# PostgreSQL vs Spark SQL Comparison
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## AI Generated Summary
- **G2 reviewers report** that PostgreSQL excels in overall user satisfaction, boasting a significantly higher G2 Score compared to Spark SQL. Users appreciate its **reliability** and **data integrity** , with one reviewer stating it has never failed them in over five years of production use.
- **According to verified reviews** , PostgreSQL's extensive feature set allows users to execute complex SQL queries effectively, including functions, triggers, and materialized views. This versatility is a standout feature that users find invaluable for their database needs.
- **Users say** that Spark SQL offers a unique advantage in its ability to query data from both RDDs and external sources seamlessly. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for those looking to reduce dependencies on multiple engines, making it a strong choice for big data environments.
- **Reviewers mention** that while Spark SQL has a slightly higher ease of use rating, PostgreSQL is praised for its **scalability** and **customizability** , which can save businesses significant costs on database infrastructure. One user highlighted its ability to run on minimal hardware configurations.
- **G2 reviewers highlight** that PostgreSQL's ACID compliance is exceptionally robust, which is crucial for businesses that prioritize data integrity. This feature is often cited as a key differentiator when compared to Spark SQL, which, while capable, does not match PostgreSQL's level of compliance.
- **Users report** that Spark SQL's visual editor is a strong point, helping them identify errors in their code easily. However, PostgreSQL's comprehensive support and community resources often provide a more reliable safety net for users seeking assistance with complex queries and setups.



| | PostgreSQL | Spark SQL | 
|---|---|---|
| **Star Rating** | 4.4 out of 5 | 4.5 out of 5 | 
| **Total Reviews** | 682 | 45 | 
| **Largest Market Segment** | Small-Business (35.9% of reviews) | Enterprise (53.3% of reviews) | 
| **Entry Level Price** | No pricing available | No pricing available | 

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## Top Pros & Cons

### PostgreSQL

Pros:
- Features (13 reviews)
- Ease of Use (11 reviews)

Cons:
- Beginner Unfriendliness (7 reviews)
- Complexity (6 reviews)

### Spark SQL

**Not enough data**

---
## Ratings Comparison
| Rating | PostgreSQL | Spark SQL | 
|---|---|---|
  | **Meets Requirements** | 9.1 (557 reviews) | 8.8 (32 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Use** | 8.5 (562 reviews) | 9.0 (35 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Setup** | 8.4 (291 reviews) | 8.7 (14 reviews) | 
  | **Ease of Admin** | 8.2 (251 reviews) | 8.2 (13 reviews) | 
  | **Quality of Support** | 7.9 (450 reviews) | 8.4 (32 reviews) | 
  | **Has the product been a good partner in doing business?** | 8.5 (199 reviews) | 8.6 (14 reviews) | 
  | **Product Direction (% positive)** | 8.5 (542 reviews) | 10.0 (29 reviews) | 

---
## Pricing

### PostgreSQL

#### Entry-Level Pricing

No pricing available

#### Free Trial

No information available

### Spark SQL

#### Entry-Level Pricing

No pricing available

#### Free Trial

No information available

---
## Features Comparison By Category

### Relational Databases

| Product | Score | Reviews |
|---|---|---|
| **PostgreSQL** | 8.9/10 | 519 |
| **Spark SQL** | 8.5/10 | 27 |

#### Management 

| Feature | PostgreSQL | Spark SQL | 
|---|---|---|
| **Data Schema** | 9.1 (127 reviews) | 8.7 (26 reviews) | 
| **Query Language** | 9.1 (123 reviews) | 8.5 (26 reviews) | 
| **ACID - Complaint** | 9.2 (114 reviews) | 8.3 (23 reviews) | 
| **Data Replication** | 8.9 (114 reviews) | 8.3 (26 reviews) | 

#### Support 

| Feature | PostgreSQL | Spark SQL | 
|---|---|---|
| **Text Search** | 8.7 (116 reviews) | 8.0 (23 reviews) | 
| **Data Types** | 9.2 (132 reviews) | 8.1 (27 reviews) | 
| **Languages** | 9.1 (113 reviews) | 8.2 (26 reviews) | 
| **Operating Systems** | 9.1 (118 reviews) | 8.8 (24 reviews) | 

#### Security

| Feature | PostgreSQL | Spark SQL | 
|---|---|---|
| **Database Locking** | 8.7 (119 reviews) | 8.7 (24 reviews) | 
| **Access Control** | 9.0 (121 reviews) | 8.3 (23 reviews) | 
| **Encryption** | 8.6 (112 reviews) | 8.4 (22 reviews) | 
| **Authentication** | 8.9 (114 reviews) | 8.5 (24 reviews) | 

#### Performance 

| Feature | PostgreSQL | Spark SQL | 
|---|---|---|
| **Disaster Recovery** | 8.6 (109 reviews) | 8.7 (25 reviews) | 
| **Data Concurrency** | 8.8 (119 reviews) | 8.5 (25 reviews) | 
| **Workload Management** | 8.7 (110 reviews) | 8.6 (25 reviews) | 
| **Advanced Indexing** | 8.7 (119 reviews) | 7.9 (23 reviews) | 
| **Query Optimizer** | 8.6 (116 reviews) | 8.6 (25 reviews) | 

