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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 September 2025, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of PostgreSQL is 16.8%, down from 19.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SQLite is 5.4%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Open Source Databases Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
PostgreSQL16.8%
SQLite5.4%
Other77.8%
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 most valuable features are the price, stability, it is scalable and is used by our clients in small business environments, and it is a simple product to use."
"PostgreSQL is very powerful, easy to manage, and has many features."
"We are able to create many different types of jobs and items with this solution making it one of the most valuable features."
"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."
"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."
"The solution is quite stable."
"Postgres has some functions called JSONB aggregators or other aggregators, which are quite useful."
"This is an open-source solution, operates at a high speed, and supports more than one SQL language."
"SQLite’s most valuable feature is the ability to store granular-level backups of databases."
"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."
"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."
 

Cons

"I have noticed that user and access management should be improved."
"PostgreSQL uses high memory compared to its counterparts when a highly demanding load is involved, especially one that makes many concurrent connections to the database."
"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."
"I find it difficult to get connectors on the tool. For example, .NET has only one free provider in PostgreSQL. I need to pay the provider if I need something more sophisticated features. Other languages like PHP and Java have good community support. We need community support for .NET."
"There could be a plugin to distribute the data on servers for the product."
"The interface climate could be better."
"If it was free to use, it would be the perfect solution."
"Integration with other platforms could be improved."
"The performance could be better."
"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."
"A potential drawback is that the database file stored within the application's local storage could be accessible to users."
"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

"We are using the free version of PostgreSQL."
"We use the open-source version of PostgreSQL and not the enterprise edition."
"It is open source. There is no licensing."
"PostgreSQL is a free and open-source database."
"It is free. In terms of operating costs, it basically needs the same platform on which Oracle runs."
"Affordable solution."
"It is an open-source platform."
"It is free. There is no license on it."
"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
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
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
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

 

Sample Customers

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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.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.