InfluxDB vs PostgreSQL comparison

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InfluxDB

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

PostgreSQL and InfluxDB compete in the database management category. While both have their strengths, PostgreSQL holds an advantage in traditional database features and scalability, whereas InfluxDB is superior in handling time-series data efficiently.

Features: PostgreSQL is known for supporting complex queries, scalability, and ACID compliance. It is open-source and cost-effective, with strong extensibility through native extensions. InfluxDB specializes in handling time-series data efficiently, offering robust plugins for integration and performance in large dataset queries.

Room for Improvement: PostgreSQL could enhance read-only query performance, SQL functionalities, and setup complexity. InfluxDB faces challenges with high-cardinality data and lacks comprehensive backup options for cloud deployments, along with needing improvement in integration and password encryption support.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both PostgreSQL and InfluxDB provide multiple deployment options, including on-premises and cloud. PostgreSQL offers broad flexibility but may require experienced staff for optimal setup. InfluxDB benefits from cloud configuration simplicity. Both rely on community support due to their open-source nature.

Pricing and ROI: As open-source platforms, PostgreSQL and InfluxDB eliminate licensing fees, reducing adoption barriers. PostgreSQL is cost-effective with robust community support, offering a solid ROI for enterprises. InfluxDB's ROI is achieved through its time-series capabilities, although larger deployments may face budget impacts due to recent price increases.

To learn more, read our detailed InfluxDB vs. PostgreSQL Report (Updated: July 2025).

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InfluxDB vs. PostgreSQL

July 2025

Helped 865,140 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

InfluxDB

Ranking in Open Source Databases

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Non-Relational Databases (1st), Network Monitoring Software (22nd), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (26th), NoSQL Databases (4th)

PostgreSQL

Ranking in Open Source Databases

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

125

Ranking in other categories

Vector Databases (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of InfluxDB is 4.2%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of PostgreSQL is 17.1%, down from 20.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

DeepakR

Site Reliability Engineer(Observability) at Sapiens

An open-source database that can be used to insert data

InfluxDB is generally stable, but we've encountered issues with the configuration file in our ticket stack. For instance, a mistake in one of the metrics out of a hundred KPIs can disrupt data collection for all KPIs. This happens because the agent stops working if there's an issue with any configuration part. To address this, it is essential to ensure that all configurations are part of the agent's EXE file when provided. This makes it easier to package the agent for server installation and ensures all KPIs are available from the server. Additionally, the agent cannot encrypt and decrypt passwords for authentication, which can be problematic when monitoring URLs or requiring authentication tokens. This requires additional scripting and can prolong service restart times.

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PavithrarajShetty

Software Architect at Tetherfi

Offers simplicity and is cheaply priced

I haven't gone through the scalability aspect since I was using MySQL Server. I haven't worked to a high level in PostgreSQL, but with MySQL Server, I have managed clustering and partitioning. I think I haven't put much focus on PostgreSQL, so I am not sure how it behaves or how it works.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In our case, it started with a necessity to fill the gap that we had in monitoring. We had very reactive monitoring without trend analysis and without some advanced features. We were able to implement them by using a time series database. We are able to have all the data from applications, logs, and systems, and we can use a simple query language to correlate all the data and make things happen, especially with monitoring. We could more proactively monitor our systems and our players' trends."

"InfluxDB works as expected with excellent scalability and stability, which is critical for our application."

"InfluxDB is a database where you can insert data. However, it would be best if you had different components for alerting, data sending, and visualization. You need to install tools to collect data from servers. It must be installed on Windows or Linux servers. During installation, ensure that the configuration file is correct to prevent issues. Once data is collected, it can be sent to InfluxDB. For visualization, you can use open-source tools like Grafana."

"InfluxDB's best feature is that it's a cloud offering. Other good features include its time-series DB, fast time-bulk queries, and window operations."

"The solution is very powerful."

"While I would rate InfluxDB a ten on a scale of one to ten, users should be thoughtful about matching the engine to their specific needs."

"The most valuable features of InfluxDB are the documentation and performance, and the good plugins metrics in the ecosystem."

"InfluxDB works as expected with excellent scalability and stability, which is critical for our application."

More InfluxDB pros

"One of the most valuable features is real-time data capture; it optimizes database performance. I think using real-time data capture reduces job running time and the amount of data sent at once with batch loads."

"We managed to reduce the storage space needed to 10% of the original size, without affecting data integrity, and we significantly improved the performance."

"This is an open-source solution, operates at a high speed, and supports more than one SQL language."

