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Citus vs PostgreSQL

Citus: Postgres extension that shards tables across nodes for multi-tenant SaaS and real-time analytics. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.

key differences

  • Licensing: Citus is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3); PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License).
  • Citus is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than PostgreSQL (≤ 10 TB).
  • Horizontal scaling is native in Citus and addon in PostgreSQL.
  • Only Citus has columnar storage.
  • Only PostgreSQL has pub/sub.

choose citus for

  • +Multi-tenant B2B SaaS sharded by customer
  • +Real-time analytics dashboards over event data
  • +Time-series and IoT ingestion with rollups
  • +Scaling an existing Postgres app without changing databases

best at · OLTP, Real-time analytics, HTAP

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

CitusPostgres extension that shards tables across nodes for multi-tenant SaaS and real-time analytics.
PostgreSQLThe extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Relational
Also supports
Document, Columnar / OLAP, Spatial
Document, Spatial
Type
Extension
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Microsoft (Citus Data)
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
First release
2016
1996
Latest version
14.3.0 (Oct 23, 2026)
18.6 (Aug 13, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GNU AGPL v3
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
21.1
93.2
Rank
#144
#1
GitHub stars
12.8K
22.6K
Stack Overflow questions
149
178.8K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Native
Addon
Multi-region
None
Read replicas
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Distributed, Client server
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
✓
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
Azure
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
SQL, PL/pgSQL
SQL, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Ruby, C#, PHP, Rust
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Real-time analytics, HTAP, Time-series
OLTP, Geo, Search, Content
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Citus vs PostgreSQL: FAQ

What is the difference between Citus and PostgreSQL?

Citus: Postgres extension that shards tables across nodes for multi-tenant SaaS and real-time analytics. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. Licensing: Citus is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3); PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License). Citus is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than PostgreSQL (≤ 10 TB). Horizontal scaling is native in Citus and addon in PostgreSQL.

When should I choose Citus over PostgreSQL?

Choose Citus for multi-tenant B2B SaaS sharded by customer; real-time analytics dashboards over event data; and time-series and IoT ingestion with rollups. Choose PostgreSQL for general-purpose application backend, SaaS multi-tenant data and geospatial applications with PostGIS.

Is Citus or PostgreSQL more popular?

PostgreSQL ranks #1 on the WhichDB Score (93.2/100) and Citus ranks #144 (21.1/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Citus and PostgreSQL open source?

Yes. Citus is open source. License: GNU AGPL v3. Yes. PostgreSQL is open source. License: PostgreSQL License.