PostgreSQL vs SQLite
2022-03-04 17:13:33

PostgreSQL vs SQLite

SQLite and PostgreSQL are among the most majorly used relational database management systems (RDMS). Both of them are open-source and free to use, but they have some major differences that should be kept in mind while choosing a database to use for your organization.

While comparing PostgreSQL and SQLite databases, SQLite is the open-source relational database management system that is a majorly file-based system popular for its portability, reliability, strong performance, and lightweight in nature that can easily work on the low-memory environment also. And the various features like transactional serverless are provided which supports transaction even though any system crashes or there is some power failure.

PostgreSQL is also an open-source relational database management system that majorly handles multiple tasks simultaneously and the ACID (atomicity, consistency, integrity, and durability) property is also satisfied. In comparison to the popularity of SQLite, PostgreSQL is not so popular for widely storing the data in the databases.

Difference between PostgreSQL Database and SQLite Database:

Aspect or Parameter PostgreSQL Database SQLite Database
Definition PostgreSQL is an open-source object-relational database system based on SQL language combined with many new features that are capable of storing and scaling complicated workloads securely and efficiently. SQLite Database is an embedded, relational database management system. A stable file format is also provided by SQLite. SQLite Database is cross-platform in nature which means we can run it on various platforms. And zero configuration is required for usage and in addition to that, it is a transactional SQL database engine.
Developed The management of PostgreSQL is handled by PostgreSQL Global Development Group. The development of the SQLite Database is done by Dwayne Richard Hipp.
Licensing PostgreSQL is licensed under MIT-style licensing. SQLite contains only one type of license that is GPLv2.
Date of Initial Release PostgreSQL was initially released in 1996. SQLite was released on 17 August 2000.
Latest Stable Release The latest stable version is released on 13 May 2021. The latest stable version is released on 19 April 2021.
Latest Version The latest version is 13.3. The latest version of SQLite is 3.35.5.
Other accessing methods and APIs In PostgreSQL, we can access the various methods like ADO.NET, ODBC, native C library, JDBC, and many streaming API for large objects can be accessed in the PostgreSQL database. Whereas in SQLite only methods like JDBC, ODBC, ADO.NET, can be accessed.
Programming languages Supported PostgreSQL supports numerous programming languages such as JavaScript (Node.js), Tcl,  PHP, C++, .Net, Python, Java, Perl, and C. SQLite is compatible with all the major programming languages such as Ruby, JavaScript (Node.js), C++, C#, PHP, Java, Visual Basic, Python, PHP, R, and Go.
Server-side scripting The scripting at the server-side is supported by PostgreSQL. Server-side scripting is not supported by SQLite.
Features The major characteristics or features of PostgreSQL:
  • All the major features of SQL are supported by PostgreSQL.
  • PostgreSQL is highly extensible in nature.
  • PostgreSQL is very much compatible with Data Integrity.
  • Several programming languages are supported by PostgreSQL.
  • PostgreSQL can be downloaded freely.
  • PostgreSQL is compatible with secondary indexes.
  • The support of XML is also provided by PostgreSQL.
  • PostgreSQL is highly reliable.
  • PostgreSQL is compatible with all the major operating systems.
  • With the data scheme, there is consistency.
 Some of the prominent features of SQLite are:
  • No license is required to use SQLite as it is open-source software, so we can easily download it from the internet and start using it.
  • We can work on different databases in the same session at a similar time because SQLite is flexible in nature.
  • No further configuration is required for the usage of the database.
  • SQLite is cross-platform database management systems so all the major Operating system supports SQLite and it can be easily used on those operating systems like Unix, Linux, Windows, and Mac OS.
  • Other than normal Operating Systems various embedded operating systems such as Symbian and Window CE are also supported by SQLite.
  • An effective to store data is provided by the SQLite
  • It also offers a large number of API for a vast range of programming languages such as C, Python, Java, PHP, .Net (Visual Basic, C#), and other programming languages.
Replication The master-slave replication (like synchronous replications, streaming, and cascading) is supported by PostgreSQL. Replication is not supported by SQLite.