"The system can perform faster analysis by providing it with a lot of memory. Speed is crucial for analytics. Currently, the main reason we haven't adopted Elasticsearch is that we lack the necessary expertise to manage it."

"It is very useful for both structured and unstructured data. You can store unstructured and structured data in PostgreSQL. It is easy to use. You can easily manage things through PostgreSQL Admin. It is cost-effective. Its on-premise version is free. It is agnostic of on-premise or cloud. You can install it on the cloud or on-premises. It is available with all clouds, and you can also install it on desktop or Windows Servers."

"PostgreSQL has complete SQL dialects and is useful for writing sophisticated and complex queries. We have experience with Oracle database. My partner is experienced in DDA and he writes sophisticated SQL queries. The solution helps to get the job done in the best possible way. In today’s age, most developers do not have strong SQL knowledge or language command. They find it difficult to write even a SQL statement. These developers write cool queries which perform badly on the database end. As DBAs, we constantly urge the developers not to write bad queries, help them learn more, and write placebo commands."

"We use the solution to store tables. It is stable and performs well."

"We are able to create many different types of jobs and items with this solution making it one of the most valuable features."

Cons

"The solution doesn't have much of a user interface."

"The solution's UI can be more user-friendly."

"InfluxDB is generally stable, but we've encountered issues with the configuration file in our ticket stack. For instance, a mistake in one of the metrics out of a hundred KPIs can disrupt data collection for all KPIs. This happens because the agent stops working if there's an issue with any configuration part. To address this, it is essential to ensure that all configurations are part of the agent's EXE file when provided. This makes it easier to package the agent for server installation and ensures all KPIs are available from the server. Additionally, the agent cannot encrypt and decrypt passwords for authentication, which can be problematic when monitoring URLs or requiring authentication tokens. This requires additional scripting and can prolong service restart times."

"I've tried both on-premises and cloud-based deployments, and each has its limitations."

"It is challenging to get long-running backups while running InfluxDB in a Microsoft Azure Kubernetes cluster."

"One area for improvement is the querying language. InfluxDB deprecated FluxQL, which was intuitive since developers are already familiar with standard querying."

"The error logging capability can be improved because the logs are not very informative."

"It is challenging to get long-running backups while running InfluxDB in a Microsoft Azure Kubernetes cluster."

More InfluxDB cons

"There could be a plugin to distribute the data on servers for the product."

"The solution needs to improve the query, documentation, and JSON data functionality."

"They need to have a better graphical interface. There is a tool called pgAdmin 4 that they use, which is free. It is written in Java, and it is slow. They need to have a better product that is similar to Toad for Oracle, but, of course, it is hard to get something that's really great and free. Other than that, it is great."

"PostgreSQL is a stable system, but from a security point of view, it still needs improvement."

"PostgreSQL could improve by providing a geographical solution for tracking trucks and people in the field. They might already have features similar to this and I have not found them. I haven't done research about this topic."

"It would be good to have machine learning functionality in this solution, similar to Microsoft SQL Server and other solutions. Machine learning capability for a basic level or a common user would be useful. It can also have good reporting capabilities."

"The scalability is limited."

"The database and applications can become very slow."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"InfluxDB recently increased its price. It is very expensive now."

"We are using the open-source version of InfluxDB."

"InfluxDB is open-source, but there are additional costs for scaling."

"The tool is an open-source product."

"The need for our customers to pay for licences is contingent on their projects and budgets."

"There is an annual license."

"We are using the free version of PostgreSQL."

"PostgreSQL is a free and open-source database."

"This solution can offer a cheaper choice for customers since it is open-source."

"PostgreSQL is open-source, so if capable admins are available then the setup cost can be $0."

"The solution requires a license."

"We do not pay for licensing."

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about InfluxDB?

InfluxDB is a database where you can insert data. However, it would be best if you had different components for alerting, data sending, and visualization. You need to install tools to collect data ...

What needs improvement with InfluxDB?

It is challenging to get long-running backups while running InfluxDB in a Microsoft Azure Kubernetes cluster. Replicating data for on-prem development and testing is difficult. Having a SQL abstrac...

What is your primary use case for InfluxDB?

InfluxDB is the main component in our large enterprise-scale streaming data application for maritime vessels. We collect position data from vessels around the coast once per second, put it on a Kaf...

How does Firebird SQL compare with PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL was designed in a way that provides you with not only a high degree of flexibility but also offers you a cheap and easy-to-use solution. It gives you the ability to redesign and audit yo...

