Software · head to head
Cloudinary vs PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL
Software
The world's most advanced open source relational database
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Cloudinary paid plans jump from a free tier straight to $224 per month, with usage priced on transformations, storage, and bandwidth credits that consume quickly at scale; PostgreSQL requires manual scaling across multiple machines for very large deployments
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cloudinary and PostgreSQL actually diverge.
| Attribute | Cloudinary | PostgreSQL |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | Unknown |
| Platforms | Web | Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix |
| Founded | Unknown | 1996 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Cloudinary
Nothing recorded that PostgreSQL does not also cover.
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.
Cloudinary
No use cases recorded yet. See the Cloudinary review.
PostgreSQL
- Transaction processingnot Cloudinary
- Data storagenot Cloudinary
- Application backendnot Cloudinary
- Reportingnot Cloudinary
- Data analyticsnot Cloudinary
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cloudinary
- Paid plans jump from a free tier straight to $224 per month, with usage priced on transformations, storage, and bandwidth credits that consume quickly at scale
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
Cloudinary
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Cloudinary review.
PostgreSQL
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the PostgreSQL review.
Which should you pick?
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Cloudinary or PostgreSQL better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cloudinary starts at Free and PostgreSQL at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cloudinary or PostgreSQL?
- Cloudinary starts at Free and PostgreSQL at Free.
- Does Cloudinary or PostgreSQL run on more platforms?
- Cloudinary runs on Web. PostgreSQL runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, BSD, Unix.
- Can I use Cloudinary for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What can Cloudinary do that PostgreSQL cannot?
- 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.
SourcePostgreSQL: 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.
SourcePostgreSQL: 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.
SourcePostgreSQL: 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.
SourcePostgreSQL: 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