vs

Babelfish for PostgreSQL vs PostgreSQL

Babelfish for PostgreSQL: Lets PostgreSQL understand SQL Server's T-SQL and TDS protocol, so SQL Server apps can migrate. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.

key differences

  • Horizontal scaling is none in Babelfish for PostgreSQL and addon in PostgreSQL.
  • Only PostgreSQL has full-text search, vector search, geospatial, change data capture, materialized views.

choose babelfish-postgresql for

  • +Migrating SQL Server applications to PostgreSQL
  • +Reducing SQL Server licensing on AWS
  • +Gradual rewrite of T-SQL apps to native PostgreSQL

best at · OLTP

choose postgresql for

  • +General-purpose application backend
  • +SaaS multi-tenant data
  • +Geospatial applications with PostGIS
  • +Semantic search alongside relational data with pgvector

best at · OLTP, Geo, Search

overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
–
Document, Spatial
Type
Extension
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Amazon Web Services and Babelfish community
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
First release
2021
1996
Latest version
6.1.0 (Aug 26, 2026)
18.6 (Aug 13, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0 and PostgreSQL License
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
4.6
93.2
Rank
#400
#1
GitHub stars
339
22.6K
Stack Overflow questions
29
178.8K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
None
Addon
Multi-region
Read replicas
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud
capabilities
Transactions
✓
✓
Joins
✓
✓
Secondary indexes
✓
✓
Full-text search
—
✓
Vector search
—
✓
Geospatial
—
✓
JSON
✓
✓
Change data capture
—
✓
Triggers
✓
✓
Stored procedures
✓
✓
Materialized views
—
✓
TTL / expiry
—
—
Pub/Sub
—
✓
Columnar storage
—
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
—
✓
Encryption at rest
—
—
Role-based access
✓
✓
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
✓
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
T-SQL, SQL, PL/pgSQL
SQL, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
C#, .NET, Java, Python, JavaScript, ODBC
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Best for
OLTP
OLTP, Geo, Search, Content

Babelfish for PostgreSQL vs PostgreSQL: FAQ

What is the difference between Babelfish for PostgreSQL and PostgreSQL?

Babelfish for PostgreSQL: Lets PostgreSQL understand SQL Server's T-SQL and TDS protocol, so SQL Server apps can migrate. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. Horizontal scaling is none in Babelfish for PostgreSQL and addon in PostgreSQL. Only PostgreSQL has full-text search, vector search, geospatial, change data capture, materialized views.

When should I choose Babelfish for PostgreSQL over PostgreSQL?

Choose Babelfish for PostgreSQL for migrating SQL Server applications to PostgreSQL, reducing SQL Server licensing on AWS and gradual rewrite of T-SQL apps to native PostgreSQL. Choose PostgreSQL for general-purpose application backend, SaaS multi-tenant data and geospatial applications with PostGIS.

Is Babelfish for PostgreSQL or PostgreSQL more popular?

PostgreSQL ranks #1 on the WhichDB Score (93.2/100) and Babelfish for PostgreSQL ranks #400 (4.6/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Babelfish for PostgreSQL and PostgreSQL open source?

Yes. Babelfish for PostgreSQL is open source. License: Apache License 2.0 and PostgreSQL License. Yes. PostgreSQL is open source. License: PostgreSQL License.