Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database comparison

Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database

December 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

ROI

Sentiment score

4.9

Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers cost savings, efficiency, and flexibility, reducing operational costs and management time with a pay-as-you-go model.

Sentiment score

6.7

Organizations using Azure SQL Database report cost savings, enhanced efficiency, and reduced data center needs with pay-per-use models.

It offers at least 25 percent cost savings compared to maintaining on-premises databases.

Wesley Haakman

Principle azure architect at Intercept

Now, we use embedded PostgreSQL vectors, which will undoubtedly reduce the TCO by using a much more cost-effective solution.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Database for PostgreSQL report

Head of cloud, data, and AI at BJSS

We've reduced our total ownership cost because we are not spending on expensive SQL server licenses.

reviewer2596230

Admin (hands on user) at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees

It is ensuring we receive what we pay for through the blend of price, performance, and features.

Michael Hamlett

Senior Manager, Information Technology of Data Strategies at a hospitality company with 5,001-10,000 employees

If you're managing your own data center, you always have to overprovision your systems and pay for storage space you're not using.

Maanda Ambani

Senior AI Specialist at Nedbank

We've reduced costs by about 20 percent after two or three years.

reviewer2595777

Azure Cloud Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

5.4

Azure Database for PostgreSQL support experiences vary, praised for responsiveness but criticized for inconsistency and contentious licensing issues.

Sentiment score

6.4

Microsoft Azure SQL Database's customer service is effective but varies; larger accounts receive better support than smaller users.

Once we open a support case, we have people engaged within about 20 minutes, especially for a Sev 1 issue.

Nick Rapoport

Financial Advisor at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

On a scale from one to ten, I rate customer service and technical support a nine because they are quick in responding and in working with me to rectify any issues we come across.

Russell Priesing

Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

The documentation and training we've received through Microsoft Learn on how to migrate, deploy, and manage the solution is exceptional.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Database for PostgreSQL report

Head of cloud, data, and AI at BJSS

Microsoft played a significant role, even from a training perspective, and provided resources that directed us toward the right deployment path.

Maanda Ambani

Senior AI Specialist at Nedbank

Once I reach the right people, the support is incredibly knowledgeable and thorough.

Tom Geairn

CTO at 2W Technologies, INC

Microsoft provides excellent service and is always available to support us.

reviewer2595303

Sr. Principal Database at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

5.6

Azure Database for PostgreSQL scales efficiently, supporting complex applications with features like FlexServer and recent redundancy and auto-scaling improvements.

Sentiment score

6.2

Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers flexible scalability, easy workload management, seamless tier transitions, and supports user expansion with robust infrastructure.

We do not have to buy everything and build it. It is already there.

George Yen

Systems Engineer II at ICW Group

However, we can see how well it scales after we deploy it for some large enterprise customers or big government organizations.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Database for PostgreSQL report

Head of cloud, data, and AI at BJSS

The scaling options with FlexServer provide us with the flexibility we need based on application complexity.

Manikyam Thukkapuram

Director, Alliances & Engineering at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Scaling the solution is incredibly simple and involves just clicking a button or dragging a slider.

Michael Hamlett

Senior Manager, Information Technology of Data Strategies at a hospitality company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Azure's scalability features like Elasticity are essential.

Kiran Chintala

Solutions Architect at ITCON SERVICES, LLC

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is cloud-based, so it's great for scaling workloads.

reviewer2595312

System Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

7.2

Azure Database for PostgreSQL is praised for stability, reliable uptime, and Microsoft’s swift resolution of occasional performance issues.

Sentiment score

7.2

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is praised for reliability, excellent uptime, and improved performance, with minor latency issues reported.

It is the go-to database if seeking performance and capacity.

Swanston Benjamin

Director at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

I have not experienced any downtime, crashes, or performance issues; it has been very stable.

Russell Priesing

Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

There is a stability issue where, if the database usage peaks quickly, it may crash and require intervention to restore functionality.

Wesley Haakman

Principle azure architect at Intercept

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Database for PostgreSQL report

We can't tell the difference between running on-prem or Azure because we no longer have those latency issues.

Maanda Ambani

Senior AI Specialist at Nedbank

SQL never crashes or suddenly becomes unavailable.

Fredrick Weinshenk

Cloud Engineer at Med Tech Solutions

I would assess the reliability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database in terms of maintaining uptime and availability as being excellent with zero complaints.

Matthew Parker

Ai Team Lead at Phoenix Software

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report

Room For Improvement

Azure Database for PostgreSQL needs enhancements in scalability, reliability, monitoring, integrations, user management, and disaster recovery features.

