The Ultimate Database Guide for Sealos: Which Database Should You Choose in 2025?

Choosing the right database can make or break your application. With Sealos offering multiple powerful database options - PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MySQL, Redis, Kafka, and Milvus - developers have unprecedented flexibility. But with great choice comes great responsibility: which database should you pick for your specific use case?

This comprehensive guide breaks down every database available on Sealos, comparing their strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases to help you make the perfect choice for your next project.

The Database Landscape on Sealos: What's Available?

Sealos provides a complete database ecosystem that covers every major data storage and processing need:

SQL Databases (Relational)

• PostgreSQL - The world's most advanced open-source relational database
• MySQL - The world's most popular open-source database

NoSQL Databases

• MongoDB - The leading document database for modern applications

Caching & In-Memory Storage

• Redis - High-performance in-memory data structure store

Streaming & Messaging

• Kafka - Distributed event streaming platform

Vector & AI Databases

• Milvus - Open-source vector database for AI applications

Each database on Sealos comes with managed deployment, automatic scaling, and enterprise-grade security - letting you focus on building rather than managing infrastructure.

SQL Databases: When Structure Matters

PostgreSQL: The Swiss Army Knife of Databases

Best for: Complex applications, data analytics, geospatial data, JSON workloads

PostgreSQL stands as the most feature-rich database available on Sealos. It combines the reliability of SQL with powerful extensions that handle everything from JSON documents to geospatial data.

Key Strengths:

• ACID compliance with full transactional integrity
• Advanced data types including JSON, arrays, and custom types
• Powerful extensions like PostGIS for location data
• Concurrent performance with MVCC (Multi-Version Concurrency Control)
• Full-text search capabilities built-in

Real-World Use Cases:

• E-commerce platforms requiring complex inventory management
• Financial applications needing strict data consistency
• Analytics dashboards processing large datasets
• SaaS applications with multi-tenant architectures

-- PostgreSQL's JSON capabilities in action
SELECT user_data->>'name' as name,
       user_data->'preferences'->>'theme' as theme
FROM users
WHERE user_data->>'city' = 'San Francisco';

When to Choose PostgreSQL:

• You need complex queries with joins across multiple tables
• Data integrity is non-negotiable
• You're building analytics or reporting features
• Your team is comfortable with SQL

MySQL: Battle-Tested Reliability

Best for: Web applications, content management, simple to moderate complexity projects

MySQL remains the go-to choice for web developers worldwide. Its simplicity, speed, and extensive ecosystem make it perfect for getting projects off the ground quickly.

Key Strengths:

• Blazing fast read performance with optimized query execution
• Massive ecosystem with extensive tooling and community support
• Easy to learn with straightforward SQL syntax
• Excellent replication for high availability setups
• Storage engine flexibility (InnoDB, MyISAM, etc.)

Real-World Use Cases:

• WordPress and CMS platforms powering millions of websites
• Social media applications with high read-to-write ratios
• Simple web applications with straightforward data models
• Prototyping and MVPs requiring quick development

When to Choose MySQL:

• You're building a web application or CMS
• Read performance is more critical than complex querying
• Your team needs a gentle learning curve
• You want maximum compatibility with existing tools

NoSQL: When Flexibility Leads

MongoDB: Document Database Champion

Best for: Rapid prototyping, content management, real-time applications, agile development

MongoDB revolutionized how developers think about data storage. Its document-based approach mirrors how modern applications naturally structure data, making development intuitive and fast.

Key Strengths:

• Schema flexibility allowing evolution without migrations
• Horizontal scaling with built-in sharding
• Rich query language supporting complex operations
• Aggregation pipeline for powerful data processing
• Developer-friendly with JSON-like documents

Real-World Use Cases:

• Content management systems with varying content structures
• Real-time applications like chat platforms or collaboration tools
• IoT data collection handling diverse sensor data
• Rapid prototyping where requirements change frequently

// MongoDB's flexible querying in action
db.products
  .find({
    $and: [
      { price: { $gte: 100, $lte: 500 } },
      { categories: { $in: ['electronics', 'gadgets'] } },
      { 'reviews.rating': { $gte: 4.0 } },
    ],
  })
  .sort({ popularity: -1 });

When to Choose MongoDB:

• Your data structure varies or evolves frequently
• You need rapid development and prototyping
• Horizontal scaling is a priority
• Your team thinks in objects rather than tables

High-Performance Caching & Storage

Redis: The Speed Demon

Best for: Caching, session storage, real-time analytics, pub/sub messaging

Redis isn't just a cache - it's a high-performance data structure server that can dramatically accelerate your applications. With sub-millisecond response times, Redis handles the speed-critical parts of your architecture.

