ElectricSQL
activeby Electric DB (part of Databricks) · since 2023 · also known as Electric, Electric Sync
Read-path sync engine that streams partial replicas of Postgres to clients over plain HTTP.
Overview
Electric is an open-source sync service that sits next to PostgreSQL, consumes logical replication and streams subsets of tables (shapes) to clients over HTTP, so CDNs can cache and fan out the data. Clients get a live, incrementally updated copy in memory, in TanStack DB or in PGlite. Writes go back through your own API, which keeps authorization and business logic in your backend. After the 2024 rewrite it is simpler and more scalable than the original CRDT-based ElectricSQL. In August 2026 the team joined Databricks (Neon) and began winding down Electric Cloud, while the Apache-2.0 sync engine stays open source.
Strengths & trade-offs
Strengths
- +Works with an existing Postgres; no schema rewrite or new primary database
- +Plain HTTP shape streams cache in CDNs and scale to many concurrent clients
- +Writes stay in your API, so auth and validation logic stay where they are
- +Pairs with PGlite and TanStack DB for a full local Postgres in the browser
Trade-offs
- −Read-path only; optimistic writes and conflict handling are your job
- −Hosted Electric Cloud is winding down, so you must self-host
- −Future roadmap now depends on Databricks/Neon priorities
- −Shape filters are limited compared with arbitrary SQL
Great for
- +Real-time dashboards fed from Postgres
- +Local-first web apps with a Postgres backend
- +Streaming per-user data subsets to many clients
Think twice for
- −Apps needing turnkey bidirectional offline writes
- −Non-Postgres backends
- −Teams that want a fully managed sync service
Capabilities
Native or official first-party support · 3 of 25 tracked
Scale & consistency
- Comfortable data size
- Medium · ≤ 10 TB
- Horizontal scaling
- Manual
- Multi-region
- Read replicas
- Transactions
- Limited ACID
- Consistency
- Causal, Eventual
- Schema
- Strict
- Architecture
- Client server
- Query languages
- Shape definitions (table + SQL WHERE clause)
Shape logs are served over HTTP and can be fanned out through CDNs; write throughput is bounded by the source Postgres.
Deployment
Ecosystem
Alternatives to ElectricSQL
Sync engine that keeps on-device SQLite in sync with Postgres, MongoDB, MySQL or SQL Server.
electricsql vs powersync →Query-driven sync engine: clients run ZQL locally against a Postgres-backed cache for instant UIs.
electricsql vs rocicorp-zero →Real PostgreSQL compiled to WebAssembly: an embeddable Postgres for browsers, Node, Bun and Deno.
electricsql vs pglite →Open-source Postgres backend platform: database, auth, storage, realtime and edge functions in one project.
electricsql vs supabase →Client-side sync framework for instant web UIs; now free, open source and in maintenance mode.
electricsql vs replicache →Realtime client-side database with relational queries, auth and permissions; cloud sunsets in 2027.
electricsql vs instantdb →ElectricSQL FAQ
What is ElectricSQL?
ElectricSQL is a relational database by Electric DB (part of Databricks), first released in 2023. Electric is an open-source sync service that sits next to PostgreSQL, consumes logical replication and streams subsets of tables (shapes) to clients over HTTP, so CDNs can cache and fan out the data. Clients get a live, incrementally updated copy in memory, in TanStack DB or in PGlite. Writes go back through your own API, which keeps authorization and business logic in your backend. After the 2024 rewrite it is simpler and more scalable than the original CRDT-based ElectricSQL. In August 2026 the team joined Databricks (Neon) and began winding down Electric Cloud, while the Apache-2.0 sync engine stays open source.
Is ElectricSQL open source?
Yes. ElectricSQL is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.
Does ElectricSQL support ACID transactions?
Partly. ElectricSQL offers limited ACID guarantees (for example, single-record or single-partition transactions), with causal, eventual consistency.
Does ElectricSQL scale horizontally?
ElectricSQL has no built-in sharding; scaling out means partitioning data in your application. It is comfortable at medium scale (≤ 10 TB). It supports cross-region read replicas.
How can I run ElectricSQL?
You can self-host it.
What is ElectricSQL best for?
ElectricSQL is a strong fit for real-time dashboards fed from Postgres, local-first web apps with a Postgres backend and streaming per-user data subsets to many clients. Think twice for apps needing turnkey bidirectional offline writes.
What are the best alternatives to ElectricSQL?
Common alternatives to ElectricSQL include PowerSync, Zero (Rocicorp), PGlite, Supabase and Replicache. The right choice depends on your workload, scale and hosting; WhichDB's smart match ranks them against your requirements.
How popular is ElectricSQL?
ElectricSQL ranks #85 of 844 databases on the WhichDB Score (30.4/100), and #25 among relational databases. The score combines public adoption signals such as package downloads, GitHub activity, job posts and developer discussion.