#### Database Features

| Feature | PostgreSQL | Spark SQL | 
|---|---|---|
| **Storage** | 9.0 (466 reviews) | 8.3 (26 reviews) | 
| **Availability** | 9.0 (472 reviews) | 8.7 (26 reviews) | 
| **Stability** | 9.0 (479 reviews) | 8.7 (27 reviews) | 
| **Scalability** | 8.6 (462 reviews) | 8.9 (27 reviews) | 
| **Security** | 8.7 (446 reviews) | 8.5 (27 reviews) | 
| **Data Manipulation** | 8.8 (461 reviews) | 8.5 (26 reviews) | 
| **Query Language** | 9.0 (469 reviews) | 8.3 (27 reviews) | 

---
## Categories
**Shared Categories (1):** [Relational Databases](https://www.g2.com/categories/relational-databases)




---
## Reviewer Demographics

### By Company Size

| Segment | PostgreSQL | Spark SQL | 
|---|---|---|
| **Small-Business** | 35.9% | 26.7% | 
| **Mid-Market** | 34.4% | 20.0% | 
| **Enterprise** | 29.7% | 53.3% | 

### By Industry

#### PostgreSQL

- **Information Technology and Services:** 27.5%
- **Computer Software:** 22.9%
- **Financial Services:** 4.2%
- **Internet:** 4.2%
- **Telecommunications:** 2.8%
- **Hospital & Health Care:** 2.8%
- **Higher Education:** 2.7%
- **Computer & Network Security:** 2.2%
- **Retail:** 2.0%
- **Marketing and Advertising:** 2.0%
- **Other:** 26.7%

#### Spark SQL

- **Information Technology and Services:** 31.1%
- **Computer Software:** 13.3%
- **Retail:** 6.7%
- **Financial Services:** 6.7%
- **Telecommunications:** 4.4%
- **Program Development:** 4.4%
- **E-Learning:** 4.4%
- **Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing:** 4.4%
- **Hospital & Health Care:** 4.4%
- **Airlines/Aviation:** 2.2%
- **Other:** 17.8%

---
## Alternatives

### Alternatives to PostgreSQL

- [Microsoft SQL Server](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (2284 reviews)
- [MySQL](https://www.g2.com/products/mysql/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (1677 reviews)
- [Oracle Database](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-database/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (1010 reviews)
- [Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (908 reviews)
- [IBM Db2](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-db2/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (682 reviews)
- [SAP HANA Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (621 reviews)
- [Teradata Autonomous Knowledge Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/teradata-autonomous-knowledge-platform/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (375 reviews)
- [SQLite](https://www.g2.com/products/sqlite/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (261 reviews)
- [Azure SQL Database](https://www.g2.com/products/azure-sql-database/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (241 reviews)
- [MariaDB](https://www.g2.com/products/mariadb/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (226 reviews)

### Alternatives to Spark SQL

- [Oracle Database](https://www.g2.com/products/oracle-database/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (1010 reviews)
- [ClickHouse](https://www.g2.com/products/clickhouse/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (23 reviews)
- [Microsoft SQL Server](https://www.g2.com/products/microsoft-sql-server/reviews) — 4.4/5 stars (2284 reviews)
- [SQLite](https://www.g2.com/products/sqlite/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (261 reviews)
- [Teradata Autonomous Knowledge Platform](https://www.g2.com/products/teradata-autonomous-knowledge-platform/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (375 reviews)
- [Amazon Aurora](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-aurora/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (457 reviews)
- [Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS)](https://www.g2.com/products/amazon-relational-database-service-rds/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (908 reviews)
- [Google Cloud SQL](https://www.g2.com/products/google-cloud-sql/reviews) — 4.5/5 stars (366 reviews)
- [IBM Db2](https://www.g2.com/products/ibm-db2/reviews) — 4.1/5 stars (682 reviews)
- [SAP HANA Cloud](https://www.g2.com/products/sap-hana-cloud-2025-10-01/reviews) — 4.3/5 stars (621 reviews)

---
## Top Discussions

### PostgreSQL

- Title: [What are the advantages and disadvantages of PostgreSQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-postgresql) — 2 comments
  > **Top comment:** "Advantages: A different resource for your SQL needs without the tag of a legacy system"
- Title: [What is PostgreSQL used for?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-postgresql-used-for) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "PostgreSQL is an open-source database used to store, manage, and retrieve data. It's known for its reliability, scalability, and support for complex queries,..."
- Title: [What is special about PostgreSQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-special-about-postgresql) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "Provides features like scalability, reliability, and provides security which makes PostgreSQL more special.   "
- Title: [What programs use PostgreSQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-programs-use-postgresql) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "SQL"
- Title: [Can we get some video tutorials on usage? Also how do we connect them over cloud ?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/can-we-get-some-video-tutorials-on-usage-also-how-do-we-connect-them-over-cloud) — 1 comment, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "Hey Jay,

We use Postgresql on all of our cloud servers. We connect via SSL connections to the specific..."

### Spark SQL

- Title: [What type of SQL does Spark use?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-type-of-sql-does-spark-use) — 2 comments, 1 upvote
  > **Top comment:** "Spark Sql"
- Title: [What is the difference between SQL and Spark SQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-difference-between-sql-and-spark-sql) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "Well it's very simple spark sql is used for big data processing, it makes querying the loads of data simple and faster.
Whereas sql isn't suitable for..."
- Title: [What is the functionality of Spark SQL?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-is-the-functionality-of-spark-sql) — 1 comment
  > **Top comment:** "Spark sql works with any kind of relational databases that works with sql like Mysql, oracle, mariadb, postgresql"

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**Source:** [G2.com](https://www.g2.com) | [Comparison Page](https://www.g2.com/compare/postgresql-vs-spark-sql)