PostgreSQL Secures 55–65% of Net‑New Open‑Source Relational Projects in 2026
PostgreSQL’s rise from developer favorite to default choice for modern applications has crossed a decisive threshold. In 2026, PostgreSQL-family databases capture an estimated 55–65% of net‑new open‑source relational projects worldwide, while MySQL-family holds 25–35% and MariaDB 5–10%. In primary OLTP selection across organizations already standardized on open‑source relational, PostgreSQL edges ahead at 46–50% versus 42–46% for MySQL-family and 6–8% for MariaDB. Managed DBaaS footprints tell a similar story: PostgreSQL‑compatible services represent 50–55% of open‑source relational instances across major clouds, compared with 45–50% for MySQL/MariaDB.
The shift matters now because cloud‑managed databases have become the default deployment model for new applications, and because enterprise modernization programs are consolidating data platforms where capabilities, portability, and ecosystem gravity determine total cost and speed of delivery. This article quantifies where adoption stands in 2026, how it got here from 2018–2026, and what that means for ROI, procurement, and executive planning across regions, industries, and company sizes.
Readers will learn how multiple market signals converge on two comparable lenses—primary OLTP engine share and DBaaS instance mix—where the most meaningful inflection points occurred, and which trade‑offs matter when selecting between single‑engine consolidation and diversified portfolios.
Market Analysis
📈 Two normalized lenses anchor the 2026 picture: (1) primary OLTP engine share per organization within the open‑source relational category, and (2) the managed DBaaS instance mix across major clouds. Normalizing to these constructs makes unlike metrics—developer usage, popularity indices, and revenue—comparable while avoiding double‑counting organizations that run both PostgreSQL and MySQL.
Trajectory highlights, 2018–2026
- Popularity indices show sustained gains for PostgreSQL among relational systems, with MySQL maintaining a top‑tier global rank. These trend lines align with developer surveys reporting rising professional usage of PostgreSQL and narrowing gaps with MySQL among key cohorts.
- Cloud DBMS revenue overtook non‑cloud in 2020 and continued to expand strongly through 2022. That macro shift accelerated adoption of managed PostgreSQL and MySQL services, especially premium PostgreSQL‑compatible tiers that push scale and performance boundaries.
- PostgreSQL’s extension‑led versatility—PostGIS for geospatial, TimescaleDB for time‑series, Citus for distributed scale‑out, pgvector for AI/vector search—combined with the rise of PostgreSQL wire‑compatibility across modern cloud databases, consistently correlates with its momentum in greenfield and modernization programs.
2026 global share ranges and DBaaS mix
- Primary OLTP (open‑source relational): PostgreSQL‑family 46–50%; MySQL‑family 42–46%; MariaDB 6–8%.
- Net‑new project share: PostgreSQL‑family 55–65%; MySQL‑family 25–35%; MariaDB 5–10%.
- Managed DBaaS instance mix across major clouds: PostgreSQL‑compatible 50–55%; MySQL/MariaDB 45–50%.
Drivers of change
- Developer preference and advanced SQL/JSONB usage patterns attract teams building modern applications.
- Extensions and premium managed services expand the effective workload envelope for PostgreSQL, enabling teams to unify OLTP with geospatial, time‑series, distributed, and vector workloads under one logical platform.
- MySQL’s strength persists across LAMP/CMS ecosystems and large web estates; MySQL HeatWave’s integrated HTAP and vector capabilities materially improve the calculus for MySQL‑first organizations.
Cloud provider signaling
- AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud all operate first‑class PostgreSQL and MySQL services; each also invests in differentiated PostgreSQL‑compatible options (Aurora PostgreSQL on AWS, Hyperscale/Citus on Azure, AlloyDB on Google Cloud). These offerings have become strategic cues for organizational roadmaps even where precise engine‑level instance shares are not disclosed publicly.
Table: 2026 share ranges (open‑source relational)
| Lens | PostgreSQL‑family | MySQL‑family | MariaDB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary OLTP per organization | 46–50% | 42–46% | 6–8% |
| Net‑new projects | 55–65% | 25–35% | 5–10% |
| Managed DBaaS instance mix | 50–55% | 45–50% | n/a (included in MySQL/MariaDB) |
Caveats and confidence
- Cloud providers rarely publish engine‑level instance totals; therefore, DBaaS mix estimates rely on product portfolio breadth and observed go‑to‑market emphasis.
- Developer surveys skew toward software‑oriented and English‑speaking cohorts; popularity indices measure attention, not installations. Estimates are expressed as ranges and should be read directionally.