What do you like most about PostgreSQL?

It's a transactional database, so we use Postgres for most of our reporting. That's where it's helping.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PostgreSQL?

The tool is free of cost. For now, it's not about making money. But once we perfect it, we can offer it to customers willing to pay for support and other services. Most of my deployments are free.

MongoDB Enterprise Advanced vs InfluxDB

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Compared 5% of the time

ScyllaDB vs InfluxDB

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More InfluxDB Competitors

Firebird SQL vs PostgreSQL

Compared 33% of the time

MySQL vs PostgreSQL

Compared 12% of the time

EDB Postgres Advanced Server vs PostgreSQL

Compared 10% of the time

MariaDB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB vs PostgreSQL

Compared 2% of the time

Product Reports

Download InfluxDB product report

InfluxDB

August 2025

Download PostgreSQL product report

August 2025

Overview

InfluxDB is open-source software that helps developers and enterprises alike to collect, store, process, and visualize time series data and to build next-generation applications. InfluxDB provides monitoring and insight on IoT, application, system, container, and infrastructure quickly and easily without complexities or compromises in scale, speed, or productivity.

InfluxDB has become a popular insight system for unified metrics and events enabling the most demanding SLAs. InfluxDB is used in just about every type of industry across a wide range of use cases, including network monitoring, IoT monitoring, industrial IoT, and infrastructure and application monitoring.

InfluxDB offers its users:

Infrastructure and application monitoring: Collect, process, and analyze real-time data from edge devices to help optimize distributed infrastructure.

IoT monitoring and analytics: InfluxDB is designed to store large volumes of time series data and quickly perform real-time analysis on that data. Gain insights from all the sensor data and use the collected data to create and perform automated tasks.

Network monitoring: Manage responsive and high-performing networks with widely distributed resources.

InfluxDB Benefits

There are several benefits to using InfluxDB . Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

APIs and ready toolset: InfluxDB can be accessed via a set of powerful tools enabling users to get started quickly, with less programming required. This includes a REST API, extensive client libraries, a wide variety of open-source integrations, and Flux - a functional data scripting language for querying, analysis, and events. The InfluxDB API can be used to write data from edge devices to the InfluxDB instance

Time series engine: Get any data - events, logs, traces - from any edge device - systems, sensors, queues, databases, and networks. This data is stored in a powerful and high-performing engine capable of ingesting millions of data points per second.

Community: InfluxDB has a large community of cloud and open-source developers ready to assist users.

Ready-made templates: Use InfluxDB Templates, a set of tools with a packager and other ready monitoring solutions. These tools allow users to share their monitoring expertise with coworkers and other community members around the world. The Templates gallery offers available templates for some of the most popular tools and applications.

Enhanced UI: InfluxDB’s UI includes an explorer, dashboarding tools, and a script editor. Use it to easily browse the collected metric and event data and apply common transformations. The dashboarding tool comes with a variety of visualization options that help users view insights from the data. The script editor assists users to quickly master Flux with easily accessible examples, auto-completion, and real-time syntax checking.

Reviews from Real Users

InfluxDB stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its flexible integration options and its data aggregation feature.

Shalauddin Ahamad S., a software engineer at a tech services company, notes, “The most valuable features are aggregating the data and the integration with Grafana for monitoring.”

InfluxData

PostgreSQL is a versatile and reliable database management system commonly used for web development, data analysis, and building scalable databases.

It offers advanced features like indexing, replication, and transaction management. Users appreciate its flexibility, performance, and ability to handle large amounts of data efficiently. Its robustness, scalability, and support for complex queries make it highly valuable.

Additionally, PostgreSQL's extensibility, flexibility, community support, and frequent updates contribute to its ongoing improvement and stability.

Sample Customers

ebay, AXA, Mozilla, DiDi, LeTV, Siminars, Cognito, ProcessOut, Recommend, CATS, Smarsh, Row 44, Clustree, Bleemeo

1. Apple 2. Cisco 3. Fujitsu 4. Instagram 5. Netflix 6. Red Hat 7. Sony 8. Uber 9. Cisco Systems 10. Skype 11. LinkedIn 12. Etsy 13. Yelp 14. Reddit 15. Dropbox 16. Slack 17. Twitch 18. WhatsApp 19. Snapchat 20. Shazam 21. SoundCloud 22. The New York Times 23. Cisco WebEx 24. Atlassian 25. Cisco Meraki 26. Heroku 27. GitLab 28. Zalando 29. OpenTable 30. Trello 31. Square Enix 32. Bloomberg