Azure SQL Database needs enhanced security, scalability, clear pricing, better documentation, broader compatibility, and improved user interface and automation.

It does not presently support knowledge graph functionalities as Neo4j does.

Li Tse Liu

Product manager at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Azure Database for PostgreSQL can be improved by allowing quicker scaling without blips.

Wesley Haakman

Principle azure architect at Intercept

I believe there could be improvements in the mirroring part and Change Data Capture (CDC).

Manikyam Thukkapuram

Director, Alliances & Engineering at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Database for PostgreSQL report

It would be helpful if CPU performance were not pinned to the amount of storage you're using, and we could scale different properties of the Azure SQL database independently.

reviewer2595777

Azure Cloud Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

As a customer, I believe something which has been established, stable, and rugged for a very long time also needs cost optimization.

Varun Agrawal

Assistant Vice President at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

I could not get an accurate quote on what my monthly costs would be based on my needs.

Michael Hamlett

Senior Manager, Information Technology of Data Strategies at a hospitality company with 5,001-10,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report

Setup Cost

Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers cost-effective scalability with pay-as-you-go pricing, despite higher costs than on-premises solutions.

Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers flexible pricing but is perceived as moderately expensive, requiring careful budget considerations.

We've reduced costs by 60 percent compared to maintaining on-premises solutions.

Manikyam Thukkapuram

Director, Alliances & Engineering at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We chose it because it is more cost-effective than Microsoft SQL.

Michael Taute

Cloud Solutions Architect at Measurement Incorporated

Once you are comfortable and ready to make some commitments, you get about 30 percent saving if you are going with one-year or three-year reservation cost.

Sathish Palanisamy

Staff Data Engineer at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Database for PostgreSQL report

Azure Hybrid Benefit reduced costs by facilitating an easy transition of on-premises databases to the cloud.

Charley Hanania

Data Platform Specialist at QS2 AG - Quality Software Solutions

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap.

Fabricio Noriega

Software Architect at Dynaxti

It greatly reduces the total cost of ownership through efficient licensing depending on the client, the cost savings, and hybrid benefits.

Fredrick Weinshenk

Cloud Engineer at Med Tech Solutions

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report

Valuable Features

Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers simplicity, performance, security, scalability, and AI integration, enhancing cloud strategy through robust features.

Microsoft Azure SQL Database provides seamless scalability, dynamic resource management, high efficiency, and cost-effective integration with Microsoft applications.

My takeaway as a CTO is that they're comfortable with the security posture, the features, the observability, alerts, and now it integrates into the rest of the Azure landscape.

For more quotes and insights, download the Azure Database for PostgreSQL report

Head of cloud, data, and AI at BJSS

The query analyzers help me find out what's happening in each of the queries.

Gautam Gupta

IT Director at Infosys

If a database has any task that has been interrupted or any connection issue, it will alert LogicMonitor, and we have a centralized panel for all the alerts.

reviewer2777886

System Engineer II at a insurance company with 501-1,000 employees

The simplicity in usability, along with improved organizational productivity where we no longer need to maintain on-premises SQL servers, is invaluable.

reviewer2596431

Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

The Software as a Service model is more effective and easier to access in terms of security, as Azure provides security at the security layer, reducing the risk of breach.

Fatai Akinwande

Specialist Datacenter and Server at IHS Towers

Using Microsoft Azure SQL Database is very easy; it's much easier than SQL on-premise because I don't have to worry about deploying infrastructure, and I can rapidly deploy via infrastructure as code.

Thomas Sawyer

Executive Director, Platform Architecture at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – SMBC Group

For more quotes and insights, download the Microsoft Azure SQL Database report

Categories and Ranking

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

5th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Open Source Databases (5th)

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

134

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Database as a Service (DBaaS) category, the mindshare of Azure Database for PostgreSQL is 3.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is 11.3%, down from 16.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database as a Service (DBaaS) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database	11.3%
Azure Database for PostgreSQL	3.3%
Other	85.4%

Database as a Service (DBaaS)

Featured Reviews

Sathish Palanisamy

Staff Data Engineer at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees

Improves database performance, supports AI integration, and accelerates customer-focused innovation

Azure Database for PostgreSQL can be improved in the area of elastic capabilities. One of the things we were actively looking for is the elastic feature, which was made a GA at this Ignite event. I am really happy that finally in Azure, we have a product which we can use for elastic clusters. If you are bound with a single server, then you have a vertical limit. Now you do not have any limits. As long as your use case grows, we can grow. The only thing I would maybe be thinking about is we should also allow customers to pick different node sizes for every node inside the elastic eventually. Some nodes do not need that big capacity. So that may be a nice-to-have feature, though it is not a must-have at this point.