Segmentation: Regions, Industries, and Company Size
Regional dynamics in 2026
- North America: The strongest tilt to PostgreSQL as primary engine, estimated at 50–55%, with MySQL at 35–40% and MariaDB at 5–8%. Momentum stems from startup/SaaS ecosystems, PostgreSQL‑compatible distributed SQL options, and premium managed services.
- EMEA: PostgreSQL at 48–54%, MySQL at 38–44%, MariaDB at 6–10%. Public‑sector and telco preferences for open standards and geospatial workloads via PostGIS contribute to PostgreSQL’s position; historical Linux packaging choices and hosting practices elevate MariaDB’s footprint in parts of the region.
- APAC: MySQL‑family remains ahead with 45–50%, while PostgreSQL is estimated at 42–47% and MariaDB at 6–10%, reflecting enduring LAMP/CMS estates alongside growing PostgreSQL usage in cloud‑native builds.
- Latin America: Directionally similar to APAC with MySQL‑family in the lead, while PostgreSQL gains via fintech and startup activity. Specific metrics unavailable.
Industry vertical segmentation
- Web/CMS and e‑commerce: MySQL/MariaDB hold an estimated 55–70% primary share, sustained by WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, and broader LAMP heritage. PostgreSQL’s 30–45% presence is growing where teams consolidate analytics and geospatial needs within a single stack.
- SaaS, devtools, and modern B2B software: PostgreSQL leads at 55–70%, often paired with scale‑out and premium managed services. MySQL holds 25–35%, MariaDB 3–8%.
- Financial services (within the open‑source relational segment): PostgreSQL at 60–70% as teams prize advanced SQL, indexing strategies, and JSONB performance, aided by enterprise‑grade managed services.
- Gaming, adtech, real‑time services: Mixed by scale requirements, team familiarity, and the appeal of service‑level features. PostgreSQL and MySQL both compete; MySQL’s HeatWave enhances HTAP scenarios where MySQL is primary.
- Public sector, education, healthcare, life sciences: Directionally favor PostgreSQL due to open standards, compliance alignment, and workloads blending OLTP with analytics or geospatial.
Company size dynamics
- Startups and small tech firms: Gravitate to PostgreSQL for modern ORM defaults, JSONB‑centric patterns, and clear growth paths via Hyperscale/Citus, Aurora PostgreSQL, and AlloyDB.
- Mid‑market: Mixed patterns. LAMP‑rooted organizations and off‑the‑shelf CMS adopters often standardize on MySQL/MariaDB. Software‑led firms select PostgreSQL to consolidate OLTP with analytics‑adjacent features.
- Large enterprises: Modernization programs frequently target PostgreSQL for proprietary‑to‑open‑source migrations; very large web estates sustain significant MySQL presence.
Confidence: low‑to‑medium for region and company‑size splits given sparse engine‑level disclosures; directional trends are corroborated by developer sentiment, cloud product emphasis, and observed workload patterns.
ROI and TCO: Consolidation vs. Diversified Portfolios
Organizations increasingly evaluate two competing strategies for 2026–2027 roadmaps:
- Single‑engine consolidation
- PostgreSQL path: Leverage extensibility to unify OLTP with geospatial (PostGIS), time‑series (TimescaleDB), distributed scale‑out (Citus), and vector search (pgvector). Premium managed tiers such as Aurora PostgreSQL, Hyperscale/Citus, and AlloyDB provide performance and operational benefits under a unified skill set and tool chain.
- MySQL path: Standardize on MySQL and adopt MySQL HeatWave to integrate MPP analytics, machine learning, and vector search into a single managed service, eliminating auxiliary analytical systems where MySQL is the primary store.
- ROI thesis: Reduce platform sprawl, vendor contracts, and data movement while paying a premium for higher tiers that deliver scale, resiliency, and embedded analytics/vector capabilities.
- Diversified engine portfolios
- Maintain PostgreSQL and MySQL (and sometimes MariaDB) side‑by‑side to match team skills, application heritage, and workload specialization. This path can minimize migration costs in the near term but perpetuates operational complexity and higher overhead.
Cost levers and considerations
- License costs are negligible for community editions across both PostgreSQL and MySQL; operational costs pivot on managed vs. self‑managed choices and on premium tier adoption. Managed services reduce staffing and reliability risks, but per‑instance or per‑core pricing is higher than self‑managed alternatives.
