whichdb
vs

ParadeDB vs PostgreSQL

ParadeDB: Elasticsearch-quality BM25 search and fast aggregations inside Postgres via the pg_search extension. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.

key differences

  • ParadeDB is primarily a search engine database; PostgreSQL is relational.
  • Licensing: ParadeDB is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3 (Community); commercial license for Enterprise); PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License).
  • Horizontal scaling is none in ParadeDB and addon in PostgreSQL.
  • Only ParadeDB has columnar storage.
  • Only PostgreSQL has geospatial.

choose paradedb for

  • +Search inside a Postgres-backed SaaS app
  • +Hybrid search for RAG next to relational data
  • +Faceted catalog and marketplace search
  • +Replacing Elasticsearch + ETL with one database

best at · Search, Vector search, RAG

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

ParadeDBElasticsearch-quality BM25 search and fast aggregations inside Postgres via the pg_search extension.
PostgreSQLThe extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.
overview
Primary model
Search Engine
Relational
Also supports
Relational, Vector
Document, Spatial
Type
Extension
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
ParadeDB, Inc.
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
First release
2023
1996
Latest version
0.26.3 (Oct 22, 2026)
18.6 (Aug 13, 2026)
License
Open source (copyleft)GNU AGPL v3 (Community); commercial license for Enterprise
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
25.1
93.2
Rank
#122
#1
GitHub stars
9.5K
22.6K
Stack Overflow questions
–
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
Railway, Render, Fly.io, DigitalOcean
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
SQL, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
Any PostgreSQL driver
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Best for
Search, Vector search, RAG, Real-time analytics
OLTP, Geo, Search, Content
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

ParadeDB vs PostgreSQL: FAQ

What is the difference between ParadeDB and PostgreSQL?

ParadeDB: Elasticsearch-quality BM25 search and fast aggregations inside Postgres via the pg_search extension. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. ParadeDB is primarily a search engine database; PostgreSQL is relational. Licensing: ParadeDB is open source (copyleft) (GNU AGPL v3 (Community); commercial license for Enterprise); PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License). Horizontal scaling is none in ParadeDB and addon in PostgreSQL.

When should I choose ParadeDB over PostgreSQL?

Choose ParadeDB for search inside a Postgres-backed SaaS app; hybrid search for RAG next to relational data; and faceted catalog and marketplace search. Choose PostgreSQL for general-purpose application backend, SaaS multi-tenant data and geospatial applications with PostGIS.

Is ParadeDB or PostgreSQL more popular?

PostgreSQL ranks #1 on the WhichDB Score (93.2/100) and ParadeDB ranks #122 (25.1/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are ParadeDB and PostgreSQL open source?

Yes. ParadeDB is open source. License: GNU AGPL v3 (Community); commercial license for Enterprise. Yes. PostgreSQL is open source. License: PostgreSQL License.