Developer Tools · head to head
Cortex vs Postgres
Cortex
Developer Tools
Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and maturity rather than just cataloguing services
- From
- On request
- Free plan
- No
Postgres
Technology
The world's most advanced open source database
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
The short version
- Only Postgres has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Cortex pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.; Postgres each major version is supported for only 5 years after its initial release, after which it is end-of-life
- They diverge on capability: Cortex covers Service catalogue, Postgres covers ACID compliance.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cortex and Postgres actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Cortex
- Service catalogue
- Scorecards
- Initiatives
- Self-service templates
- Query language
- Eng intelligence
- Integrations layer
- On-call and ownership mapping
Only in Postgres
- ACID compliance
- Complex queries
- Foreign keys
- Triggers
- Views
- Stored procedures
- JSON/JSONB support
- Full-text search
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Cortex
- A platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a Kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of servicesnot Postgres
- An organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitionsnot Postgres
- Enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident reviewnot Postgres
- Replacing a self-hosted Backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgradednot Postgres
Postgres
- Running a general purpose relational database for applicationsnot Cortex
- Self-hosting an open source SQL database with no licence feenot Cortex
- Workloads needing extensions, JSON and full text search in one enginenot Cortex
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cortex
- Pricing is quote only, so a platform team cannot build a business case or compare against the true cost of self-hosted Backstage without entering a sales cycle first.
- The catalogue is only as accurate as the metadata you supply, so an organisation with inconsistent repository conventions spends its first quarter cleaning data before any scorecard means anything.
- Scorecards create political friction: publishing a per-team grade turns an engineering standard into a performance metric, and teams will game the rules rather than fix the underlying issue.
- It is closed source and hosted, so organisations with strict data residency or air-gap requirements have limited options compared with running Backstage themselves.
- Value scales with organisation size, so a company with fifty engineers and thirty services will find the catalogue tells them nothing they did not already know while still paying an enterprise contract.
Postgres
- Each major version is supported for only 5 years after its initial release, after which it is end-of-life
- Major version upgrades break on-disk compatibility and require a full dump and reload or the pg_upgrade tool
- New major versions ship about once a year, so staying supported means a disruptive upgrade cycle
- Minor releases contain only frequently-encountered bug fixes, low-risk fixes, security issues and data corruption fixes, so feature gaps are not addressed within a major version
- There is no vendor SLA; commercial support must be bought separately from third party professional services listed by the project
Pricing, plan by plan
Cortex
On request- Cortex$undefined/year
- Service catalogue and ownership mapping
- Scorecards and initiatives
- Self-service templates
Postgres
Free- Community EditionFree
- Full database features
- No limitations
- Community support
Which should you pick?
Choose Cortex if
- You need service catalogue.
- You work on Web, API.
- You also want scorecards.
Choose Postgres if
- You need acid compliance.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Macos, Docker.
- You also want complex queries.
Questions people ask
- Is Cortex or Postgres better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cortex starts at On request and Postgres at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cortex or Postgres?
- Postgres has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cortex and Free for Postgres.
- Does Cortex or Postgres run on more platforms?
- Cortex runs on Web, API. Postgres runs on Linux, Windows, Macos, Docker.
- Can I use Postgres for free?
- Yes. Postgres has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cortex starts at On request.
- What is Cortex best used for?
- Cortex is most often used for a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services, an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions, enforcing production readiness standards on new services at creation time rather than at incident review, replacing a self-hosted backstage that is consuming a full-time engineer or two just to stay upgraded. Of those, a platform team that needs to prove to leadership how far a kubernetes or framework migration has actually progressed across hundreds of services and an organisation where ownership of production services is genuinely unknown after reorganisations or acquisitions are not what Postgres is typically brought in for.
- What can Cortex do that Postgres cannot?
- Cortex covers Service catalogue, Scorecards, Initiatives, Self-service templates. Postgres covers ACID compliance, Complex queries, Foreign keys, Triggers.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Cortex: How is Cortex different from Backstage?
Backstage is an open source framework you build and staff. Cortex is a hosted product with scorecards and initiatives out of the box and no platform team required to keep it running.
Postgres: How much does PostgreSQL cost to use?
PostgreSQL is completely free to download, install, and use. No licensing fees, subscription costs, or per-seat charges apply. The database is open source under the PostgreSQL License. Source: https://www.postgresql.org
SourceCortex: Is pricing published?
No. Cortex requires a sales conversation and prepares a custom proposal.
Postgres: Are there commercial PostgreSQL support options available?
Official PostgreSQL (the project) is free. Commercial PostgreSQL services such as hosting, professional support, training, and managed database services are offered by third-party vendors, not the PostgreSQL project itself. Source: https://www.postgresql.org
SourceCortex: Can it self-host?
It is offered as a hosted product; on-premise arrangements are handled through sales rather than published.
Postgres: Do I need a license to use PostgreSQL commercially?
No. PostgreSQL is open source under the PostgreSQL License, which permits free commercial use without royalties, licensing fees, or support obligations. Source: https://www.postgresql.org
SourceCortex: What is the main adoption risk?
Bad or missing service metadata. The catalogue and every scorecard on top of it inherit whatever quality your repositories already have.
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