1996 founded Standing
databases · postgresql.org
PostgreSQL
the moat is real
30 years 43 days and counting
PostgreSQL 6.0 released 8 Jul 1996. The adult in the room for thirty years.
Why it lasted
- It is the database you graduate to, and then never leave.
- Extensions (PostGIS, pgvector, Citus) let it absorb the specialty database of the year without a migration.
- Oracle priced people into it. MySQL licensed people into it. Postgres just kept being good.
Times it almost ended
- Noam's original POSTGRES at Berkeley could have stayed a research toy. The SQL rewrite in 1996 made it a product.
- NoSQL was supposed to end relational. Postgres waited, then added JSONB.
What would finish it
- A managed default that is not Postgres and is genuinely better at the boring jobs. Aurora still speaks it.
Questions
Is PostgreSQL still up?
Yes, with a Standing verdict: the moat is real. Founded 1996.
How long has PostgreSQL been around?
PostgreSQL has been up since 1996-07-08.
Why did PostgreSQL survive?
It is the database you graduate to, and then never leave.
Could PostgreSQL still die?
A managed default that is not Postgres and is genuinely better at the boring jobs. Aurora still speaks it.