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PostgreSQL vs TigerBeetle

PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. TigerBeetle: Purpose-built financial transactions database: double-entry accounts and transfers at very high throughput.

key differences

  • PostgreSQL is primarily a relational database; TigerBeetle is ledger.
  • Horizontal scaling is addon in PostgreSQL and none in TigerBeetle.
  • Only PostgreSQL has joins, full-text search, vector search, geospatial, json.

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 tigerbeetle for

  • +Payment and wallet ledgers
  • +Real-time balance tracking for fintech and brokerages
  • +Usage metering and billing credits
  • +In-game currency and loyalty points

best at · Ledger, OLTP

PostgreSQLThe extensible, standards-first open-source relational database.
TigerBeetlePurpose-built financial transactions database: double-entry accounts and transfers at very high throughput.
overview
Primary model
Relational
Ledger
Also supports
Document, Spatial
–
Type
Database engine
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
TigerBeetle, Inc.
First release
1996
2020
Latest version
18.6 (Aug 13, 2026)
0.17.9 (Jul 6, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)PostgreSQL License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
93.2
19.2
Rank
#1
#172
GitHub stars
22.6K
17.3K
Stack Overflow questions
178.8K
–
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Medium (≤ 10 TB)
Horizontal scaling
Addon
None
Multi-region
Read replicas
None
ACID
Full
Full
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Strict
Architecture
Single node, Primary replica, Client server
Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
—
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
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
TigerBeetle client API (create_accounts, create_transfers, lookups, queries)
Client languages
C, Java, Python, JavaScript, Go, Rust, C#, Ruby
Go, Java, .NET, Node.js, Python, Rust
Best for
OLTP, Geo, Search, Content
Ledger, OLTP
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

PostgreSQL vs TigerBeetle: FAQ

What is the difference between PostgreSQL and TigerBeetle?

PostgreSQL: The extensible, standards-first open-source relational database. TigerBeetle: Purpose-built financial transactions database: double-entry accounts and transfers at very high throughput. PostgreSQL is primarily a relational database; TigerBeetle is ledger. Horizontal scaling is addon in PostgreSQL and none in TigerBeetle. Only PostgreSQL has joins, full-text search, vector search, geospatial, json.

When should I choose PostgreSQL over TigerBeetle?

Choose PostgreSQL for general-purpose application backend, SaaS multi-tenant data and geospatial applications with PostGIS. Choose TigerBeetle for payment and wallet ledgers; real-time balance tracking for fintech and brokerages; and usage metering and billing credits.

Is PostgreSQL or TigerBeetle more popular?

PostgreSQL ranks #1 on the WhichDB Score (93.2/100) and TigerBeetle ranks #172 (19.2/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are PostgreSQL and TigerBeetle open source?

Yes. PostgreSQL is open source. License: PostgreSQL License. Yes. TigerBeetle is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.