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Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs Microsoft Azure SQL Database comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 30, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
7.6
Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers significant cost savings and efficiency improvements, reducing ownership costs by eliminating expensive licenses.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure SQL Database reduces total cost with pay-per-use, hybrid licensing, enhancing ROI through scalability and security.
It offers at least 25 percent cost savings compared to maintaining on-premises databases.
Now, we use embedded PostgreSQL vectors, which will undoubtedly reduce the TCO by using a much more cost-effective solution.
We've reduced our total ownership cost because we are not spending on expensive SQL server licenses.
It is ensuring we receive what we pay for through the blend of price, performance, and features.
If you're managing your own data center, you always have to overprovision your systems and pay for storage space you're not using.
We've reduced costs by about 20 percent after two or three years.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Users praise Microsoft Learn's documentation, benefit from fast support response, and find engineering engagement insightful for urgent issues.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Azure SQL Database provides comprehensive support, but service quality varies by support tier and client size.
Once we open a support case, we have people engaged within about 20 minutes, especially for a Sev 1 issue.
The documentation and training we've received through Microsoft Learn on how to migrate, deploy, and manage the solution is exceptional.
We handle most implementations in-house, without extensive reliance on Microsoft's technical support.
Microsoft played a significant role, even from a training perspective, and provided resources that directed us toward the right deployment path.
Once I reach the right people, the support is incredibly knowledgeable and thorough.
Microsoft provides excellent service and is always available to support us.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Azure Database for PostgreSQL efficiently scales workloads with FlexServer, offering easy resizing for large enterprises and government projects.
Sentiment score
7.3
Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers flexible scalability, handling large data environments and adapting easily to varying workloads.
However, we can see how well it scales after we deploy it for some large enterprise customers or big government organizations.
The scaling options with FlexServer provide us with the flexibility we need based on application complexity.
We can scale up compute and scale it down, but once storage is allocated, there is no way to scale it back down.
Scaling the solution is incredibly simple and involves just clicking a button or dragging a slider.
Azure's scalability features like Elasticity are essential.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is cloud-based, so it's great for scaling workloads.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Azure Database for PostgreSQL is stable with no latency issues, though it may crash during peak usage without auto-healing.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is highly reliable and stable, with minimal latency issues, especially in well-designed, cloud-utilized systems.
There is a stability issue where, if the database usage peaks quickly, it may crash and require intervention to restore functionality.
We have generative AI applications, and we have not noticed any latency.
Overall, I have not encountered any real latency issues or stability concerns.
We can't tell the difference between running on-prem or Azure because we no longer have those latency issues.
SQL never crashes or suddenly becomes unavailable.
Therefore, it is preferable to provision an instance local to the connection point to optimize performance and minimize latency.
 

Room For Improvement

Azure Database for PostgreSQL needs faster scaling, better reliability, extensions, user management, cost efficiency, support, and error detection.
Azure SQL Database needs better security, pricing, documentation, integration, support, and scalability, with enhanced analytics and management tools.
It does not presently support knowledge graph functionalities as Neo4j does.
Azure Database for PostgreSQL can be improved by allowing quicker scaling without blips.
I believe there could be improvements in the mirroring part and Change Data Capture (CDC).
It would be helpful if CPU performance were not pinned to the amount of storage you're using, and we could scale different properties of the Azure SQL database independently.
I could not get an accurate quote on what my monthly costs would be based on my needs.
To overcome this, we collaborated with the network team to develop alternative solutions.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise buyers appreciate Azure's cost-efficient, pay-as-you-go pricing for PostgreSQL, reducing on-premises database costs significantly.
Azure SQL Database pricing is complex, perceived as costly, but offers elasticity and cost-saving via Azure Hybrid Benefit.
We've reduced costs by 60 percent compared to maintaining on-premises solutions.
The pay-as-you-go pricing model positively affects database-related costs by allowing us to start small and scale as needed.
The pay-as-you-go model works well for us.
Azure Hybrid Benefit reduced costs by facilitating an easy transition of on-premises databases to the cloud.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap.
It greatly reduces the total cost of ownership through efficient licensing depending on the client, the cost savings, and hybrid benefits.
 

