kdb+ vs. PostgreSQL

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
kdb+
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
kdb+ is a time series database from kx headquartered in Palo Alto, California, a division of First Derivatives.N/A
PostgreSQL
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
PostgreSQL (alternately Postgres) is a free and open source object-relational database system boasting over 30 years of active development, reliability, feature robustness, and performance. It supports SQL and is designed to support various workloads flexibly.N/A
Pricing
kdb+PostgreSQL
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
kdb+PostgreSQL
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
kdb+PostgreSQL
Best Alternatives
kdb+PostgreSQL
Small Businesses
InfluxDB
InfluxDB
Score 8.8 out of 10
InfluxDB
InfluxDB
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies

No answers on this topic

SQLite
SQLite
Score 8.0 out of 10
Enterprises

No answers on this topic

SQLite
SQLite
Score 8.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
kdb+PostgreSQL
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(5 ratings)
8.7
(56 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(1 ratings)
8.3
(9 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
3.0
(1 ratings)
9.3
(7 ratings)
Implementation Rating
1.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
kdb+PostgreSQL
Likelihood to Recommend
Kx
kdb is well suited for real time tick data and time series analytics.
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PostgreSQL Global Development Group
PostgreSQL is best used for structured data, and best when following relational database design principles. I would not use PostgreSQL for large unstructured data such as video, images, sound files, xml documents, web-pages, especially if these files have their own highly variable, internal structure.
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Pros
Kx
  • Time series analysis. The built-in vector operations are extremely fast. Also with the q language you can code up any customized analytical ideas quickly.
  • The database are all file based, very easy to maintain.
  • Very solid and fast interface to websocket, so you can interface with javascript easily.
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PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  • It works well with external data sources and runs on platforms with stable performance.
  • Clients can rest assured that their personal information will be safe and secure.
  • Many forums discuss setup and usage, and most are free.
  • Adding tooling applications to a computer is unlimited.
  • PostgreSQL runs on many OS platforms and supports ANSI SQL, stored procedures, and triggers.
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Cons
Kx
  • Run time error message readability, particularly for new users.
  • Backwards compatibility between versions.
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PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  • Clearer indications on what is the query plan, to optimize the query
  • More out of the box, Postgres specific, SQL functions
  • It would be nice to have a more visual aid of the relationship between all tables, but possibly this depend more on the UI used
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Likelihood to Renew
Kx
switching costs
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PostgreSQL Global Development Group
As a needed software for day to day development activities
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Usability
Kx
its ok
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PostgreSQL Global Development Group
Postgresql is the best tool out there for relational data so I have to give it a high rating when it comes to analytics, data availability and consistency, so on and so forth. SQL is also a relatively consistent language so when it comes to building new tables and loading data in from the OLTP database, there are enough tools where we can perform ETL on a scalable basis.
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Reliability and Availability
Kx
No answers on this topic
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
PostgreSQL's availability is top notch. Apart from connection time-out for an idle user, the database is super reliable.
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Performance
Kx
No answers on this topic
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
The data queries are relatively quick for a small to medium sized table. With complex joins, and a wide and deep table however, the performance of the query has room for improvement.
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Support Rating
Kx
We don't use it.
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PostgreSQL Global Development Group
There are several companies that you can contract for technical support, like EnterpriseDB or Percona, both first level in expertise and commitment to the software.
But we do not have contracts with them, we have done all the way from googling to forums, and never have a problem that we cannot resolve or pass around. And for dozens of projects and more than 15 years now.
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Online Training
Kx
No answers on this topic
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
The online training is request based. Had there been recorded videos available online for potential users to benefit from, I could have rated it higher. The online documentation however is very helpful. The online documentation PDF is downloadable and allows users to pace their own learning. With examples and code snippets, the documentation is great starting point.
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Implementation Rating
Kx
No answers on this topic
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
The online documentation of the PostgreSQL product is elaborate and takes users step by step.
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Alternatives Considered
Kx
Python is very commonly used for large data analysis and in general is much easier to pickup than kdb+. The biggest drawback of kdb+ is the learning curve.
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PostgreSQL Global Development Group
Although the competition between the different databases is increasingly aggressive in the sense that they provide many improvements, new functionalities, compatibility with complementary components or environments, in some cases it requires that it be followed within the same family of applications that performs the company that develops it and that is not all bad, but being able to adapt or configure different programs, applications or other environments developed by third parties apart is what gives PostgreSQL a certain advantage and this diversification in the components that can be joined with it, is the reason why it is a great option to choose.
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Scalability
Kx
No answers on this topic
PostgreSQL Global Development Group
The DB is reliable, scalable, easy to use and resolves most DB needs
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Return on Investment
Kx
  • It perfectly solves most of our real time tick data needs.
  • Finding good kdb resources is slightly difficult. Also new people trying to learn kdb experience a relatively longer learning curve.
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PostgreSQL Global Development Group
  • Easy to administer so our DevOps team has only ever used minimal time to setup, tune, and maintain.
  • Easy to interface with so our Engineering team has only ever used minimal time to query or modify the database. Getting the data is straightforward, what we do with it is the bigger concern.
  • It's free. You can't beat that.
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ScreenShots