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Amazon QuickSight vs PostgreSQL

Amazon QuickSight logo

Amazon QuickSight

Software

Scalable, serverless BI by AWS

From
$3/month per user
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PostgreSQL logo

PostgreSQL

Software

The world's most advanced open source relational database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only PostgreSQL has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Amazon QuickSight reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month; PostgreSQL requires manual scaling across multiple machines for very large deployments
  • They diverge on capability: Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, PostgreSQL covers ACID Compliance.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amazon QuickSight and PostgreSQL actually diverge.

Attributes where Amazon QuickSight and PostgreSQL differ
AttributeAmazon QuickSightPostgreSQL
Starting price$3/month per userFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsAWSLinux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix
Founded20061996

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amazon QuickSight

  • SPICE In-memory Engine
  • ML Insights
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Pay-per-session
  • Redshift
  • S3
  • Athena

Only in PostgreSQL

  • ACID Compliance
  • JSON/JSONB Support
  • Full-text Search
  • Extensibility
  • Advanced Indexing
  • Partitioning
  • Replication
  • pgAdmin

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Business intelligence dashboards and analyticsnot PostgreSQL
  • Scalable embedded analytics for applicationsnot PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL

  • Transaction processingnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Data storagenot Amazon QuickSight
  • Application backendnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Reportingnot Amazon QuickSight
  • Data analyticsnot Amazon QuickSight

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amazon QuickSight

  • Reader and Reader Pro roles charged separately at $3 and $20/month
  • Author and Author Pro roles charged at $24 and $40/month
  • $250/month infrastructure fee required if Pro users or Q&A enabled
  • SPICE storage charged at $0.38/GB monthly (10 GB included)
  • Pixel-perfect reports start at $500/month for 500 monthly units
  • Alerts charged at $0.05-$0.50 per 1,000 metrics evaluated

PostgreSQL

  • Requires manual scaling across multiple machines for very large deployments
  • Performance tuning requires deep knowledge of database internals
  • No built-in graphical admin interface; command-line tools are primary method

Pricing, plan by plan

Amazon QuickSight

$3/month per user

No published plan breakdown. See the Amazon QuickSight review.

PostgreSQL

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the PostgreSQL review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Amazon QuickSight if

  • You need spice in-memory engine.
  • You work on AWS.
  • You also want ml insights.
Amazon QuickSight review

Choose PostgreSQL if

  • You need acid compliance.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix.
  • You also want json/jsonb support.
PostgreSQL review

Questions people ask

Is Amazon QuickSight or PostgreSQL better?
Neither clearly leads. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month per user and PostgreSQL at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amazon QuickSight or PostgreSQL?
PostgreSQL has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $3/month per user for Amazon QuickSight and Free for PostgreSQL.
Does Amazon QuickSight or PostgreSQL run on more platforms?
Amazon QuickSight runs on AWS. PostgreSQL runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix.
Can I use PostgreSQL for free?
Yes. PostgreSQL has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amazon QuickSight starts at $3/month per user.
What is Amazon QuickSight best used for?
Amazon QuickSight is most often used for business intelligence dashboards and analytics, scalable embedded analytics for applications. Of those, business intelligence dashboards and analytics and scalable embedded analytics for applications are not what PostgreSQL is typically brought in for.
What can Amazon QuickSight do that PostgreSQL cannot?
Amazon QuickSight covers SPICE In-memory Engine, ML Insights, Natural Language Queries, Embedded Analytics. PostgreSQL covers ACID Compliance, JSON/JSONB Support, Full-text Search, Extensibility.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PostgreSQL: Is PostgreSQL completely free?

Yes. PostgreSQL is completely free and open source with no licensing fees or restrictions on use.

Source
PostgreSQL: What platforms does PostgreSQL run on?

PostgreSQL runs on all major operating systems including Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, and commercial Unix variants, and has been proven highly scalable managing terabytes to petabytes of data.

Source
PostgreSQL: What procedural languages are supported?

PostgreSQL supports stored functions and procedures in multiple languages including PL/pgSQL, Perl, Python, Tcl, Java, JavaScript, R, and Rust.

Source
PostgreSQL: What is ACID compliance in PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL has been ACID-compliant since 2001, ensuring data integrity through atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability guarantees for all transactions.

Source
PostgreSQL: Does PostgreSQL support JSON data?

Yes. PostgreSQL supports JSON and JSONB data types for storing and querying JSON documents, along with XML and other document formats.

Source
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