Valuable Features

Azure Database for PostgreSQL offers seamless integration, robust networking, efficient AI tools, and strong security with a positive cost-benefit ratio.
Microsoft Azure SQL Database offers scalable, cost-effective database management with seamless integration, global accessibility, security, and efficient automation.
My takeaway as a CTO is that they're comfortable with the security posture, the features, the observability, alerts, and now it integrates into the rest of the Azure landscape.
The query analyzers help me find out what's happening in each of the queries.
The most valuable features of Azure Database for PostgreSQL are its networking capabilities, which allow for integration with other Azure services.
The simplicity in usability, along with improved organizational productivity where we no longer need to maintain on-premises SQL servers, is invaluable.
The Software as a Service model is more effective and easier to access in terms of security, as Azure provides security at the security layer, reducing the risk of breach.
Some of the best features of Microsoft Azure SQL Database are its scalability, pricing, and ease of setup.
 

Categories and Ranking

Azure Database for PostgreSQL
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (10th)
Microsoft Azure SQL Database
Ranking in Database as a Service (DBaaS)
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Daniel Amini - PeerSpot reviewer
An incredibly powerful industry leader that enabled us to build critical pieces of national infrastructure
Azure Database is simple and easy to use. We followed the prescribed training and upskilled 10 engineers. They think it's straightforward. They've already got PostgreSQL skills to optimize the solution, so they know what to do. It was easy to get started quickly and become effective. My team speaks highly of the platform's observability and monitoring features. It's as efficient as an enterprise needs it to be and. has all of the tooling and telemetry necessary to run an enterprise database. We take security seriously. The team has looked at the security features, and nothing has been flagged to us. My takeaway as a CTO is that they're comfortable with the security posture, the features, the observability, alerts, and now it integrates into the rest of the Azure landscape. The OpenAI integration and extensions have massively simplified integrating AI into a database. PostgreSQL's native vector capabilities are also incredibly powerful.
Charley Hanania - PeerSpot reviewer
It is very easy to implement, manage, and offers great insights into what is happening inside the engine
Microsoft Azure SQL Database is integrated into other Azure capabilities and has a great foundation being on SQL Server with a long history of security, performance, and usability from a DBA perspective. Once you've set up a server, adding databases is easy. There's a minor challenge with having data in separate databases that you want to connect like we do on premises. I'm looking forward to using some of these new AI-driven functions that have come out around vectorization. Having the data closer to my transactional databases or data makes it easy to augment and enhance the Database and applications I currently use. It's great that Azure SQL now seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Fabric. It's a first-tier service in the cloud that connects to web applications and other databases. The data transformation orchestration capabilities within Database Factory and similar capabilities make it effortless to move that stuff forward.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
26%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Non Profit
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Educational Organization
73%
Computer Software Company
4%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Manufacturing Company
2%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
Pricing is affordable for us. PostgreSQL is good and affordable for our needs.
What needs improvement with Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
While the flexibility of the server for financial reasons is understandable, better switching between primary and backup would make transitions smoother. I noticed an issue where the primary refuse...
What is your primary use case for Azure Database for PostgreSQL?
We started using Azure Database for PostgreSQL ( /products/azure-database-for-postgresql-reviews ) about five to six years ago. Initially, we were doing an on-premises Kubernetes ( /products/kubern...
What do you like most about SQL Azure?
The automated scalability feature of SQL Azure has proven to be highly beneficial, particularly when deployed in the cloud.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SQL Azure?
The pricing of Microsoft Azure SQL Database is not cheap, affecting user uptake. A gradual reduction in price could improve accessibility and user numbers, making it easier for users to adopt the s...
What needs improvement with SQL Azure?
Pricing could be improved to make Microsoft Azure SQL Database ( /products/microsoft-azure-sql-database-reviews ) more accessible. A reduction in price might encourage more users and bring more pro...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
adnymics GmbH, LG CNS, Centrebet, netfabb GmbH, MedPlast, Accelera Solutions, Sochi Organizing Committee, realzeit GmbH
Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Database for PostgreSQL vs. Microsoft Azure SQL Database and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
847,862 professionals have used our research since 2012.