The Database Decision

Your database choice is one of the most important technical decisions you'll make. It affects performance, scalability, development speed, and operational costs.

Relational vs NoSQL: The Basics

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Relational Databases (SQL)

PostgreSQL: The most advanced open-source database

MySQL: Battle-tested and widely supported

SQLite: Perfect for embedded and small applications

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NoSQL Databases

MongoDB: Document-oriented, flexible schemas

Redis: In-memory, ultra-fast key-value store

Cassandra: Distributed, high availability

PostgreSQL: The Safe Choice

PostgreSQL is often the best default choice for startups:

ACID compliance for data integrity

JSON support for flexible data

Excellent performance with proper indexing

Rich ecosystem of extensions

Free and open source

MongoDB: When Flexibility Matters

Choose MongoDB when:

Your schema changes frequently

You're dealing with unstructured data

You need horizontal scaling from day one

Your team is more comfortable with JSON

Managed vs Self-Hosted

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Managed Services

Supabase: PostgreSQL with real-time and auth

PlanetScale: Serverless MySQL

MongoDB Atlas: Managed MongoDB

Neon: Serverless PostgreSQL

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Self-Hosted

Lower costs at scale but requires DevOps expertise.

Decision Framework

1. Data Structure: Structured → SQL, Flexible → NoSQL 2. Scale: Moderate → PostgreSQL, Massive → Consider NoSQL 3. Team Expertise: Use what your team knows 4. Budget: Managed services cost more but save time

Our Recommendation

For most startups, start with PostgreSQL (via Supabase or Neon). It's flexible enough for most use cases and scales well. Only choose NoSQL if you have specific requirements that SQL can't meet.

Explore database options in our Tools directory.