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PostgreSQL vs RavenDB

PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. RavenDB: ACID document database for .NET and beyond, with auto-indexing, Corax search and multi-master replication.

key differences

  • PostgreSQL is primarily a relational database; RavenDB is document.
  • Licensing: PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License); RavenDB is open source (copyleft) (AGPL-3.0 or commercial licence).
  • Horizontal scaling is addon in PostgreSQL and native in RavenDB.
  • Only PostgreSQL has joins, triggers, stored procedures.
  • Only RavenDB has ttl / expiry, encryption at rest, time travel.
  • RavenDB can run embedded in your application process.

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

choose ravendb for

  • +.NET business applications and line-of-business systems
  • +Embedded databases in desktop or edge applications
  • +Search-heavy catalogs and content
  • +Multi-site deployments needing offline-tolerant replication

best at · OLTP, Search, Vector search

PostgreSQLThe extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.
RavenDBACID document database for .NET and beyond, with auto-indexing, Corax search and multi-master replication.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Document
Also supports
Document, Spatial
Search Engine, Time-Series, Vector, Spatial
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
RavenDB Ltd. (Hibernating Rhinos)
First release
1996
2010
Latest version
18.6 (Aug 13, 2026)
7.2.7 (Oct 20, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Open source (copyleft)AGPL-3.0 or commercial licence
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
93.2
30.9
Rank
#1
#84
GitHub stars
22.6K
4K
Stack Overflow questions
178.8K
2.5K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
Native
Multi-region
Read replicas
Active active
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong, Eventual
Schema
Strict
Schemaless
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
Distributed, Multi primary, Embedded, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
✓
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
✓
Edge
—
—
Clouds
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, Oracle Cloud, IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud
AWS, Google Cloud, Azure
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
RQL (Raven Query Language), LINQ
Client languages
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, Go, PHP, Ruby
Best for
OLTP, Geo, Search, Content
OLTP, Search, Vector search, Time-series
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

PostgreSQL vs RavenDB: FAQ

What is the difference between PostgreSQL and RavenDB?

PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. RavenDB: ACID document database for .NET and beyond, with auto-indexing, Corax search and multi-master replication. PostgreSQL is primarily a relational database; RavenDB is document. Licensing: PostgreSQL is open source (permissive) (PostgreSQL License); RavenDB is open source (copyleft) (AGPL-3.0 or commercial licence). Horizontal scaling is addon in PostgreSQL and native in RavenDB.

When should I choose PostgreSQL over RavenDB?

Choose PostgreSQL for general-purpose application backend, SaaS multi-tenant data and geospatial applications with PostGIS. Choose RavenDB for .NET business applications and line-of-business systems; embedded databases in desktop or edge applications; and search-heavy catalogs and content.

Is PostgreSQL or RavenDB more popular?

PostgreSQL ranks #1 on the WhichDB Score (93.2/100) and RavenDB ranks #84 (30.9/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are PostgreSQL and RavenDB open source?

Yes. PostgreSQL is open source. License: PostgreSQL License. Yes. RavenDB is open source. License: AGPL-3.0 or commercial licence.