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Debian vs PostgreSQL on Ubuntu comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 15, 2026

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
7.0
Debian's open-source platform cuts costs by eliminating fees, supporting less powerful hardware, and enhancing efficiency with minimal downtime.
Sentiment score
6.0
<p>PostgreSQL on Ubuntu offers significant cost savings and flexibility, providing 10-40% savings and enhancing R&amp;D opportunities.</p>
There were direct cost savings since Debian has no licensing fees, and we did not require paid support, so it saved us considerable money.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
We were able to save a substantial amount by using Linux instead of Windows and spending a lot of money on Windows licenses.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
I have seen a return on investment; specifically, the cost is around zero because there is no need for a license, and since my whole team uses Debian, we are fine with the number of employees needed.
DevOps Technology Lead at TriStratus Ltd
We cut database infrastructure costs by roughly sixty to seventy percent by moving away from managed databases to using hosted PostgreSQL on Ubuntu VPS instances.
CEO at Grant Corporation
Since there are no upfront licensing fees, the ROI is increased with a scalable system without exponential cost growth.
Senior software developer at Simplifyvms
Think about if you are in a different geographic location and your cluster is hosted in two different geographic locations, maybe one in South Pacific and one in Western Europe. In both cases, if write transactions are happening, this is a good way to basically order the transactions so that the eventual data consistency is there.
Specialist Programmer L3 at Infosys
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Debian users mainly utilize community resources for support, with minimal dependence on official channels or third-party services.
Sentiment score
5.5
PostgreSQL support on Ubuntu is praised for responsiveness, with users relying on documentation, community support, and automatic updates.
We rely on community resources for support, such as documentation, forums, and asking questions online.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
Whenever I had a query, I used Google to search for it and found very helpful information from public platforms.
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
While it does not have traditional paid customer support like some commercial distributions, the Debian community and documentation are very strong.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu also has some of the most detailed technical documentation in existence.
Founder & Bio-IT Architect at France Farms
Community support is usually helpful in addressing queries and finding solutions to various scenarios.
Director IT at Artizense Hub
When I needed help with my vector search, I contacted them, and they provided substantial assistance.
AI Engineer at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Debian is scalable and reliable in cloud environments, offering flexibility and efficient resource management for diverse organizational needs.
Sentiment score
6.5
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu scales well with vertical scaling, efficient resource use, JSONB support, but setup complexity and cloud integration desired.
We don't spin up new Debian instances arbitrarily.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
As the growth of our infrastructure is required, we can host many Debian servers.
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
We decided to use Debian because we needed a more stable and predictable base, especially for long-running systems where frequent changes or upgrades could cause issues.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
Read scaling is supported natively; PostgreSQL enables statement replication, allowing us to spin up read replicas on Ubuntu to distribute read-heavy workloads, which is fantastic.
CEO at Grant Corporation
The scalability of PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is very good because complex joins are performed smoothly and efficiently.
Senior software developer at Simplifyvms
I do not see any limits in scalability for PostgreSQL on Ubuntu; it scales well without constraints.
Director IT at Artizense Hub
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.6
Debian is praised for stability and reliability, though some users note slow updates and older package versions.
Sentiment score
8.1
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is stable and scalable, praised for its reliability, effective updates, and strong data integrity in large applications.
I rate Debian an eight out of ten because it excels in stability, reliability, and package management, which are very important for long-running production systems.
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
That long-term support has helped me and my customers by being stable and running well.
Embedded Developer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
In my experience, Debian is very stable.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
It also guarantees asset compliance; after atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability, it means that even if the power goes out during a transaction, PostgreSQL on Ubuntu ensures that the data is 100 percent saved or rolled back.
Founder & Bio-IT Architect at France Farms
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is quite stable.
Specialist Programmer L3 at Infosys
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is handling my production infrastructures very well and it is going very good.
Manager Dev Ops at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Debian requires improvements in package management, UI, onboarding, release cycle, network management, and better documentation to enhance user experience.
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu seeks optimized speed, enhanced features, and better scalability through improved tools, monitoring, and user interfaces.
I believe security on Debian is top-notch due to its long history and the many individuals and organizations that rely on it, meaning there are many eyes on it.
Founder at a media company with 1-10 employees
If Debian had a memory-based distribution, similar to Alpine, that would be great, as we could get benefits in terms of memory or embedded systems.
DevOps Technology Lead at TriStratus Ltd
Debian was easy to set up.
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is very stable in terms of performance and query optimization.
Software Engineer at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Maybe it makes more sense to use AI for configuration in future updates of PostgreSQL on Ubuntu so that the database is automatically optimized for the best performance for a given hardware.
Head of IT at Givo Pvt Ltd
I would also appreciate the ability to use the EXPLAIN ANALYZE tool.
Consultant at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Debian is cost-effective due to no licensing fees, making it ideal for enterprises compared to alternatives like Windows.
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu offers a cost-effective, open-source database solution, with SaaS options under $5, ensuring budget-friendly implementation.
My experience with Debian's pricing, setup cost, and licensing has been that it is all free.
IT Support Manager at a educational organization with 5,001-10,000 employees
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that Debian is free, so there is no price.
SRE at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees
As long as I remain within the limit of that credit, I can create machines as much as I want without exceeding the monthly limit.
Cybersecurity Engineer at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees
There was no pricing and cost involved in using PostgreSQL on Ubuntu.
Software Engineer at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Now we are running multiple projects on a single Ubuntu VPS with PostgreSQL for around twenty to forty dollars a month total.
CEO at Grant Corporation
We were on the lowest tier, so it was around $5 or something.
Head of IT at Givo Pvt Ltd
 

