Microsoft SQL Server vs PostgreSQL vs SQLite

Overview

Microsoft SQL Server

Stacks21.3K

Followers15.5K

Votes540

PostgreSQL

Stacks103.1K

Followers83.9K

Votes3.6K

GitHub Stars19.0K

Forks5.2K

SQLite

Stacks19.9K

Followers15.2K

Votes535

Microsoft SQL Server vs PostgreSQL vs SQLite: What are the differences?

1. Data Types: Microsoft SQL Server offers a wide range of native data types, including spatial data types, while PostgreSQL and SQLite have a more limited selection. PostgreSQL supports advanced data types such as arrays, JSON, and Hstore, making it more versatile in handling complex data. SQLite, on the other hand, has a simplified type system with a limited set of data types.

2. Licensing: Microsoft SQL Server is a commercial database management system, requiring licensing fees for certain editions and features. In contrast, PostgreSQL is an open-source database, available for free with no licensing costs. SQLite is also open-source and is in the public domain, making it free for any use.

3. Extensibility: PostgreSQL supports procedural languages like PL/pgSQL, PL/Python, and PL/Perl, allowing users to write custom functions and trigger procedures directly in the database. Microsoft SQL Server also offers this functionality through Transact-SQL and CLR integration. SQLite, however, does not support stored procedures or user-defined functions in the traditional sense, limiting its extensibility.

4. Concurrency Control: Microsoft SQL Server provides robust support for concurrency control through features like locking mechanisms, isolation levels, and transaction management. PostgreSQL also offers similar capabilities with multi-version concurrency control (MVCC) and customizable isolation levels. SQLite, being a file-based database, has limited concurrency control and is best suited for single-user applications.

5. Performance Optimization: Microsoft SQL Server includes advanced performance optimization tools like the Query Optimizer and Index Tuning Wizard to enhance query execution efficiency. PostgreSQL offers similar optimization features with tools like EXPLAIN and the autovacuum daemon. SQLite, being a lightweight database, may not have as many performance tuning options compared to the other two databases.

6. Scalability: Microsoft SQL Server is known for its scalability with support for large datasets and high transaction volumes. PostgreSQL also boasts scalability with features like table partitioning and parallel querying. SQLite, however, is more suited for small to medium-sized applications due to its file-based nature and limited scalability options.

In Summary, the key differences between Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and SQLite lie in their data types, licensing models, extensibility, concurrency control mechanisms, performance optimization tools, and scalability features.

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Advice on Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite

Kyle

Web Application Developer at Redacted DevWorks

Dec 3, 2019

Decidedon

PostGIS

While there's been some very clever techniques that has allowed non-natively supported geo querying to be performed, it is incredibly slow in the long game and error prone at best.

MySQL finally introduced it's own GEO functions and special indexing operations for GIS type data. I prototyped with this, as MySQL is the most familiar database to me. But no matter what I did with it, how much tuning i'd give it, how much I played with it, the results would come back inconsistent.

It was very disappointing.

I figured, at this point, that SQL Server, being an enterprise solution authored by one of the biggest worldwide software developers in the world, Microsoft, might contain some decent GIS in it.

I was very disappointed.

Postgres is a Database solution i'm still getting familiar with, but I noticed it had no built in support for GIS. So I hilariously didn't pay it too much attention. That was until I stumbled upon PostGIS and my world changed forever.

449k views449k

Comments

George

Student

Mar 18, 2020

Needs adviceon

PostgreSQL

Python

Django

Hello everyone,

Well, I want to build a large-scale project, but I do not know which ORDBMS to choose. The app should handle real-time operations, not chatting, but things like future scheduling or reminders. It should be also really secure, fast and easy to use. And last but not least, should I use them both. I mean PostgreSQL with Python / Django and MongoDB with Node.js? Or would it be better to use PostgreSQL with Node.js?

*The project is going to use React for the front-end and GraphQL is going to be used for the API.

Thank you all. Any answer or advice would be really helpful!

620k views620k

Comments

Navraj

CEO at SuPragma

Apr 16, 2020

Needs adviceon

MySQL

PostgreSQL

I asked my last question incorrectly. Rephrasing it here.

