The 2023 State of PostgreSQL Survey Is Now Open!

Almost half (45.55 %) of the 2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey respondents who answered the question about their favorite database (76,634 in total) chose PostgreSQL as the most popular one. This is a testament to the quality, reliability, and performance of PostgreSQL, as well as the vibrant and diverse community that supports it.

As proud members of the PostgreSQL community, we want to continue giving back to this awesome group of data techies. We’re happy to announce that the 2023 State of PostgreSQL survey is officially live, and we are excited to hear once again from PostgreSQL users worldwide.

Over the years, we have learned a lot about the community. In 2019, we noticed that while PostgreSQL is a popular choice among organizations, 81 % of you use PostgreSQL for personal projects. In 2021, the community shared that the most frequently used extension is PostGIS. Last year, 17 % of the respondents said they contributed to PostgreSQL at least once.

This year, we want to know how these practices evolved, and we will explore the two magical letters of the hour—AI. We want to learn what AI tools the PostgreSQL community uses and if the AI workloads are already part of personal and work projects.

The survey results and anonymized raw data will be published in a report that will be available for free to everyone. The report will provide valuable insights into the PostgreSQL ecosystem and help us understand how we can collectively make PostgreSQL better.

For now, to whet the appetite for the 2023 report, read the highlights of last year’s findings. To download the full 2022 report, head over to https://www.timescale.com/state-of-postgres/2022/

The State of PostgreSQL in 2022

PostgreSQL's popularity is increasing

The number of PostgreSQL newbies using the database for less than a year has grown from 6.1 % in 2021 to 6.4 % in 2022.

Reasons for choosing PostgreSQL over other databases

Open-source, reliability, and extensions are the main reasons PostgreSQL users selected in 2022. Interestingly, users´ years of experience were directly related to their answers. “Reliability” was the number one reason to choose PostgreSQL among those who have been using the database for 11-15 years, while “open source” was primarily pointed out by users with up to five years of experience.

PostgreSQL usage is growing

Small and medium businesses (0-50 employees) use PostgreSQL a lot more than they did one year ago. The result is on par with a broader trend: PostgreSQL’s usage is growing, with the majority of respondents—55 %—saying that they have increased their usage of the database.

PostgreSQL users ♥ documentation

The majority of respondents (76.1 %) answered that technical documentation is their preferred way of learning about PostgreSQL, followed by long-form blog posts (51.5 %) and short-form blog posts (43.3 %). But the new generation of PostgreSQL enjoys learning slightly differently: users with less than five years of PostgreSQL experience gravitate toward video as their first option.

PostgreSQL users increasingly use DBaaS providers to deploy PostgreSQL

The trend that we first saw in 2021 continues in 2022. Fewer PostgreSQL users reported self-managing the database compared to previous years. More respondents are using a managed PostgreSQL service to deploy the database.

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to fill in the 2023 survey. If you have not done that yet, grab a cup or glass of your favorite beverage and share your experience with PostgreSQL.

Help us make the survey more representative. Share this far and wide! Post it in the company chat. Share it on social media.