Databases
We asked developers if they heard of, used, and to rate 42 SQL, NoSQL, and Vector databases for this years survey.
The big question
Do you prefer SQL or NoSQL?
This year's respondents were almost universal in their preference for either SQL or SQL + NoSQL, with very few indicating that they'd choose only NoSQL if given the choice. We did have some bias introduced as all sponsors for the survey were SQL providers, so next year we hope to broden our reach to ensure the data is solid.
SQL
54.3%
459
Both
39.6%
459
noSQL
6%
459
Awareness
Have you heard of, used, are using ...?
Postgres is the most well-known and used DB on this list, with Mongo and MySQL following closely behind. Redis is the 2nd most in use, pulling ahead despite being 4th in awareness.
#
Heard of
Used
Currently using
Preference
If you started a new project would you use ...?
Again, Postgres is the top choice for use if starting a new project, while many expressed interested in using Neo4j and Surreal as well. Microsoft Access and Oracle DB were universally at the bottom of the pack.
%
Would use
Might use
Would not
Opinion
How would you rate them?
Postgres also earned the #1 star rating but Planetscale was a very close second, both with a lot of ratings to give them credence. Notably, Newer DBs like Weaviate, Surreal, and Timescale were at the top of the ratings as well.
Tools with less than 5 ratings are not shown
4.12
21 ratings
4.03
26 ratings
4.03
43 ratings
4.01
95 ratings
3.95
46 ratings
3.94
18 ratings
3.94
411 ratings
3.88
12 ratings
3.87
115 ratings
3.83
6 ratings
3.82
553 ratings
3.77
10 ratings
3.74
8 ratings
3.70
255 ratings
3.65
13 ratings
3.65
269 ratings
3.60
13 ratings
3.60
15 ratings
3.59
97 ratings
3.57
50 ratings
3.57
504 ratings
3.55
57 ratings
3.55
17 ratings
3.47
27 ratings
3.45
222 ratings
3.44
192 ratings
3.41
46 ratings
3.40
49 ratings
3.31
212 ratings
3.31
21 ratings
3.30
14 ratings
3.28
43 ratings
3.21
122 ratings
2.39
171 ratings
State
How happy are you with the state of databases?
Most respondants are happy with the state of databases overall this year, with an average rating of 7.39 out of 10.
2022
2023
Cost
How happy are you with the Cost of databases?
Cost of DBs was more neutral, with an average score of 6.05. There's many possible explanations for this. Developers at larger organizations or more jr respondants wouldn't necessarily be faced with the actual costs of the database, but no further clarifying questions were asked in the survey.
2022
2023
