Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

PostgreSQL vs SQLite comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 23, 2025

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

PostgreSQL
Ranking in Open Source Databases
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
125
Ranking in other categories
Vector Databases (7th)
SQLite
Ranking in Open Source Databases
12th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of PostgreSQL is 17.9%, down from 20.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQLite is 5.0%, up from 3.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases
 

Featured Reviews

PavithrarajShetty - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Neeraj Tiwari - PeerSpot reviewer
Pretty easy to execute my SQL queries but issues while uploading and importing my dataset
It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries. Since I was a beginner, it was comfortable for me to learn SQL using SQLite. However, when I used it for my professional work and for my assignments, I found some complications. Maybe I'm not proficient with it, that's why. The main benefit for me was learning. Since I was new to SQL, SQLite helped me understand how to work with structured data.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The main value is that it is open source, which means it is free. Our organization has the initiative to go to open source to cut down on cost. Oracle costs us $6 million a year right now, which is killing us, and Postgres costs nothing. So, there is a big push to go to Postgres."
"PostgreSQL is stable. It's available, stable, and reliable."
"The solution provides complete support in terms of the SQL dialect and behaves nicely when it comes to transactions."
"PostgreSQL is very powerful, easy to manage, and has many features."
"The initial setup is quick and easy."
"We are able to create many different types of jobs and items with this solution making it one of the most valuable features."
"The product is very similar to the SQL Server."
"Clustering will be the number 1 feature. It is also open-source so it is free. It can also be clustered, to allow fault tolerance."
"SQLite’s most valuable feature is the ability to store granular-level backups of databases."
"Sometimes, you want data to persist within the app even when there's no internet connectivity. To avoid showing blank screens, we can use SQLite to store data locally and then sync it with the cloud database when connectivity is restored."
"I haven't encountered any problems in my use cases. So, it has been a stable product for me."
"I use Flutter Technology with the JSF plugin."
"The product is lightweight and highly scalable."
"It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries."
 

Cons

"It needs more integration."
"The solution could improve the integration."
"There are some products out there that have a slightly different method of implementation for the SQL language. Some of those are slightly better in some areas, and PostgreSQL is slightly better in some areas. I would probably like to match all of those products together. It is just down to the functionality. For example, Oracle has a number of options within SQL that are outside of what you would class as the SQL standard. PostgreSQL misses some of those, but PostgreSQL does other things that are better than what Oracle does. I would like to merge those two products so that there is a certain amount of functionality in a single product."
"They need to improve the user experience of the management."
"It could be more secure."
"Postgres should focus on building a stronger knowledge base. They also need to expand their integration capabilities, so more tools and resources are available to manage it."
"It is possible that in the newer version this has been addressed, but I would like the deployment in microservices architecture could be improved."
"We have to set up event API, which takes a lot of events from the user."
"I primarily use SQLite for small-scale applications due to its limitations in storing large amounts of data. For larger-scale projects, I typically opt for MySQL or other alternatives. Storing a large number of dates in SQLite can significantly impact its performance."
"Compared to other tools, the performance was less effective than that of Microsoft Access."
"The performance could be better."
"There are some difficulties on the server side. When syncing data with databases like SQL Server or Oracle, SQLite requires a kind of double effort."
"A potential drawback is that the database file stored within the application's local storage could be accessible to users."
"It could have a user-friendly GUI and better intelligence features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is open-source. If you use it on-premise, it is free. It also has enterprise or commercial versions. If you go for the cloud version, there will be a cost, but it is lower than Oracle or Microsoft."
"We are using the free version of PostgreSQL."
"It is free, but if you need support, you can go for the commercial version called EnterpriseDB. They provide paid support, and they can even do hosting for you if you want standby and support."
"We do not pay for licensing."
"The need for our customers to pay for licences is contingent on their projects and budgets."
"The community version of Postgre is basically free."
"It is an open-source platform."
"We use the open-source version of PostgreSQL and not the enterprise edition."
"It's a good value."
"The tool is open-source."
"I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten."
"It's not expensive."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Open Source Databases solutions are best for your needs.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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.
What do you like most about SQLite?
It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries.
What needs improvement with SQLite?
There were some complications. For example, you have to upload the dataset into SQLite, and once it's uploaded, you might find difficulties working with it.
 

Comparisons

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Oracle, Bloomberg, Bentley, Mozilla
Find out what your peers are saying about PostgreSQL vs. SQLite and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.