The powerful, standards-compliant open-source relational database — the safe default for structured data.
Official sitePostgreSQL ("Postgres") is a mature, open-source relational database with a reputation for correctness, standards compliance and depth of features. It offers full ACID transactions, strong SQL support, and extensions that stretch it well beyond classic relational work — JSONB documents, full-text search, geospatial data (PostGIS), and vector search for AI.
For most applications with structured, related data and a need for transactional integrity, Postgres is the sensible default. It scales impressively on a single node and has a huge, stable ecosystem.
Postgres is a relational database that stores data in typed tables with enforced constraints and relationships, queried with SQL. Its extension system means it can also do document storage (JSONB), full-text search and vector similarity without bolting on another system.
When data is relational and integrity matters — orders, accounts, billing, anything where a half-written transaction is unacceptable — Postgres is our default. Its JSONB support also lets it flex when part of the model is genuinely schemaless.
Relational schemas require upfront design and disciplined migrations; changing them later takes care. Horizontal scaling across many machines is more involved than with some NoSQL stores. For fast-changing, deeply nested, document-shaped data, MongoDB can be the better fit.
PostgreSQL ("Postgres") is a powerful, open-source relational database renowned for reliability, correctness and standards compliance, and it has become the default choice for serious applications that need a robust, trustworthy data store. It matters because data integrity is non-negotiable for most businesses, and Postgres delivers rock-solid ACID transactions and strong consistency while also being remarkably feature-rich — supporting advanced data types, full-text search, JSON, and extensibility that let it handle workloads people once reached for specialist databases to do. Being open-source and free, with no vendor lock-in, adds to its appeal.
Postgres is a relational database using SQL, with full ACID compliance (atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) that guarantees transactions are processed reliably — critical wherever data correctness matters, like finance or orders. Beyond the relational basics it is unusually capable: native JSON/JSONB support (so it can handle document-style data), full-text search, geospatial data (via PostGIS), a rich type system, and extensibility through extensions. Its trade-off versus lighter or specialist databases is that its power comes with more to configure and tune for scale, but for the vast majority of applications it is a dependable, feature-complete default.
PostgreSQL is an excellent default for almost any application that needs a reliable relational store — transactional systems, SaaS back-ends, analytics, anything where data integrity and correctness matter. Its JSON support means it can also handle semi-structured data, often removing the need for a separate document database. You might reach elsewhere for specialised needs — a document database for schemaless flexibility at scale, an in-memory store for caching, a specialist analytics engine for massive OLAP — but even then Postgres frequently suffices. The pragmatic default for most teams is "use Postgres unless you have a specific reason not to".
Part of our technologies knowledge graph — browse every entry in this branch.
A document database that stores flexible, JSON-like records — great when your data is nested and evolving.
A blazing-fast in-memory store used for caching, queues, rate limiting and real-time streams.
A query language for APIs that lets clients ask for exactly the data they need — no more, no less.
A readable, general-purpose language that dominates data, scripting, automation and machine learning.
Meta's component-based UI library — the most widely used way to build interactive web interfaces.
Common questions
Straight answers on how this fits your marketing and build.
Still have questions? Talk to a specialist