- Premium tiers command price premiums in exchange for scale, performance, and automation. The decision calculus weighs the cost of premium PostgreSQL‑compatible tiers against the alternative: retaining MySQL as primary and adopting HeatWave for HTAP and AI/vector use cases.
- Deployment mix in 2026 reinforces managed‑first economics: an estimated 60–70% of net‑new deployments are DBaaS, and 55–65% of active open‑source relational instances are cloud‑managed. These estimates align with the broader revenue shift to cloud DBMS, though precise instance counts remain undisclosed.
Practical migration implications
- Teams migrating from proprietary systems often evaluate PostgreSQL‑compatible targets to reduce license spend and improve portability. PostgreSQL wire‑compatibility in several distributed SQL and premium cloud offerings further lowers perceived switching costs by maximizing skills and tooling reuse.
- Where MySQL operational maturity is deep, integrating HeatWave can deliver HTAP and vector benefits without introducing an additional analytical engine—often a faster path to value for MySQL‑first estates.
Procurement, Risk, and Executive Guidance for 2026–2027
Procurement and risk considerations
- Open standards and portability: PostgreSQL’s extensibility and widespread wire‑compatibility across cloud and distributed SQL platforms reduce concentration risk and expand vendor choice.
- Support models: Both ecosystems offer multiple enterprise support channels and robust managed services across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. In PostgreSQL’s case, premium tiers (Aurora PostgreSQL, AlloyDB, Hyperscale/Citus) and an extension ecosystem create a rich menu of capability and cost trade‑offs.
- Vendor lock‑in: Managed services improve reliability and speed, but increase dependency on proprietary features. PostgreSQL‑compatible options across multiple vendors help mitigate lock‑in, while MySQL‑first organizations weigh the benefits of HeatWave’s integrated stack against portability priorities.
Executive implications and next steps
- Adoption timing: For greenfield builds, standardize early on the engine most aligned to your capability roadmap—PostgreSQL for extensibility and workload breadth; MySQL for continuity with LAMP/CMS estates and integrated HTAP via HeatWave.
- Capability roadmaps: If consolidating on PostgreSQL, formalize extension standards (PostGIS, TimescaleDB, Citus, pgvector) and identify which workloads require premium managed tiers. If staying MySQL‑first, plan HTAP and AI/vector rollouts through HeatWave, with governance on cost and observability.
- Investment allocation: Prioritize DBaaS spend, as cloud‑managed remains the dominant deployment model for new projects. Budget for premium tiers where they offset analytics systems, data pipelines, and SRE labor.
- Migration planning: Use managed migration tooling to reduce risk and downtime. Focus on the biggest cost centers—licenses, human effort, and cross‑system data movement—when modeling ROI for consolidation vs. diversification.
Conclusion
PostgreSQL’s ascent to 55–65% of net‑new open‑source relational projects in 2026 marks a decisive shift in how organizations build and modernize applications. Primary OLTP share now leans toward PostgreSQL at 46–50%, and PostgreSQL‑compatible DBaaS instances represent 50–55% across major clouds. The underlying causes are structural: developer sentiment, extension‑driven versatility, and premium managed services that stretch PostgreSQL’s operational envelope. MySQL, however, remains dominant across web/CMS ecosystems and entrenched web estates—and with HeatWave, it offers a compelling unified path for HTAP and AI/vector in MySQL‑first organizations.
Key takeaways
- PostgreSQL leads net‑new open‑source relational projects globally in 2026.
- Installed‑base parity persists, with PostgreSQL modestly ahead in primary OLTP and in DBaaS instance mix.
- Regions, industries, and company sizes show distinct patterns; web/CMS remains MySQL‑heavy while SaaS/devtools and financial services skew PostgreSQL.
- ROI hinges on consolidation vs. diversification and the premium tiers each ecosystem offers.
Action steps for 2026–2027
- Choose a primary engine strategy per business unit and codify when to adopt premium managed tiers.
- Align data platform roadmaps with extension or integrated HTAP priorities.
- Model TCO across staffing, premium services, and reduced system sprawl before committing.
- Establish migration and portability guardrails to manage vendor concentration risk.
Forward‑looking statement Managed innovation will keep both ecosystems highly competitive. PostgreSQL’s wire‑compatible surface area and extension ecosystem point to continued plurality in greenfield work, while MySQL’s integrated HTAP and vector advancements will reinforce its position wherever LAMP/CMS heritage and MySQL operational excellence set the baseline. The most reliable predictor of choice remains the surrounding ecosystem—and the organizations that align platform strategy to that reality will realize the best ROI in 2026–2027 and beyond.
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