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PostGIS vs rasdaman

PostGIS: The standard spatial extension for PostgreSQL: geometry, geography, rasters and topology in SQL. rasdaman: Array database for massive multidimensional rasters, with SQL-style queries and OGC WCPS services.

key differences

  • PostGIS is primarily a spatial database; rasdaman is array / scientific.
  • rasdaman is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than PostGIS (≤ 10 TB).
  • Only PostGIS has joins, secondary indexes, json, triggers, stored procedures.
  • Only rasdaman has compression.

choose postgis for

  • +Store locators and proximity search
  • +Fleet tracking and logistics routing
  • +Land, utility and municipal GIS
  • +Vector tile generation for web maps

best at · Geo, OLTP, OLAP

choose rasdaman for

  • +Earth observation datacube services
  • +Climate and weather model output analysis
  • +Serving rasters via OGC WCS/WCPS

best at · Scientific, Geo, OLAP

PostGISThe standard spatial extension for PostgreSQL: geometry, geography, rasters and topology in SQL.
rasdamanArray database for massive multidimensional rasters, with SQL-style queries and OGC WCPS services.
overview
Primary model
Spatial
Array / Scientific
Also supports
Relational
Spatial
Type
Extension
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
PostGIS Project Steering Committee (OSGeo)
rasdaman GmbH (with Constructor University)
First release
2001
1996
Latest version
3.6.4 (Jun 8, 2026)
–
License
Open source (copyleft)GNU GPL v2.0
Open source (copyleft)GPL-3.0 server / LGPL-3.0 clients (community); proprietary enterprise
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
47.5
3.9
Rank
#32
#423
GitHub stars
2.3K
–
Stack Overflow questions
4.7K
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
Addon
Multi-region
Read replicas
None
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
Client server, Distributed
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, Aiven, Heroku
–
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
rasql, OGC WCPS
Client languages
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
C++, Java, Python
Best for
Geo, OLTP, OLAP
Scientific, Geo, OLAP
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

PostGIS vs rasdaman: FAQ

What is the difference between PostGIS and rasdaman?

PostGIS: The standard spatial extension for PostgreSQL: geometry, geography, rasters and topology in SQL. rasdaman: Array database for massive multidimensional rasters, with SQL-style queries and OGC WCPS services. PostGIS is primarily a spatial database; rasdaman is array / scientific. rasdaman is built for larger datasets (≤ 1 PB) than PostGIS (≤ 10 TB). Only PostGIS has joins, secondary indexes, json, triggers, stored procedures.

When should I choose PostGIS over rasdaman?

Choose PostGIS for store locators and proximity search; fleet tracking and logistics routing; and land, utility and municipal GIS. Choose rasdaman for earth observation datacube services; climate and weather model output analysis; and serving rasters via OGC WCS/WCPS.

Is PostGIS or rasdaman more popular?

PostGIS ranks #32 on the WhichDB Score (47.5/100) and rasdaman ranks #423 (3.9/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are PostGIS and rasdaman open source?

Yes. PostGIS is open source. License: GNU GPL v2.0. Yes. rasdaman is open source. License: GPL-3.0 server / LGPL-3.0 clients (community); proprietary enterprise.