Why I Prefer PostgreSQL

A practical overview of PostgreSQL, its benefits over other databases, and how easy it is to integrate with any backend.

When it comes to choosing a database for your project, there are tons of options: MySQL, MongoDB, Firebase, SQLite, and more. But for most real-world apps, my personal favorite is PostgreSQL — a powerful, open-source, object-relational database.

What is PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL (also known as Postgres) is an advanced, enterprise-class, open-source relational database that’s been in active development for over 30 years.

It's known for:

ACID compliance
Robust data integrity
Rich SQL support
Extensibility (custom types, functions, etc.)

Why PostgreSQL over MySQL or MongoDB?

Let’s compare some popular databases:

Feature	PostgreSQL	MySQL	MongoDB
Relational Model	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ No
JSON Support	✅ Advanced	✅ Basic	✅ Native
ACID Compliance	✅ Full	⚠️ Depends	⚠️ Limited
Full-Text Search	✅ Built-in	✅ Partial	⚠️ Requires Atlas Search
Extensibility	✅ Powerful	❌ Limited	❌ Limited
Joins Support	✅ Advanced	✅ Good	❌ None
Write Performance	⚠️ Moderate	✅ Fast	✅ Very Fast
Schemaless Data	✅ via JSONB	❌ No	✅ Yes

PostgreSQL is a perfect middle ground: it gives you the structure of SQL with the flexibility of JSON via JSONB.

Easy to Connect with Any Backend

PostgreSQL works beautifully with almost any backend language and framework.

Node.js (with Prisma or Sequelize):

pnpm add prisma --save-dev
npx prisma init

In your .env:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/mydb"

Then:

pnpm dlx prisma db push

You’re connected with PostgreSQL!

Python + Django:

pip install psycopg2

In settings.py:

DATABASES = {
    'default': {
        'ENGINE': 'django.db.backends.postgresql',
        'NAME': 'mydb',
        'USER': 'user',
        'PASSWORD': 'password',
        'HOST': 'localhost',
        'PORT': '5432',
    }
}

That’s it. Django is now using PostgreSQL.

NestJS + TypeORM:

pnpm add @nestjs/typeorm typeorm pg

In your AppModule:

TypeOrmModule.forRoot({
  type: 'postgres',
  host: 'localhost',
  port: 5432,
  username: 'user',
  password: 'password',
  database: 'mydb',
  autoLoadEntities: true,
  synchronize: true,
});

Done. Now your Nestjs is connected with PostgreSQL.

🌐 Works Anywhere

🐳 Easy to run via Docker

☁️ Works great on Railway, Supabase, Neon, Render, Fly.io

🔒 Secure and production-ready

docker run --name mypg -p 5432:5432 -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret postgres

Conclusion

PostgreSQL is:

Stable

Performant

Versatile

Open-source

Whether you're building a full-stack app, an analytics dashboard, or a large-scale SaaS platform, Postgres can handle it all.

If you haven’t tried it yet — you should!