PostgreSQL vs. Microsoft SQL Server

PostgreSQL

336 Reviews and Ratings

Microsoft SQL Server

1,630 Reviews and Ratings

Overview
Product	Rating	Most Used By	Product Summary	Starting Price
PostgreSQL	Score8.4 out of 10	N/A	PostgreSQL (alternately Postgres) is a free and open source object-relational database system boasting over 30 years of active development, reliability, feature robustness, and performance. It supports SQL and is designed to support various workloads flexibly.	N/A
Microsoft SQL Server	Score8.8 out of 10	N/A	Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database.	$1,418 Per License

Pricing

PostgreSQL

Microsoft SQL Server

No answers on this topic

Subscription: $1,418.00
Per License
Enterprise: $13,748.00
Per License

Pricing Offerings
PostgreSQL	Microsoft SQL Server
Free Trial
No	No
Free/Freemium Version
No	No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No	No

No setup fee

No setup fee

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Community Pulse
Key User Insights
	PostgreSQL	Microsoft SQL Server
Considered Both Products	PostgreSQL Global Development Group Verified User Chose PostgreSQL PostgreSQL has more features than MySQL, and it has better documentation. Microsoft SQL Server is more complicated to set up and administer, and its syntax is not as easy to write as PLPGSQL. Moreover, the built-in functions in PostgreSQL are better than what's on offer from MS … Incentivized Helpful? Richard Rout Software Developer in Information Technology at Blink Lending (Computer Software, 11-50 employees) Chose PostgreSQL They each have their pros and cons. MySQL is probably the other popular "free" alternative in this space, but it's not as popular or have as much community support as PostgreSQL. Microsoft SQL Server is amazing in the microsoft tech stack, but it's pretty useless and provides … Incentivized Helpful? Venkateswar Reddy Thatikonda Senior Software Engineer in Engineering at GGK Tech (Hospital & Health Care, 501-1000 employees) Chose PostgreSQL I have used MS SQL and MySQL. Microsoft SQL Server is a good option for small applications in the commercial space. PostgreSQL can be more compared with Oracle in the feature set. Incentivized Helpful? Nikhil Karkare Business Intelligence Analyst/Developer in Information Technology at CD-adapco (Computer Software, 201-500 employees) Chose PostgreSQL I found PostgreSQL better than MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server but Redshift steals the show as I am a BI guy who sees everything from an analytics point of view. PostgreSQL is great if you have less data for analytics or if you are using it to store the operational data. Incentivized Helpful? vijay bhopalwani Software Engineer L3 in Engineering at ReliableSoft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - India (Computer Software, 51-200 employees) Chose PostgreSQL First It's open source and it's cost-effective compared to other databases.PostgreSQL can be easily integrated with numerous platforms. It is well known and appreciated so relying on it as our system database can be easily accepted by our customers. And if your developing a … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose PostgreSQL For our use cases, PostgreSQL is just as feature rich as other options, costs less, and is simple to get up and running. There is also a plethora of documentation to support it which makes it a great option for a small scale startup without needing high levels of expertise to … Incentivized Helpful? Aurpa Fiza Software Application Developer in Customer Service at Mapple Ltd. (Computer Software, 11-50 employees) Chose PostgreSQL In this case, Postgres is preferred because it handles large data sets and requires fewer hardware resources than its competitor, MySQL. Compared to PostgreSQL, Microsoft products are excellent, but the installation process for MS SQL is lengthy. PostgreSQL has an advantage … Incentivized Helpful? Moris Mendez Ing. de Sistemas Informaticos in Legal at Corte Suprema de Justicia (Government Administration, 5001-10,000 employees) Chose PostgreSQL Although the competition between the different databases is increasingly aggressive in the sense that they provide many improvements, new functionalities, compatibility with complementary components or environments, in some cases it requires that it be followed within the same … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose PostgreSQL A free corporate professional product. Who does not want to have such a thing, we hesitated because we did not know the product before and frankly we did not want it at first. But when we give it a chance, it has been running smoothly for years. Incentivized Helpful? Adolfo Maltez Administrador de Servidores in Information Technology at Ministerio de Salud de El Salvador (Hospital & Health Care, 10,001+ employees) Chose PostgreSQL Its main characteristic is the integrity of the data. In addition, being free software, it has no costs associated with its license, which allows the number of installations to be scaled without problems. The technical staff quickly learns about its installation, configuration … Incentivized Helpful? Arik Ben-Dov Founder & CEO in Research & Development at Highnet Systems (Computer Software, 1-10 employees) Chose PostgreSQL Both Oracle and MS-SQL database option fell when we evaluated the effect on our overall solution cost to our customers. customer examine the overall cost of the solution they buy, selecting Oracle or MS-SQL would leave less money in our pockets. We are Linux based solutions and … Incentivized Helpful? Anson Abraham Data Czar in Engineering at Envisagenics, Inc. (Biotechnology, 11-50 employees) Chose PostgreSQL PostgrPostgreSQL as a transaction db engine against oracle and sql server works well. TPM wise compared to MySQL and MariaDB, on an evan scale. SQL function supports, far outweighs compared to MySQL and MariaDB. PG Extensions allow for flexibiltity and scalability. Allows … Incentivized Helpful? Josh Kramer Senior Software Engineer in Research & Development at Octiv (Computer Software, 51-200 employees) Chose PostgreSQL I think Postgres stacks up great against all modern database solutions and has continued to be a trend leader in this space. Incentivized Helpful? Javier Blanque Technology Risk and Information Assets Manager in Information Technology at Banco Interfinanzas S.A. (Banking, 51-200 employees) Chose PostgreSQL SQL Server is an excellent product from Microsoft, it is a derivative from Sybase which originally developed the SQL Server form Unix and Linux, and Microsoft purchased it to migrate the DBMS to Windows Server. But the cycle comes full circle, and now Microsoft recommends its … Incentivized Helpful? Balázs Kiss Software Developer in Engineering at Webvalto Ltd. (Banking, 51-200 employees) Chose PostgreSQL It's a viable alternative, with a rich feature set and a reliable system. PostgreSQL is one of the best RDBMS's currently on the market in 2020, it serves just as well as a starter, PoC DB for any software idea as a final, highly valuable database solution for big systems. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose PostgreSQL Faster than MySQL/MariaDB and obviously cheaper than Microsoft. Performance is amazing. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose PostgreSQL PostgreSQL is rich in features and free to use which is perfect for our organization. PostgreSQL is our goto RDBMS if we want to create an application or services backend with the database if there's no specific requirement. For example for the most important and largest … Incentivized Helpful? Arthur Zubarev Senior Data Platform Consultant in Information Technology at Sermo (Health, Wellness and Fitness, 51-200 employees) Chose PostgreSQL PostgreSQL beats every other RDBMS offering for being truly Open Source. Since it does not belong to a specific company it is poised to remain as such for a long time to come. PostgreSQL has a huge user base and active community. The releases are coming out often with … Incentivized Helpful? Aaron Smith Senior Software Developer in Information Technology at TimeTrak Systems, Inc. (Computer Software, 11-50 employees) Chose PostgreSQL PostgreSQL is very similar to both MySQL and Microsoft's SQL Server. With no licensing costs, it's clearly a win against SQL Server, plus it can be run on either Linux or Windows. MySQL and PostgreSQL also have many similarities, however, PostgreSQL offers many more options for … Incentivized Helpful? Vishal Arora Technical Project Manager in Information Technology at Unisys (Utilities, 201-500 employees) Chose PostgreSQL None. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose PostgreSQL As I said, Postgres and MySQL are open source which is important for small start ups. Oracle is EXPENSIVE :) Postgres is faster than MySQL (Big factor) MySQL supports replication which makes it more scalable. Incentivized Helpful? Hugo Pineda Software Engineer in Information Technology at CareLinx (Hospital & Health Care, 11-50 employees) Chose PostgreSQL MySQL is a good fit for websites and blogs, but for business oriented software PostgreSQL is richer in features. Oracle and MS SQL Server are so expensive so they're not a choice for startups and small companies. Incentivized Helpful?	Microsoft Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is cheaper than Oracle, so it is the best choice for us. But our data is growing, we are searching for other technologies. Maybe Oracle, DB2, or PostgreSQL. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is more secure and offers more robustness for our data. SQL Server is also great because of its integration with Microsoft Visual Studio. It's also great because developers can build reports and stuff like that from scratch. It's faster compared to PostgreSQ… Incentivized Helpful? Grant Fritchey Product Evangelist in Information Technology at Redgate Software (Information Technology and Services, 201-500 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server When talking about structured storage, the big three currently are SQL Server, MySQL and Oracle. You can also toss in PostgreSQL into the mix. From a straight forward relational storage stand point, any of these tools will work, and work well. However, SQL Server is superior in … Incentivized Helpful? Steve Jones Editor in Marketing at Redgate Software (Computer Software, 201-500 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server I have been a SQL Server focused professional for over 20 years, so SQL Server is my first choice. I have experience and comfort, and the ability to get up to speed quickly. Oracle has been too expensive, though I think it has performed similar to SQL Server in the applications … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server UI of the Microsoft SQL Server makes it easy to use and learn. The better technical support and documentation give it an extra edge over other databases. The Microsoft ecosystem provides additional advantages, as we can seamlessly use other Microsoft products, such as Power … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is faster and more compatible, but it does cost more, so you're paying for those features. I use the others in many other places where critical transaction processing time and compatibility aren't of great concern. Incentivized Helpful? Ivan Sytchev Supervisor, Information Technology in Information Technology at Real Estate Council of Ontario (Non-Profit Organization Management, 51-200 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server Native to Windows and being required for other MS apps puts it above others in terms of usage. If we were not heavily dependent on Microsoft applications or OS, we might have considered other database solutions. It's an expensive solutions but it is a solid reliable solution. … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server For a single vendor solution, SQL Server is the best choice in my opinion. Most of the other solutions do not offer the full range of products in a single package. Also, for a largely Microsoft shop, there are additional integrations which increase the value proposition. … Incentivized Helpful? Armando Peña Programmer Analyst in Information Technology at Referencia Laboratorio Clínico (Health, Wellness and Fitness, 1001-5000 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is a DBMS that can be used in any situation, from small projects to big ones, and the latest versions now can be used in several OS platforms. It is a great product with many features over its competitors. It's a mature and robust product. It's easy and … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server Compared to free versions, SQL Server just blows away the free/open-source software. Things just run faster, and better, and at less overhead. This is truer and truer with the later versions. Microsoft just invests so much into research and development into their product. And … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server MS SQL Server is easier to use compared to other RDBMS which really speeds up development time and relatively easier to find a problem when it happens as well. It's also pretty quick to run a query, especially in a large table make it pretty convenient if we need to monitor the … Incentivized Helpful? Akshaya Bhardwaj Consultant in Information Technology at WNS Global Services (Outsourcing/Offshoring, 10,001+ employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server Lots of internet communities and the data processing speed is very high. It is very cost-effective and easy to learn. Incentivized Helpful? Andy Erickson Senior Consultant in Professional Services at Navigant (Utilities, 1001-5000 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server SQL Server is a full feature robust platform with relatively mature coding standards. Interactivity with other Microsoft products enhances my workflow with minimal installation headaches. In contrast, easier licensing for MySQL and SQLite gives them a definite advantage, … Incentivized Helpful? Luca Campanelli Database Administrator in Information Technology at Intralot Italia S.p.A. (Gambling & Casinos, 51-200 employees) Chose Microsoft SQL Server I started working with databases many years ago with Access, which allows you to create relational database and provide an old-fashioned desktop interface. I had a look at Oracle but I never had the opportunity to get to the bottom (also because of the budget that had the … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Chose Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server providers a more user friendly experience when it comes to Microsoft SQL Server components management via its unique SQL Server management Studio. It is also a production ready, resilient, highly available and tested database management system (DBMS). The … Incentivized Helpful?
	Would buy again
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Delivers good value for the price
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Happy with the feature set
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Lived up to sales and marketing promises
	No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic
	Implementation went as expected
No answers on this topic	No answers on this topic