Valuable Features

Debian delivers stability, performance, and security with vast support and resources, ideal for enterprise environments and web services.
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu offers reliability, advanced features, and scalability with efficient resource use and seamless cloud integration.
Debian's stability helps me in my daily work because my work relies on stability; I'm trying to deploy production workloads, and Debian offers that stability for me.
DevOps Technology Lead at TriStratus Ltd
Debian has kept my workflow secure by maintaining system stability with day-to-day or monthly updates with security patches, securing the system from external attacks.
Cloud Engineer at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Debian has positively impacted my organization primarily in cost-efficiency, with on-premises hardware running faster and cheaper.
IT Support Manager at a educational organization with 5,001-10,000 employees
One of the most important points about PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is that it is free.
Head of IT at Givo Pvt Ltd
Overall, PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is a powerful and reliable database management system; it is easy to use and good for students who want to move beyond basic and industry-level skills.
Student at a university with 501-1,000 employees
Any open-source software allows me to look into the code, understand the logic, and mold my code according to it, and it will work perfectly rather than proprietary solutions where I am very much dependent on the vendor and have to wait for their next release to fix things.
Manager Dev Ops at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Debian
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu
Ranking in Operating Systems (OS) for Business
14th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Operating Systems (OS) for Business category, the mindshare of Debian is 6.2%, up from 2.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is 0.8%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Operating Systems (OS) for Business Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Debian6.2%
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu0.8%
Other93.0%
Operating Systems (OS) for Business
 

Featured Reviews

Badal Shrivastav - PeerSpot reviewer
Embedded Linux / BSP Engineer at Veethree
Reliable platform has supported long-term on-prem deployments and predictable OTA updates
If I consider how Debian can be improved, it could be more accessible in making newer software versions available for users who need recent features while still maintaining default stable behavior. While backports help, the workflow could be streamlined. The release cycle can feel slow for rapidly evolving tools, and better guidance around mixing stable, backports, and testing would help. Regarding hardware support, Debian can be improved by supporting multiple BSPs, making it more versatile in the embedded domain. Hardware support for new devices can sometimes lag behind, which is understandable given Debian's focus on stability. Clearer guidance on handling newer hardware or firmware would be beneficial.
MG
CEO at Grant Corporation
Consistent use of flexible data and solid transactions has reduced costs and simplified projects
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu could be improved with easier out-of-the-box configuration. The default settings for PostgreSQL on a fresh Ubuntu install are very conservative. Things such as shared buffers and work memory are too low for any real production workloads, and you have to know how to go in and tune it manually. A smart default configuration wizard during installation that detects hardware and suggests settings would save a lot of junior developers from performance headaches. That is important. Built-in connection pooling is another area; PostgreSQL does not handle large numbers of concurrent connections well natively. You end up needing to set up PG Bouncer separately, which is another tool to learn, configure, and maintain. Having a lightweight connection pooler built into the core installation would be a real quality-of-life improvement. Additionally, a better built-in monitoring UI would help. Primarily, if you are working with Ubuntu, you are largely working with PostgreSQL on the command line and installing third-party tools such as pgAdmin or Adminer. A lightweight built-in web dashboard for basic health monitoring would improve projects significantly. Finally, upgrades between major versions and smaller versions should be a lot easier as well. None of these are deal-breakers; they are just nice to have improvements.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
20%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Construction Company
29%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Outsourcing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Debian?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that Debian is free, so there is no price.
What needs improvement with Debian?
Debian is already really great, so there is nothing to complain about regarding improvements. I do not have anything else to add about needed improvements.
What is your primary use case for Debian?
I have been using Debian for around 10 years now. My main use case for Debian is that it's a regular Linux operating system with many use cases and system servers. One specific example of how I use...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PostgreSQL on Ubuntu?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is based on the fact that I am using it as a free source, free open source. Therefore, I have never needed to consider...
What needs improvement with PostgreSQL on Ubuntu?
PostgreSQL on Ubuntu can be improved by providing some inbuilt AI agent mode, as nowadays many applications are offering such features. The installation process can sometimes be confusing for new u...
What is your primary use case for PostgreSQL on Ubuntu?
My main use case for PostgreSQL on Ubuntu is for storing the database, and I'm using Ubuntu because it is open source. Like multiple operating systems, it will support it because one of my friends ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Debian 12
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Debian vs. PostgreSQL on Ubuntu and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.