vs

PGMQ vs PostgreSQL

PGMQ: An SQS-style message queue implemented as a lightweight Postgres extension. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.

key differences

  • PostgreSQL is built for larger datasets (≤ 10 TB) than PGMQ (≤ 100 GB).
  • Horizontal scaling is none in PGMQ and addon in PostgreSQL.
  • Only PostgreSQL has joins, secondary indexes, full-text search, vector search, geospatial.

choose pgmq for

  • +Background job queues for Postgres-backed apps
  • +Outbox pattern without a separate broker
  • +Lightweight task queues on Supabase

best at · Queue

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
PGMQ community (originally Tembo)
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
First release
2023
1996
Latest version
1.13.1 (Oct 20, 2026)
18.6 (Aug 13, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
21.1
93.2
Rank
#145
#1
GitHub stars
5.4K
22.6K
Stack Overflow questions
–
178.8K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
None
Addon
Multi-region
None
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, Google Cloud, 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
SQL, PL/pgSQL
Client languages
Python, Rust, JavaScript, Go, Java, C#, Elixir
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Best for
Queue
OLTP, Geo, Search, Content

PGMQ vs PostgreSQL: FAQ

What is the difference between PGMQ and PostgreSQL?

PGMQ: An SQS-style message queue implemented as a lightweight Postgres extension. PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. PostgreSQL is built for larger datasets (≤ 10 TB) than PGMQ (≤ 100 GB). Horizontal scaling is none in PGMQ and addon in PostgreSQL. Only PostgreSQL has joins, secondary indexes, full-text search, vector search, geospatial.

When should I choose PGMQ over PostgreSQL?

Choose PGMQ for background job queues for Postgres-backed apps, outbox pattern without a separate broker and lightweight task queues on Supabase. Choose PostgreSQL for general-purpose application backend, SaaS multi-tenant data and geospatial applications with PostGIS.

Is PGMQ or PostgreSQL more popular?

PostgreSQL ranks #1 on the WhichDB Score (93.2/100) and PGMQ ranks #145 (21.1/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are PGMQ and PostgreSQL open source?

Yes. PGMQ is open source. License: PostgreSQL License. Yes. PostgreSQL is open source. License: PostgreSQL License.