Difference between Oracle and PostgreSQL

Introduction

Oracle is a product of Oracle Corporation that offers a variety of cloud and service-based applications or platforms, whereas PostgreSQL, also known as Postgres, is a relational database management system developed as an open-source application by the PostgreSQL Global Development Group Regents of the University of California. In terms of versioning, PostgreSQL releases new versions regularly to add or update new features to keep up with changing technological standards in the market, whereas Oracle releases the most recent versions with enhanced tool functionality. This article covers detailed knowledge of Oracle and PostgreSQL and their differences.

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What is Oracle?

Oracle is a major RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) vendor in the IT market. Oracle databases are also known as Oracle DBs or Oracle marketed by Oracle. Lawrence Ellison created the Oracle database in 1977. Oracle database is available in several editions, including Enterprise, Standard, Express, and Oracle Lite. Oracle database is available on major platforms such as Windows, UNIX, Linux, and macOS. Microsoft SQL Server is the Oracle database’s main competitor.

What is PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL was made open source in 1996.  It is compatible with major platforms such as UNIX, macOS, Windows, and Linux. It supports video, text, audio, and images, programming interfaces for various languages such as C/C++, Java, Python, Perl, and others, and open database connectivity.

Key Differences between PostgreSQL and Oracle

The main difference between PostgreSQL and Oracle database management systems is that PostgreSQL is an open-source database, whereas Oracle is a closed database system. PostgreSQL is a free relational object-oriented database management system created by volunteer developers worldwide. Oracle is a commercially licensed relational database management system.

Both databases use concepts like schemas, tablespaces, and indices but differ in areas like replication and support. Let’s look at how these two database systems handle critical operations.

• Functionality

PostgreSQL

• High availability
• Four levels of transactions: Read Uncommitted, Read Committed, Repeatable Read, Serializable
• ACID-compliant

Oracle

• High availability
• Higher transactions per second
• More functional than PostgreSQL, but these functions come at a price premium
• ACID-compliant

• Scalability

PostgreSQL

• Due to its open-source nature, it is more scalable
• Databases can handle any amount of data
• Free expansion is possible with cluster-based storage solutions
• Maintain integrity during scalability operations using WAL files, limited to 16 MB

Oracle

• Also, scalability operations require more infrastructure investment because the Standard edition only has four sockets, whereas the Enterprise edition provides more
• Redo logs help to ensure data integrity

• Security

PostgreSQL

• Provides roles and inherited roles for developers to set permissions
• Supports native SSL, which aids in the encryption of server communications
• Provides additional access controls via SE-PostgreSQL that rely on the security policy of SELinux

Oracle

• Security features that are more robust than PostgreSQL
• To gain access to advanced security features, higher-priced editions are required
• Resilient in the face of security audits, data protection, auditing, and monitoring
• Excellent isolation solutions between pluggable databases and independent key encryption management are provided

• Support

PostgreSQL

• Active community that provides free online assistance through blogs, emails, code, and other channels
• There is no emergency phone number
• Hiring PostgreSQL community developers for premium support is less expensive than hiring a comparable Oracle specialist
• Third-party support providers, such as EnterpriseDB and 2nd Quadrant, are available and offer their own PostgreSQL distribution

Oracle

• Expensive assistance
• Large corporations must hire Oracle consultants or rely on Oracle support, which can cost up to 25% of the license fees

• Compatibility & Replication

PostgreSQL

• Streaming Replication provides high availability
• Due to master-slave replication, developers benefit from flawless performance during backup, task allocation, and clustering
• ORM framework assistance
• Support for JDBC, ODBC, OLEDB, and.Net libraries
• It supports a broader range of APIs than Oracle, making it more compatible with many applications, add-ons, and SQL environments

Oracle

• DataGuard provides high availability
• Replication of masters
• ORM framework assistance
• Support for JDBC, ODBC, OLEDB, and.Net libraries
• API support is less extensive than that of PostgreSQL

• High Availability

PostgreSQL

• PgPool in PostgreSQL Enterprise edition provides functionality similar to Oracle Real Application Clusters
• Add nodes dynamically using horizontal scalability options
• PgPool is not a PostgreSQL feature and requires many Clusterware tools to achieve similar functionality to Real Application Clusters

Oracle

• Oracle Real Application Clusters allow databases to be shared across servers
• When one database fails, the database can run on the remaining databases to provide continuous workflow management
• Real Application Cluster is a pre-installed feature

• Backup and Recovery

PostgreSQL

• The data recovery procedure is simple, as it replaces directories, subdirectories, and associated WAL files

Oracle

• Data recovery procedures can be overly complicated
• RMAN offers a simple and efficient database backup solution

• Total Cost of Ownership

PostgreSQL

• Due to PostgreSQL’s open-source nature, there are no costs associated with its acquisition or its complimentary customer support. PostgreSQL is an open-source database, so we can use all of its capabilities without paying a dime.

Oracle

• For the Oracle database, the acquisition and product support cost is considerable, and we must also pay extra for any additional features we require, each of which has a high cost. The Oracle database’s TCO is, therefore, high.

Handling Large Data Volume

PostgreSQL

• On workstations with high amounts of memory, the PostgreSQL database increases productivity by 10 to 30 pages by efficiently handling enormous amounts of data. Thus, a number of things are involved.

Oracle

• Based on similar conditions and machine kinds, the Oracle database enterprise edition is more efficient at handling a huge volume of data than PostgreSQL. Because production varies in a variety of circumstances, comparisons are not fair.

Choosing a Database Management System

PostgreSQL and Oracle are roughly equal in terms of capabilities, performance, and compatibility. Oracle leads in security, replication, and availability, whereas PostgreSQL has better API compatibility, less expensive support, and more robust scalability. As database administrators, the databases you choose should be based on the company’s priorities.

PostgreSQL is a good choice if you want an easy-to-use database that you can customize for the operations and has a low Total Cost of Ownership. Oracle offers robust functionality if high availability and flawless replication during voluminous transactions are critical to the business.

Conclusion

We have seen the distinction between Oracle and PostgreSQL, and PostgreSQL outperforms Oracle in many ways, including open-source, compatibility with other RDBMS, and ease of use with a large developer community. PostgreSQL is used in many different industries.