PostgreSQLvs
MariaDB
MariaDB: Open-source relational database, MySQL-compatible
PostgreSQL
The world's most advanced open source relational database
As of 30 August 2026, PostgreSQL is free to use. PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system with over 35 years of active development. Softwr lists it under Databases. PostgreSQL is made by PostgreSQL Global Development Group, launched in 1996, available on Linux, Windows, macOS.
Overview
What PostgreSQL does
PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system with over 35 years of active development. It has earned a strong reputation for reliability, feature robustness, and performance. PostgreSQL supports advanced data types, full ACID compliance, and extensibility through custom functions, data types, and operators.
What people use it for
- Transaction processing
- Data storage
- Application backend
- Reporting
- Data analytics
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of PostgreSQL
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- PostgreSQLvsMySQL
MySQL: Open-source relational database, widely used alternative
- PostgreSQLvsCockroach Labs
Cockroach Labs: Distributed SQL database with PostgreSQL compatibility
Capabilities
Features
ACID Compliance
JSON/JSONB Support
Full-text Search
Extensibility
Advanced Indexing
Partitioning
Replication
pgAdmin
Integration with pgAdmin
DBeaver
Integration with DBeaver
Prisma
Integration with Prisma
Sequelize
Integration with Sequelize
TypeORM
Integration with TypeORM
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is PostgreSQL completely free?
Yes. PostgreSQL is completely free and open source with no licensing fees or restrictions on use.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceWhat procedural languages are supported?
PostgreSQL supports stored functions and procedures in multiple languages including PL/pgSQL, Perl, Python, Tcl, Java, JavaScript, R, and Rust.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceDoes 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.
SourceBehind it
Who makes PostgreSQL
- Company
- PostgreSQL Global Development Group
- Based in
- Global Open Source Community
- Founders
- Michael Stonebraker
Timeline
PostgreSQL over time
- Renamed1996-01-01
Name changed from Postgres95 to PostgreSQL, version reset to 6.0
Source - Milestone1994-01-01
Andrew Yu and Jolly Chen added SQL interpreter, creating Postgres95
Source - Launch1989-06-01
Version 1 released to external users
Source - Milestone1987-01-01
First demoware system became operational
Source - Founded1986-01-01
POSTGRES implementation began at UC Berkeley, led by Professor Michael Stonebraker
Source
Keep looking
Where to go from PostgreSQL
- PostgreSQL alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- PostgreSQL pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- PostgreSQL badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Databases softwareThe full category
- Best Databases softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Databases software for
Compare PostgreSQL with
- MariaDB
- Oracle Database
- Microsoft SQL Server
- IBM Db2
- Cockroach Labs
- DuckDB
- Aiven
- SQLite
- Couchbase
- QuestDB
- FaunaDB
- Firestore
- Amazon Redshift
- Apache Pinot
- DataGrip
- Apache Pulsar
- Cassandra
- CouchDB
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Open source10 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for PostgreSQL, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
PostgreSQL pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare PostgreSQL
Put it head to head with anything we hold
PostgreSQL badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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