Key Strengths:

• In-memory performance with microsecond latency
• Rich data structures (strings, lists, sets, sorted sets, hashes)
• Pub/Sub messaging for real-time communications
• Lua scripting for atomic operations
• Persistence options for data durability

Real-World Use Cases:

• Application caching reducing database load by 80%+
• Session management for web applications
• Real-time leaderboards in gaming applications
• Rate limiting and API throttling
• Message queues for background job processing

# Redis powering a real-time leaderboard
import redis
r = redis.Redis()
 
# Update player score
r.zadd("game_leaderboard", {"player123": 15420})
 
# Get top 10 players
top_players = r.zrevrange("game_leaderboard", 0, 9, withscores=True)

When to Choose Redis:

• Application performance is critical
• You need caching or session storage
• Real-time features are important
• You want to reduce database load

Event Streaming & Real-Time Data

Kafka: The Event Streaming Powerhouse

Best for: Event-driven architectures, real-time analytics, microservices communication, log aggregation

Kafka transforms how applications handle data flows. Instead of direct database calls, applications communicate through events, creating resilient, scalable architectures that can handle massive throughput.

Key Strengths:

• High throughput handling millions of messages per second
• Fault tolerance with distributed replication
• Stream processing with Kafka Streams
• Event sourcing for audit trails and system recovery
• Microservices integration enabling loose coupling

Real-World Use Cases:

• E-commerce order processing tracking every step from cart to delivery
• Real-time fraud detection analyzing transaction patterns
• IoT data pipelines processing sensor data from thousands of devices
• Microservices communication replacing direct API calls with events
• Change data capture syncing data between systems

// Kafka producer sending order events
const kafka = require('kafkajs')();
const producer = kafka.producer();
 
await producer.send({
  topic: 'order-events',
  messages: [
    {
      key: 'order-123',
      value: JSON.stringify({
        orderId: '123',
        userId: 'user-456',
        status: 'confirmed',
        timestamp: Date.now(),
      }),
    },
  ],
});

When to Choose Kafka:

• You're building event-driven architectures
• Real-time data processing is essential
• You need reliable message delivery
• Microservices need to communicate asynchronously

AI & Vector Search

Milvus: The AI Database Revolution

Best for: AI applications, recommendation systems, image/video search, similarity matching

Milvus represents the cutting edge of database technology, purpose-built for AI and machine learning workloads. It excels at storing and searching high-dimensional vectors, enabling intelligent applications that understand semantic similarity.

Key Strengths:

• Vector similarity search with millisecond response times
• Massive scale handling billions of vectors
• AI/ML integration with popular frameworks
• Flexible indexing supporting various similarity metrics
• Cloud-native design for modern infrastructures

Real-World Use Cases:

• Recommendation engines finding similar products or content
• Image search applications enabling visual similarity matching
• Chatbots and Q&A systems with semantic understanding
• Fraud detection identifying suspicious patterns
• Drug discovery comparing molecular structures

# Milvus powering product recommendations
from pymilvus import connections, Collection
 
# Connect to Milvus
connections.connect("default", host="localhost", port="19530")
 
# Search for similar products
search_vectors = [[0.1, 0.2, 0.3, ...]]  # Product embedding
results = collection.search(
    data=search_vectors,
    anns_field="embedding",
    param={"metric_type": "L2", "params": {"nprobe": 10}},
    limit=10
)

When to Choose Milvus:

• You're building AI-powered applications
• Similarity search is a core feature
• You work with embeddings from ML models
• Traditional databases can't handle your vector data

The Decision Matrix: Choosing Your Perfect Database

Multi-Database Architectures: The Power of Combination

Modern applications often benefit from using multiple databases together. Sealos makes this polyglot persistence approach seamless:

