is really important. But, what is data management, in the first place? Imagine having to store all your data somewhere, if, for example, you are running a store. You’d have to index all the things you have for sale, and then in order not to insert every code manually at the cash register, you’d have to have a database somewhere, where upon scanning the barcode, you’d get a price. Data management helps with organizing your data, whatever it may be. People often think of it as simple rows and columns, but it is so much more. Indexing is a big part of how databases work, as well as updating, deleting and changes. Databases change when new data is inserted, as well as when old data is replaced or deleted. In order not to do everything manually, you then use data, or database management software.

Following is a simple overview of the 10 best database management tools you can use today, many of which are either free or completely open-source.

MySQL

MySQL is the leading database management software. It is one of the most popular ones out there, and being fully open-source, you can use it at your disposal. It is developed by the Oracle Corporation, meaning there are a lot of capable people behind it, supporting its growth and expansion. It operates under at least 20 different operating systems.

Cubrid

Cubrid is the tool you go to when you are in need of really good security features and a great database management tool. It’s free and open source, so be sure to take a look if you need some extra security features.

SQLite

The name says it all, it is a database management tool, but one which doesn’t stress the systems as much as other tools do. The Lite part of the name should be suggestive of that. The code is in the public domain, so it is free. But, there is a paid Pro version of the software if you want it. It is self-contained and needs no server. It is easy to install and requires little to no hassle.

PostgreSQL

This is an older database management tool, and was first released in 1996. Today, it is still going strong and is available on Windows and many, if not all, Unix systems. It is open source.

MariaDB

MariaDB is developed by the community and they are all about getting rid of Oracle, and making them a villain. Get out of your contract with Oracle, is one of their slogans. They do have a great database solution. There is a free version, as well as an enterprise, paid one.

OrientDB

OrientDB was written in Java and is an open source data management tool. It is powerful and takes less than a minute to install.

The Remaining 4

The last but not least are Apache Cassandra and Apache CouchDB, both from the Apache Software Foundation. Neo4j was written in Java and comes from the eponymous company. FirebirdSQL was written in C++ and is a cross-platform tool.

These are the best 10 open source data management tools you can download now.