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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
3rd
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
12th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.5
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Embedded Database (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of PostgreSQL is 17.1%, down from 20.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQLite is 5.4%, up from 3.6% 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 solution is quite stable."
"It is very simple to manage."
"The product is easy to use and works fast for relational databases."
"The solution provides complete support in terms of the SQL dialect and behaves nicely when it comes to transactions."
"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."
"Scalable, stable, and easy to manage database system, with a straightforward installation."
"The initial setup is quick and easy."
"It's quite scalable."
"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."
"It was a bit easy to use compared to other tools. It's simple. I found it pretty easy to execute my SQL queries."
"I use Flutter Technology with the JSF plugin."
"I haven't encountered any problems in my use cases. So, it has been a stable product for me."
"SQLite’s most valuable feature is the ability to store granular-level backups of databases."
 

Cons

"The pricing could be better."
"The search option is not very good."
"The solution needs to improve the query, documentation, and JSON data functionality."
"As PostgreSQL is an open-source product, you do have to do a bit more configuration and management yourself."
"I had some issues when I integrated with the Jupyter Notebook."
"It could be more secure."
"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 doesn't have a feature for temporal SQL, which is useful for gathering versions of data. This feature should be included in PostgreSQL. This feature is available in MariaDB, SQL Server, Oracle Database, and DB2."
"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."
"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."
"Compared to other tools, the performance was less effective than that of Microsoft Access."
"The performance could be better."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"It is an open-source platform."
"It could be much cheaper. If you would like to build an application on Amazon today, PostgreSQL is the standard database with Redshift. If you want other databases, you can add them, but PostgreSQL is the basis of everything. It's a question of money, that's it."
"Our company pays for it. There are free versions available, but for advanced features, you obviously have to pay."
"It is open source. There is no licensing."
"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 need for our customers to pay for licences is contingent on their projects and budgets."
"The licensing model is good."
"The tool is open-source."
"It's a good value."
"I rate the product’s pricing a six out of ten."
"It's not expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
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

 

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Oracle, Bloomberg, Bentley, Mozilla
Find out what your peers are saying about PostgreSQL vs. SQLite and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
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