It’s 2026, Just Use Postgres

In a 2026 article, Raja Rao DV advocates for the use of PostgreSQL as a versatile database solution that consolidates multiple functionalities under one system, challenging the conventional wisdom of utilizing specialized databases for specific tasks. The article critiques the complexity and costs associated with managing multiple databases, such as Elasticsearch, Pinecone, Redis, MongoDB, Kafka, and InfluxDB, which require different query languages, backup strategies, and monitoring systems. Rao argues that PostgreSQL, with its extensive range of extensions like pgvector for vector search, TimescaleDB for time-series data, and PostGIS for geospatial analysis, offers equivalent or superior performance compared to specialized databases. These extensions are grounded in the same or better algorithms and are often open-source, reducing the fragmentation and cognitive load on engineering teams. The article highlights that for 99% of companies, PostgreSQL suffices for their data needs, providing simplicity, cost-efficiency, and ease of use, while reserving specialized databases for the 1% of cases with extraordinary demands.