TrustRadius Insights
	PostgreSQL	Microsoft SQL Server
Highlights	Research Team Insight Published June 12, 2020 PostgreSQL vs Microsoft SQL Server are both relational databases designed to help businesses store data in a structured manner for querying. PostgreSQL is an open-source database software, meaning businesses can access its source code for free. Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database software that is most popular with mid-sized and large enterprises. PostgreSQL is used by businesses of all sizes, though it is more popular with smaller businesses due to its open-source nature. Features PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server both include essential relational database features such as data recovery, but they also have a few standout features that set them apart from each other. PostgreSQL supports a wide variety of operating systems including Windows, Linux, OS X, and Unix. Additionally, PostgreSQL is a highly customizable relational database as its open source nature allows skilled development teams to contribute to the code on their own. Since PostgreSQL is open source, it is also supported by many community developers, so bugs are fixed quickly. Microsoft SQL Server provides excellent features for Windows ecosystems such as support for C# and Visual Basic. Additionally, Microsoft SQL Server allows for the automated updating of views as tables change, so users can quickly see the results of data changes. SQL Server also provides support from the vendor, so businesses that need assistance with implementation may appreciate Microsoft support. Limitations PostgreSQL and Microsoft SQL Server both allow for the storage of structured data, but they also have a few limitations that are important to consider. PostgreSQL supports a wide variety of operating systems, but it doesn’t support languages such as C# and Visual Basic. Businesses using the Windows operating system and other Microsoft technologies may prefer Microsoft SQL Server. Additionally, PostgreSQL has a lot of community produced documentation, but since it is open source there is no vendor support. Businesses looking for support from a vendor may prefer proprietary database solutions. Microsoft SQL Server supports Windows and Linux, but doesn’t have support for other operating systems. Businesses running servers on OS X and Unix will need to consider other options. Additionally, While Microsoft SQL Server offers vendor support, it isn’t as customizable as PostgreSQL. If your organization has niche feature needs and a skilled development team, they can benefit from open source software like PostgreSQL. Pricing PostgreSQL is open source, so its source code is available free of charge. Many third party organizations offer support and hosting for PostgreSQL with pricing dependent on the vendor. Microsoft SQL Server pricing is dependent on the number of cores and users. A free version exists for small amounts of data, but business licenses start at $931.00.

User Ratings
	PostgreSQL	Microsoft SQL Server
Likelihood to Recommend	9.1 (54 ratings)	7.9 (99 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew	9.0 (1 ratings)	9.0 (6 ratings)
Usability	9.1 (7 ratings)	7.2 (13 ratings)
Availability	9.0 (1 ratings)	10.0 (1 ratings)
Performance	7.0 (1 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Support Rating	9.3 (7 ratings)	7.9 (25 ratings)
In-Person Training	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Online Training	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Implementation Rating	9.0 (1 ratings)	9.0 (5 ratings)
Configurability	- (0 ratings)	10.0 (1 ratings)
Ease of integration	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Product Scalability	8.0 (1 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale	- (0 ratings)	9.0 (1 ratings)