Read full review

Thomas Sawyer

Executive Director, Platform Architecture at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – SMBC Group

Automatic tuning and multi-region availability have reduced manual workloads and improved performance management

The features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database that I like the most are easy scaling and high availability. I appreciate those features because it's easy to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database readily available in a multi-region infrastructure. Using Microsoft Azure SQL Database is very easy; it's much easier than SQL on-premise because I don't have to worry about deploying infrastructure, and I can rapidly deploy via infrastructure as code. I am using the automatic tuning feature in Microsoft Azure SQL Database. We are using the new feature of data encryption in Microsoft Azure SQL Database with customer-managed keys only. The reliability and stability of Microsoft Azure SQL Database platform are rock-solid; it's as good, if not better, than what our on-premise stability has been from an uptime perspective.

Read full review

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880,745 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

15%

Marketing Services Firm

13%

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	16

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	59
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	61

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Database for PostgreSQL?

My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing for Azure Database for PostgreSQL is positive; I appreciate it all. The pricing is very cost-effective and stable given that we have many data...

What needs improvement with Azure Database for PostgreSQL?

Azure Database for PostgreSQL can be improved in ways I'm very curious to explore with Horizon. I'm interested in seeing how the fully enterprise-hardened features change things and where that blur...

What is your primary use case for Azure Database for PostgreSQL?

My main use cases for Azure Database for PostgreSQL came from a personal project to scratch an itch, and it was the easiest one to go grab. I appreciate how easy PostgreSQL is to get running locall...

What do you like most about SQL Azure?

The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?

I would say I am at a basic experience level with the pricing, setup costs and licensing because while I am the administrator for the service, I do not provision the services and worry about the co...

What needs improvement with SQL Azure?

I have no comments at the moment on how Microsoft Azure SQL Database can be improved. I have no comments on additional features that I would like to see released in the next release. I do not have ...

Amazon RDS vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Comparisons

Compared 14% of the time

MySQL vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 13% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 11% of the time

PostgreSQL vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Compared 7% of the time

More Azure Database for PostgreSQL Competitors

Google Cloud SQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 20% of the time

Amazon RDS vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 16% of the time

MongoDB Atlas vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 13% of the time

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle Database as a Service vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Azure SQL Database Competitors

Product Reports

Azure Database for PostgreSQL

January 2026

Download Azure Database for PostgreSQL product report

Microsoft Azure SQL Database

January 2026

Download Microsoft Azure SQL Database product report

Overview

Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers efficient management, robust networking, and seamless Microsoft integration. Known for its strong performance and high satisfaction in enterprise settings, it provides operational efficiency, security, and monitoring.

With features that facilitate Azure integration, easy configuration, and AI integration, Azure Database for PostgreSQL serves as a valuable choice for businesses requiring operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Users benefit from powerful vector capabilities, seamless Microsoft service integration, straightforward management, and user authentication ensuring high satisfaction. Easy optimization, query analysis, and backup operations make it suitable for varied enterprise applications. However, improvements in flexible scaling, cost-effectiveness of monitoring tools, and enhanced integration with Azure OpenAI would enhance its capabilities further.

What Are the Key Features of Azure Database for PostgreSQL?

Robust Networking: Offers seamless Azure integration to optimize cloud resources.
AI Integration: Simplifies incorporating artificial intelligence into databases.
Monitoring Tools: Provides comprehensive tools for efficient database management.
Security: Ensures user data is protected with high-standard security protocols.
Cost-Effectiveness: Delivers efficient operations with budget-friendly solutions.

What Benefits Should Users Consider?

Operational Efficiency: Streamlines database management tasks, reducing workload.
High Satisfaction: Receives positive feedback for its reliable performance in enterprises.
Enterprise Compatibility: Integrates across various Microsoft services for enhanced productivity.
User-Friendly Management: Facilitates straightforward database administration.
Scalability: Supports businesses with potential growth through flexible solutions.

Industries such as healthcare, retail, and finance leverage Azure Database for PostgreSQL for backend solutions, incident reporting, and public information sharing. Managed service providers utilize its strong performance for client needs, while administrators use it for applications like ControlM. Its flexibility supports containerized applications and disaster recovery, ensuring compatibility with diverse environments.

Microsoft

Microsoft Azure SQL Database is a relational database-as-a-service that delivers predictable performance, scalability, business continuity, data protection, and near-zero administration to cloud developers and solution architects. This is the deep technical library for Azure SQL Database.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH