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PostgreSQL VS Steampipe

Compare PostgreSQL VS Steampipe and see what are their differences

PostgreSQL logo PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

Steampipe logo Steampipe

Steampipe: select * from cloud; The extensible SQL interface to your favorite cloud APIs select * from AWS, Azure, GCP, Github, Slack etc.
  • PostgreSQL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-21
  • Steampipe Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-30

PostgreSQL features and specs

  • Open Source
    PostgreSQL is an open-source database management system, which means it is free to use, modify, and distribute. This reduces the cost of database management for individuals and organizations.
  • ACID Compliance
    PostgreSQL is fully ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability) compliant, ensuring reliable transactions and data integrity.
  • Extensible
    PostgreSQL is highly extensible, allowing users to add custom functions, data types, and operators. This enables tailored solutions to specific requirements.
  • Advanced SQL Features
    PostgreSQL supports advanced SQL features like full-text search, JSON and XML data types, and complex queries, providing powerful tools for database operations.
  • Community Support
    There is a strong and active community around PostgreSQL, offering extensive documentation, forums, and collaborative support, which aids troubleshooting and development.
  • Multiple Indexing Techniques
    PostgreSQL offers a variety of indexing techniques such as B-tree, GIN, GiST, and BRIN, allowing for optimized query performance on various data types.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    PostgreSQL runs on all major operating systems (Windows, MacOS, Linux, Unix), giving flexibility in deployment and development environments.

Possible disadvantages of PostgreSQL

  • Complex Configuration
    Setting up and configuring PostgreSQL can be complex and time-consuming, especially for beginners, requiring a good understanding of its parameters and best practices.
  • Heavy Resource Consumption
    PostgreSQL can be resource-intensive, consuming significant CPU and memory compared to other database systems, which may affect performance on lower-end hardware.
  • Backup and Restore Process
    The backup and restore process in PostgreSQL is not as straightforward as in some other database systems, requiring more manual intervention and understanding of tools like pg_dump and pg_restore.
  • Replication Complexity
    While PostgreSQL supports replication, setting it up can be more complex than some other databases. Advanced configurations like multi-master replication can be particularly challenging.
  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Due to its advanced features and extensive capabilities, PostgreSQL can have a steeper learning curve, making it harder for new users to get started compared to simpler database systems.
  • Less Third-Party Tool Support
    PostgreSQL has less support from third-party tools compared to more widely adopted databases like MySQL, which can limit options for auxiliary functions like administration, monitoring, and development.

Steampipe features and specs

  • Unified Interface
    Steampipe provides a unified SQL-based interface to query data from various cloud services and APIs, simplifying data access.
  • Open Source
    Being open source, Steampipe allows for community contributions, transparency, and flexibility in adapting the tool to specific needs.
  • Plugin Ecosystem
    Steampipe has a growing ecosystem of plugins that enable easy integration with numerous services, enhancing its versatility.
  • Real-Time Data Access
    It facilitates real-time querying of data from live APIs, which is beneficial for up-to-date insights and monitoring.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Steampipe is designed to work on multiple platforms, including Windows, MacOS, and Linux, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

Possible disadvantages of Steampipe

  • Complex Setup
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex, requiring a good understanding of SQL and the specific APIs being used.
  • Performance Overhead
    Query performance may be impacted due to the abstraction layer and real-time consolidation of data from multiple sources.
  • Limited Community Support
    As a relatively new tool, Steampipe may have limited community support and fewer resources compared to more established alternatives.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running multiple queries against APIs and cloud services can become resource intensive, potentially increasing costs and load on systems.
  • Learning Curve
    Users unfamiliar with SQL may face a learning curve in effectively utilizing Steampipe for querying different data sources.

Analysis of PostgreSQL

Overall verdict

  • Yes, PostgreSQL is considered a high-quality and reliable database management system, suitable for a wide range of applications, from small-scale personal projects to large enterprise systems.

Why this product is good

  • PostgreSQL is known for its strong support of SQL standards and excellent documentation, making it reliable for complex database requirements.
  • It provides advanced features such as multi-version concurrency control (MVCC), point-in-time recovery, and support for advanced indexing techniques.
  • PostgreSQL offers robust performance optimization options, powerful extensions, and a highly customizable platform.
  • It has a strong open-source community, ensuring ongoing improvements and support.
  • PostgreSQL is compatible with popular development frameworks and languages, enhancing its versatility.

Recommended for

  • Organizations seeking a scalable and stable database solution with strong compliance with SQL standards.
  • Developers who need advanced features like custom data types and indexing capabilities.
  • Projects requiring robust transactional integrity and data consistency.
  • Businesses looking for a cost-effective open-source database solution with active community support.

PostgreSQL videos

Comparison of PostgreSQL and MongoDB

More videos:

  • Review - PostgreSQL Review
  • Review - MySQL vs PostgreSQL - Why you shouldn't use MySQL

Steampipe videos

Superbooth 2023: Erica Synths - Steampipe

More videos:

  • Review - BEST SYNTHS @ SUPERBOOTH23: PWM Mantis, UDO Super Gemini, Erica Synths STEAMPIPEโ€ฆ and more
  • Review - Erica Synths STEAMPIPE The Synth with no oscillators!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to PostgreSQL and Steampipe)
Databases
96 96%
4% 4
Big Data
0 0%
100% 100
Relational Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Cloud Infrastructure
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare PostgreSQL and Steampipe

PostgreSQL Reviews

Database Management Systems (DBMS) Comparison: SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Oracle
Choosing the right database management system (DBMS) is a crucial decision that directly impacts your projectโ€™s performance and scalability. With a variety of options โ€” SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Oracle, and more โ€” each offering unique features and capabilities, itโ€™s important to carefully match the type of database software to your specific needs. Consider...
Source: blog.devart.com
20 Best Database Management Software and Tools of 2026
Yes, several tools, such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB, offer free versions. While these are robust, enterprise editions or add-ons may come with additional costs for advanced features and support.
Source: infomineo.com
Data Warehouse Tools
Peliqan acts as a bridge, allowing you to e.g. effortlessly pull your PostgreSQL data into Google Sheets for easy access and analysis using its one-click connector. Additionally, Peliqanโ€™s platform provides a user-friendly environment for data exploration, transformation with Magical SQL, and visualization capabilities, all without needing to switch between multiple tools.
Source: peliqan.io
Top 5 BigQuery Alternatives: A Challenge of Complexity
For over three decades, the open-source object-relational database system PostgreSQL has maintained its reputation as a top SQL server due to its features, performance, and reliability. (Heck, Redshift is even based on Postgres!) It's the go-to database solution for large corporations and organizations across a variety of industries from ecommerce to gaming to...
Source: blog.panoply.io
10 Best Database Management Software Of 2022 [+ Examples]
Applications Manager offers out-of-the-box health and performance monitoring for 20 popular databases including RDBMS, NoSQL, in-memory, distributed, and big data stores. It supports both commercial databases such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL, IBM DB2, and MongoDB as well as open source ones like MySQL and PostgreSQL.
Source: theqalead.com

Steampipe Reviews

We have no reviews of Steampipe yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Steampipe should be more popular than PostgreSQL. It has been mentiond 42 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

PostgreSQL mentions (19)

  • Create an API - Project Setup
    In this new series we will be creating an API written in go, using a framework like Chi, connecting to a PostgreSQL, and have it deployed to a site like Railway. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • PostgreSQL vs MySQL 2026: Which Database Wins for Modern Apps?
    PostgreSQL 17 Performance Guide โ€” Official docs for the latest performance improvements. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • #5 - 'The Power of [Separation] Compels You!'
    You also might be saying, Why not include the credit and attribution data with the product data and just use one data file? Thats a great question. I could have for the purpose of this demo, but if there were a backend to this project and a relational database like PostgreSQL attached to it, I would still have both sets of data in separate tables in the database. By using a foreign key between related records in... - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Convert insert mutation to upsert
    In this quick post, weโ€™ll walk through implementing an Upsert operation in Hasura using PostgreSQL and GraphQL. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Perfect Elixir: Environment Setup
    Iโ€™m on MacOS and erlang.org, elixir-lang.org, and postgresql.org all suggest installation via Homebrew, which is a very popular package manager for MacOS. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
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Steampipe mentions (42)

  • Build API integrations with SQL and YAML โ€“ no SaaS lock-in, no drag-and-drop UIs
    The request / data fetching is interesting in how "easy" it is to write. I did basic perusal of the examples, but I'd be interested to see what it looks like with rate-limited endpoints and concurrent requests. Another tangentially related project is https://steampipe.io/ though it is for exposing APIs via Postgres tables and the clients are written using Go code and shared through a marketplace. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Cyphernetes: A Query Language for Kubernetes
    I really really like Steampipe to do this kind of query: https://steampipe.io, which is essentially PostgreSQL (literally) to query many different kind of APIs, which means you have access to all PostgreSQL's SQL language can offer to request data. They have a Kubernetes plugin at https://hub.steampipe.io/plugins/turbot/kubernetes and there are a couple of things I really like: * it's super easy to request... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • DuckDB Doesn't Need Data to Be a Database
    Https://steampipe.io/ showcases some really interesting scenarios for using FDWs in place of regular ETL and API integrations. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
  • Cloud Tools You Probably Haven't Heard Of
    Steampipe is a tool for querying cloud APIs and other data sources using SQL in a zero-ETL manner. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Osquery: An sqlite3 virtual table exposing operating system data to SQL
    Few projects in the same realm that you should also checkout - [1] Steampipe (https://steampipe.io/) [2] InfraSQL (https://iasql.com/). - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing PostgreSQL and Steampipe, you can also consider the following products

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

CloudQuery - CloudQuery enables you to assess, audit, and evaluate the configurations of your cloud assets.

Microsoft SQL - Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.

StackQL.io - Query, provision, secure & operate cloud resources using SQL

SQLite - SQLite Home Page

Turbot - Turbot's guardrails deliver automated operational, cloud security and cloud compliance controls of AWS deployments and other cloud enterprise infrastructure. Learn more.