I am looking for the most secure open source database for my project I'm starting: https://github.com/SuPragma/SuPragma/wiki

Which database is more secure? MySQL or PostgreSQL? Are there others I should be considering? Is it possible to change the encryption keys dynamically?

Thanks,

Raj

401k views401k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Microsoft SQL Server	PostgreSQL	SQLite
Microsoft® SQL Server is a database management and analysis system for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.	PostgreSQL is an advanced object-relational database management system that supports an extended subset of the SQL standard, including transactions, foreign keys, subqueries, triggers, user-defined types and functions.	SQLite is an embedded SQL database engine. Unlike most other SQL databases, SQLite does not have a separate server process. SQLite reads and writes directly to ordinary disk files. A complete SQL database with multiple tables, indices, triggers, and views, is contained in a single disk file.
Statistics
GitHub Stars -	GitHub Stars 19.0K	GitHub Stars -
GitHub Forks -	GitHub Forks 5.2K	GitHub Forks -
Stacks 21.3K	Stacks 103.1K	Stacks 19.9K
Followers 15.5K	Followers 83.9K	Followers 15.2K
Votes 540	Votes 3.6K	Votes 535
Pros & Cons
Pros 139 Reliable and easy to use 101 High performance 95 Great with .net 65 Works well with .net 56 Easy to maintain Cons 4 Expensive Licensing 2 Microsoft 1 The maximum number of connections is only 14000 connect 1 Allwayon can loose data in asycronious mode 1 Data pages is only 8k	Pros 765 Relational database 511 High availability 439 Enterprise class database 383 Sql 304 Sql + nosql Cons 10 Table/index bloatings	Pros 163 Lightweight 135 Portable 122 Simple 81 Sql 29 Preinstalled on iOS and Android Cons 2 Not for multi-process of multithreaded apps 1 Needs different binaries for each platform

What are some alternatives to Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, SQLite?

MongoDB

MongoDB stores data in JSON-like documents that can vary in structure, offering a dynamic, flexible schema. MongoDB was also designed for high availability and scalability, with built-in replication and auto-sharding.

MySQL

The MySQL software delivers a very fast, multi-threaded, multi-user, and robust SQL (Structured Query Language) database server. MySQL Server is intended for mission-critical, heavy-load production systems as well as for embedding into mass-deployed software.

Cassandra

Partitioning means that Cassandra can distribute your data across multiple machines in an application-transparent matter. Cassandra will automatically repartition as machines are added and removed from the cluster. Row store means that like relational databases, Cassandra organizes data by rows and columns. The Cassandra Query Language (CQL) is a close relative of SQL.

Memcached

Memcached is an in-memory key-value store for small chunks of arbitrary data (strings, objects) from results of database calls, API calls, or page rendering.

MariaDB

Started by core members of the original MySQL team, MariaDB actively works with outside developers to deliver the most featureful, stable, and sanely licensed open SQL server in the industry. MariaDB is designed as a drop-in replacement of MySQL(R) with more features, new storage engines, fewer bugs, and better performance.

RethinkDB

RethinkDB is built to store JSON documents, and scale to multiple machines with very little effort. It has a pleasant query language that supports really useful queries like table joins and group by, and is easy to setup and learn.

ArangoDB

A distributed free and open-source database with a flexible data model for documents, graphs, and key-values. Build high performance applications using a convenient SQL-like query language or JavaScript extensions.

InfluxDB

InfluxDB is a scalable datastore for metrics, events, and real-time analytics. It has a built-in HTTP API so you don't have to write any server side code to get up and running. InfluxDB is designed to be scalable, simple to install and manage, and fast to get data in and out.

CouchDB

Apache CouchDB is a database that uses JSON for documents, JavaScript for MapReduce indexes, and regular HTTP for its API. CouchDB is a database that completely embraces the web. Store your data with JSON documents. Access your documents and query your indexes with your web browser, via HTTP. Index, combine, and transform your documents with JavaScript.

Oracle

Oracle Database is an RDBMS. An RDBMS that implements object-oriented features such as user-defined types, inheritance, and polymorphism is called an object-relational database management system (ORDBMS). Oracle Database has extended the relational model to an object-relational model, making it possible to store complex business models in a relational database.