In this article, you'll learn about open-source databases, their benefits, and what other options to keep in mind as you scale your business up. Open-source databases are those whose code is available to view, download, modify, and reuse by anyone based on their requirements. They can be categorized into two groups: relational and non-relational. Relational databases store data in key-value pairs and arrange them on a row and column basis, while non-relational (NoSQL) databases are used to store unstructured data like documents and images. Some popular open-source databases include PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and MariaDB. These databases have benefits such as speed of implementation, cost-effectiveness, ability to start small, flexibility, and agility. They allow developers to quickly identify if a community version of a database is suitable for their use case, get started, and deliver the use case. Open-source databases are free and more cost-efficient by design, making them an attractive option for businesses. They also provide flexibility and agility, allowing developers to tweak them for free without restrictions. However, they may have limitations when it comes to scaling, which is where a commercial solution might be preferable. SingleStoreDB is a cloud-native, distributed SQL database that's well-suited for real-time applications and analytics, providing benefits such as fast query results, high availability, ability to load data from multiple data sources, and ability to integrate with Tableau for data visualization. It can be connected with MySQL and other databases using the command line or TLS/SSL. The article concludes by highlighting the importance of open-source databases and their benefits, as well as the potential of SingleStoreDB in scaling open-source databases.