No. 11 of 30 ·Database Proxy Software

Pgpool-II

Linux · Self-hosted

Freedom report

Two barsScore 6.3

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Pgpool-II is ranked #11 of 30 in database proxy software on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

Pgpool-II plans and pricing

All plans

Pgpool-II Free open-source software · self-hosted middleware pgpool.net · 1 Oct 2026

Compared on database proxy software

Free plan: Yes
Deployment model: self-hosted
Connection pooling: Yes
Query routing: Yes
Load balancing: Yes
Automatic failover: Yes
Supported databases: PostgreSQL

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The record

Purpose: Pgpool-II is middleware between PostgreSQL servers and database clients that relays PostgreSQL protocol messages transparently.
High availability: It provides automatic failover, Watchdog for Pgpool-II high availability, quorum, and split-brain prevention.
Additional features: Additional features include in-memory query cache, online recovery, connection limiting, Watchdog, and replication.
License: The license permits use, copying, modification, and distribution of the software and documentation for any purpose without a fee.
Distribution: Pgpool-II is available as binary and source formats; the project provides RPM packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and compatible distributions.
APT packages: Users of Debian or Ubuntu are directed to packages provided by the PostgreSQL community.
Authentication: Supported authentication methods include trust, clear-text password, MD5, SCRAM-SHA-256, certificate, PAM, and LDAP; GSSAPI is not supported.
SSL: When enabled, SSL protects both frontend and backend communications, but it is off by default and requires OpenSSL support.
Support: Community support is provided through mailing lists and GitHub Issues, while SRA OSS K.K. offers commercial technical support, consulting, and system integration.
Security reporting: The community asks vulnerability reporters to email the project leader privately and does not offer bug bounties.
Release support: The project aims to fully support each major release for five years; unsupported releases receive only possible best-effort critical fixes and no formal binary packages.
Documentation: Official documentation is available in English and Japanese, with tutorials for basic configuration, Watchdog, AWS, and Aurora.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Database Proxy Software in 2026#11 of 30

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Sources

pgpool.net/about/· checked 1 Oct 2026
pgpool.net/license/· checked 1 Oct 2026
pgpool.net/download/· checked 1 Oct 2026
pgpool.net/docs/latest/en/html/auth-methods.html· checked 1 Oct 2026
pgpool.net/docs/latest/en/html/runtime-ssl.html· checked 1 Oct 2026
pgpool.net/support/· checked 1 Oct 2026
pgpool.net/eol/· checked 1 Oct 2026
pgpool.net/documentation/· checked 1 Oct 2026