Side by side
PgDoorman vs SPQR
Both stand on database proxy software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted
PgDoorman offers PostgreSQL connection pooling, capacity coordination, monitoring, and failover in a self-hosted package. Review its authentication gaps, build requirements, and deployment guidance against your environment.
Visit PgDoorman Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted
SPQR offers PostgreSQL sharding with query routing and data balancing, while keeping deployment self-hosted. Its stated workload limits and reported performance drop are important considerations before adoption.
Visit SPQRThe facts
| PgDoorman | SPQR | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Not published |
| Runs on | Linux, Mac, Self-hosted | API, Linux, Self-hosted |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Free or on request |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | ozontech.github.io | docs.pg-sharding.tech |
| On database proxy software | #14 of 31 | #18 of 31 |
PgDoorman: what it does well
- Pools PostgreSQL connections and balances load.
- Patroni-assisted fallback can direct connections to another live member.
- Includes a Prometheus metrics endpoint.
- Supports several documented authentication methods.
- Free and open source.
What to know first
- Does not support query routing.
- LDAP and Kerberos GSSAPI authentication are unsupported.
- Building from source requires Rust 1.87 or newer.
- Docker is intended for development, CI, and demos, not production.
SPQR: what it does well
- Supports single-column and composite sharding keys.
- Provides one-phase and two-phase commit strategies.
- Can use several managed PostgreSQL services.
- Free and distributed under the PostgreSQL license.
What to know first
- Not suitable for complex cross-shard queries.
- Not intended for OLAP workloads.
- FAQ reports a roughly 10–30% performance drop.
Alternatives to PgDoorman Alternatives to SPQR The whole list