~/rivestack/blog $ _
Blog
// PostgreSQL, pgvector, and AI infrastructure: guides and deep dives.
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# featured
Crunchy Data Alternative: A Managed pgvector Option for AI Teams
An honest look at Crunchy Bridge as a managed Postgres provider, and where a focused, EU-based managed pgvector service like Rivestack fits as an alternative.
# all posts
pgvector vs pgvectorscale: When Vanilla Isn't Enough
pgvector vs pgvectorscale compared honestly, covering StreamingDiskANN, SBQ, and the RAM line that decides which you need. When tuned vanilla pgvector is enough, and when DiskANN in Postgres earns its keep.
10 min read
pgvector vs Qdrant: Which Should You Use in 2026?
pgvector vs Qdrant compared on performance, filtering, cost, and operations. An honest look at when Postgres is enough and when a dedicated vector engine earns its keep.
11 min read
Self-Hosted vs Managed pgvector: The Real Total Cost of Ownership
Self-hosted vs managed pgvector compared on true TCO. Raw compute is cheaper on a VM you run yourself, but pgvector cost is mostly engineer-hours for HNSW tuning, pooling, backups, and HA. An honest breakdown with rough, labeled estimates.
11 min read
Semantic Search, Built Into Your Postgres
Run meaning-based search on your own dedicated PostgreSQL with pgvector and HNSW, no separate vector database. Embeddings generated for you, a one-click sample dataset, and query times measured by Postgres.
4 min read
How to Choose a Managed PostgreSQL Provider Without Getting Burned
A buying guide for managed PostgreSQL from someone who has paid the surprise bills: dedicated vs shared compute, NVMe vs network storage, PITR upsells, benchmark-marketing tricks, EU residency, and a trial-week evaluation checklist.
12 min read
Managed PostgreSQL vs Self-Hosted: What Running Your Own Actually Costs
The real checklist behind self-hosting PostgreSQL (restore-tested backups, failover, patching, disk management): what it costs in hours per month, when self-hosting genuinely wins, and what to demand from any managed provider.
11 min read
HNSW vs IVFFlat in pgvector: How to Actually Choose
A practitioner's decision guide to pgvector's two index types: how HNSW graphs and IVFFlat clusters really behave, measured build times and QPS on real hardware, the ef_search-over-PgBouncer trap, and a decision rule that holds up.
11 min read
PostgreSQL vs Dedicated Vector Databases: Where the Line Actually Is
Pinecone, Qdrant, Weaviate, and Milvus versus Postgres with pgvector: what each side genuinely does better, the real cost of running two systems, and measured numbers showing where a single Postgres node stops.
10 min read