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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 (12th)
SQLite
Ranking in Open Source Databases
13th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of PostgreSQL is 16.6%, down from 19.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQLite is 5.4%, up from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
PostgreSQL16.6%
SQLite5.4%
Other78.0%
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 performance is good."
"This is an open-source solution, operates at a high speed, and supports more than one SQL language."
"It is easy to install and easy to manage. There is no license on it, so it is free. There is high compatibility with Oracle, and there are many tools for the migration of data from Oracle to Postgre."
"The community support and the open-source community for it are good."
"The solution is scalable, it is very good."
"The PostgreSQL database is similar to the SQL Server but has a slightly different technology that has similar resources as well. If the customer has the confidence using SQL Server, they will be fairly comfortable using this solution."
"The product is quite flexible."
"It is a pretty comprehensive database system. Its performance is good, and it does what it is supposed to do. It also integrates very well."
"I haven't encountered any problems in my use cases. So, it has been a stable product for me."
"The product is lightweight and highly scalable."
"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."
"SQLite’s most valuable feature is the ability to store granular-level backups of databases."
"I use Flutter Technology with the JSF plugin."
"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

"There could be a plugin to distribute the data on servers for the product."
"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."
"Sometimes, it becomes slow because of the network. So, there is room for improvement in performance."
"PostgreSQL could improve by adding data warehousing tools."
"The scalability is limited."
"PostgreSQL’s performance could be improved."
"The price could be better."
"I had some issues when I integrated with the Jupyter Notebook."
"It could have a user-friendly GUI and better intelligence features."
"The performance could be better."
"Compared to other tools, the performance was less effective than that of Microsoft Access."
"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."
"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."
"A potential drawback is that the database file stored within the application's local storage could be accessible to users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our company pays for it. There are free versions available, but for advanced features, you obviously have to pay."
"The licensing model is good."
"Affordable solution."
"PostgreSQL is open-source, so if capable admins are available then the setup cost can be $0."
"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."
"The solution requires a license."
"It is free. There is no license on it."
"It is free. In terms of operating costs, it basically needs the same platform on which Oracle runs."
"It's a good value."
"It's not expensive."
"The tool is open-source."
"I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business58
Midsize Enterprise26
Large Enterprise45
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise3
 

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

 

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Oracle, Bloomberg, Bentley, Mozilla
Find out what your peers are saying about PostgreSQL vs. SQLite and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.