Discord Bot Databases: PostgreSQL vs MongoDB vs SQLite vs Supabase (2025)
The "best database" depends on your bot's workload: command latency, vote/webhook events, server‑level settings, and economy/transactions. This guide gives clear, practical picks and trade‑offs across PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SQLite, and Supabase.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks
Best default for most bots: PostgreSQL
Strong consistency, rich SQL, JSONB, powerful indexing (GIN/GIST), and extensions (e.g., pgvector). Great for economies, permissions, and analytics joins.
Fast iteration & flexible schema: MongoDB
Document model fits evolving schemas. Great for content/feature experiments, logs, and event payloads. Supports transactions and change streams.
Hobby, prototyping, edge cache: SQLite
Zero‑config, tiny footprint, WAL mode for decent concurrency; still single‑writer. Ideal for local dev, per‑shard caches, or low‑traffic utilities.
Firebase‑like with SQL: Supabase
Managed Postgres + Auth, RLS, Storage, Realtime, Edge Functions. Quick to ship, good defaults; keep an eye on cost/limits for heavy workloads.
Comparison Matrix
Model & Consistency
- PostgreSQL: Relational + JSONB; strict schemas; ACID transactions.
- MongoDB: Document/BSON; flexible schema; multi‑document transactions; strong consistency on primary.
- SQLite: Relational, file‑based; ACID; single‑writer, many readers.
- Supabase: Managed PostgreSQL with RLS and realtime.
Scale & Features
- PostgreSQL: Partitioning, powerful indexes, extensions (pgvector, PostGIS), logical replication.
- MongoDB: Horizontal sharding, change streams, Atlas Search, time‑series collections.
- SQLite: WAL mode, great read performance on one host; no built‑in networked clustering.
- Supabase: Postgres + Realtime via logical replication, Auth, Storage, Edge Functions.
Security & Governance
- PostgreSQL: Mature RBAC, row‑level security, migrations with DDL safety.
- MongoDB: Role‑based auth, schema validation, field‑level encryption options.
- SQLite: File permissions; app‑level auth; great for embedded use.
- Supabase: RLS defaults, JWT integration, built‑in Auth providers.
Typical Bot Workloads
- Economy, inventories, premium: PostgreSQL
- Event logs, content feeds, flexible profiles: MongoDB
- Prototypes, per‑shard caches, CLIs: SQLite
- Launch fast full‑stack with auth & storage: Supabase
PostgreSQL
A robust relational database with excellent indexing, transactional guarantees, and extensibility. JSONB lets you mix structured data with semi‑structured without losing SQL power. Extensions like pgvector enable AI features; partitioning and logical replication help scale reads and manage large tables.
Strengths
- ACID transactions, constraints, and RLS for sensitive bot data.
- GIN/GIST indexes for JSONB, arrays, and full‑text search.
- Great for joins across guilds, users, orders, inventories.
Watch‑outs
- Requires schema design and migrations; more upfront planning.
- Heavy workloads may need connection pooling and tuned indexes.
MongoDB
A document database with flexible schemas, high developer velocity, and strong horizontal scaling. Modern MongoDB supports multi‑document transactions, time‑series collections, change streams for realtime reactions, and integrated search.
Strengths
- Rapid iteration with evolving bot features and payloads.
- Change streams fit webhook/event‑driven processing.
- Sharding handles large write/read workloads.
Watch‑outs
- Document modeling matters - avoid unbounded document growth.
- Cross‑document joins are less natural than SQL.
SQLite
An embedded SQL database - no server process, a single file on disk. With WAL mode it supports many readers and a single writer efficiently. Ideal for development, small bots, per‑shard caches, and edge/runtime constraints. Not suited for heavy concurrent writes or multi‑instance clustering without external coordination.
Strengths
- Zero‑config, tiny footprint, fast local reads.
- Great for prototyping and single‑host utilities.
Watch‑outs
- Single‑writer concurrency; careful with long transactions.
- No native network clustering; consider serverless offerings if needed.
Supabase
Supabase is a managed platform built on PostgreSQL. You get SQL power with batteries included: Auth, Row‑Level Security, Realtime, Storage, and Edge Functions. It's a strong option when you want to ship quickly with modern DX while keeping portability (it's just Postgres under the hood).
Strengths
- Managed Postgres with Auth, RLS, Storage, Realtime, Edge Functions.
- Auto‑generated APIs and great developer tooling.
Watch‑outs
- Plan limits and add‑ons can impact cost at scale - monitor usage.
- Advanced tuning still requires Postgres knowledge.
Cost & Scaling Notes
Managed options
Postgres (e.g., Neon, RDS, Fly, Railway), MongoDB Atlas, and Supabase all offer generous tooling and autoscaling options. Compare storage/I/O limits and connection caps for your shard count.
Performance hygiene
- Use connection pooling; keep transactions short.
- Add the right indexes; avoid N+1 queries in hot paths.
- Separate analytics/long‑running jobs from latency‑sensitive commands.
Choose by Workload
Economy, premium, and purchases
Favor PostgreSQL (or Supabase) for strong consistency and relational joins. Model coin balances with constraints and use transactions for transfers.
Activity feeds, content, logs
MongoDB shines for rapidly changing shapes and append‑heavy writes. Use time‑series where appropriate; consume change streams for processing.
Local tools & prototypes
SQLite is perfect for single‑host utilities, ephemeral caches, and proofs‑of‑concept. Migrate to Postgres/Mongo when concurrency demands grow.
Ship fast with auth & file storage
Supabase offers a pragmatic "full‑stack Postgres" with RLS, Auth, Storage, and Realtime. Great for dashboards and web UIs alongside your bot.
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