I have completed many development projects (mostly reporting) using both MySQL and MariaDB. These have mainly been either using MySQL-specific tools (such as GIS, pre-PostGIS) or tuning existing instances and queries which had degraded in performance as to be causing serious issues. I usually (if I can) when spinning up a virtual machine to demonstrate a front-end, will provide a single-file SQLite database rather than a full-blown PostgreSQL instance (for example) which would provide unnecessary bloat and complication to a VM export. Usually this is as simple as changing the connection parameters, such as in a python Django deployment. When I need a GIS database, Spatialite is generally more than adequate. For providing a quick and compact demo system to a client, SQLite/Spatialite are essential tools for me.