The E-commerce Stack

• PostgreSQL: Product catalog, orders, user accounts
• Redis: Shopping cart sessions, product caching
• Kafka: Order processing events, inventory updates

The AI-Powered Content Platform

• MongoDB: Content storage with flexible schemas
• Milvus: Content embeddings for recommendations
• Redis: User session management and caching

The Real-time Analytics Dashboard

• Kafka: Event ingestion from multiple sources
• PostgreSQL: Structured data storage and complex queries
• Redis: Real-time metrics caching

Performance Considerations on Sealos

Each database on Sealos is optimized for different performance characteristics:

Throughput Champions

1. Kafka: 1M+ messages/second for event streaming
2. Redis: 100K+ operations/second for caching
3. MongoDB: 50K+ documents/second for writes

Query Complexity Leaders

1. PostgreSQL: Complex joins, analytics, reporting
2. MySQL: Optimized SELECT performance
3. Milvus: Vector similarity search at scale

Scalability Stars

1. Kafka: Horizontal scaling across clusters
2. MongoDB: Built-in sharding capabilities
3. Milvus: Distributed vector processing

Migration and Integration Strategies

Starting Small, Scaling Smart

Phase 1: MVP Development

• Start with PostgreSQL or MongoDB for core data
• Add Redis for caching as traffic grows
• Keep it simple with a single database

Phase 2: Growth and Optimization

• Introduce Kafka for event-driven features
• Implement Redis for session management
• Consider read replicas for popular databases

Phase 3: Advanced Features

• Add Milvus for AI-powered recommendations
• Implement comprehensive event streaming
• Use multiple databases for optimal performance

Data Integration Patterns

Sealos supports several patterns for connecting databases:

• Change Data Capture: PostgreSQL → Kafka → Other systems
• Event Sourcing: Kafka as the source of truth
• CQRS: Separate read/write databases for optimal performance
• Polyglot Persistence: Right database for each specific need

Cost Optimization on Sealos

Understanding the cost implications of each database helps optimize your budget:

Most Cost-Effective

• MySQL: Lower resource requirements
• PostgreSQL: Excellent price/performance ratio
• Redis: Efficient memory usage

Resource Considerations

• Kafka: Higher network and storage requirements
• Milvus: GPU acceleration for large-scale vector operations
• MongoDB: Variable costs based on document size and indexing

Security and Compliance

All databases on Sealos include enterprise-grade security:

• Encryption at rest for all stored data
• Network isolation with private networking
• Access controls with role-based permissions
• Audit logging for compliance requirements
• Backup and recovery with point-in-time restoration

Getting Started: Your First Database on Sealos

Ready to launch your database? Here's how to get started:

1. Sign up for Sealos and access the dashboard
2. Choose your database based on this guide's recommendations
3. Deploy in seconds with Sealos through one-click installation
4. Connect your application using provided connection strings
5. Monitor and scale as your application grows

The Future of Databases on Sealos

The database landscape continues evolving, and Sealos stays at the forefront:

• Serverless databases for pay-per-use pricing
• Multi-cloud deployments for global applications
• Enhanced AI integration across all database types
• Automated optimization based on usage patterns

Conclusion: Making the Right Choice

Choosing the right database on Sealos doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's your decision framework:

For most web applications: Start with PostgreSQL - it handles 80% of use cases excellently.

For rapid development: Choose MongoDB when schema flexibility matters more than consistency.

For performance-critical features: Add Redis for caching and session management.

For event-driven architectures: Implement Kafka when building modern, scalable systems.

For AI and ML features: Use Milvus when similarity search and vector operations are core to your application.

For legacy compatibility: Pick MySQL when working with existing tools and frameworks.

Remember: you don't have to choose just one. Sealos offers a managed database platform makes it easy to use multiple databases together, each optimized for specific parts of your application.

The key is starting simple and evolving your database architecture as your application grows. With Sealos handling the infrastructure complexity, you can focus on what matters most: building amazing applications that delight your users.

Ready to build your next project? Explore database offerings on Sealos and see how the right database choice can accelerate your development.