How to Use ParadeDB Instead of Oracle in PostgreSQL

Why should I use ParadeDB instead of Oracle for search and analytics?

ParadeDB extends PostgreSQL with vector and hybrid search, removing Oracle’s licensing costs while adding AI-ready analytics.

Welcome to the Galaxy, Guardian!
You'll be receiving a confirmation email

Follow us on twitter :)

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Description

Example H2

Example H3

Why pick ParadeDB over Oracle?

ParadeDB adds vector, full-text, and hybrid search to standard PostgreSQL, letting teams power AI features without expensive Oracle Spatial, Text, or proprietary extensions.Because ParadeDB is open-source, you avoid per-core licensing and vendor lock-in while retaining familiar SQL.

How does ParadeDB fit into an existing ecommerce schema?

ParadeDB stores dense vector embeddings alongside regular columns, so you can enrich tables like products with AI-ready data while preserving ACID guarantees and relational joins.

Can ParadeDB replace Oracle Text search?

Yes.ParadeDB’s full-text search uses PostgreSQL tsvector plus BM25 and hybrid ranking, delivering relevance scores comparable to Oracle Text without separate indexes.

What are the migration steps?

1️⃣ Install ParadeDB as a PostgreSQL extension.
2️⃣ Add vector columns or tsvector fields to existing tables.
3️⃣ Create ParadeDB indexes (IVFFlat, HNSW, or hybrid).
4️⃣ Rewrite Oracle CONTAINS or SCORE() queries using ParadeDB’s parade.match or <-> operators.

How to stay performant?

Create indexes with the correct distance metric (l2, cosine, or ip) and tune probes for a balance of recall and speed.Use ANALYZE after bulk loads so the planner selects ParadeDB indexes.

Best practices for production

Store embeddings in a separate column to keep the logical model clear. Partition large tables on created_at for faster pruning.Monitor index size; ParadeDB compresses vectors but you may still set a retention window.

Common mistakes and fixes

Missing extension on replicas: Install ParadeDB on every physical standby to avoid replay errors.
Wrong vector dimension: Ensure the vector column length matches the model (e.g., 384 for MiniLM). Mismatched dimensions raise errors at insert time.

Ready to switch?

ParadeDB lets you keep familiar PostgreSQL tooling, avoid Oracle fees, and ship AI search quickly.Install the extension, create indexes, and start querying—all with standard SQL.

Why How to Use ParadeDB Instead of Oracle in PostgreSQL is important

How to Use ParadeDB Instead of Oracle in PostgreSQL Example Usage


-- Find 5 products similar to a user query and priced under $50
WITH ranked AS (
  SELECT id, name, price,
         parade.match(embedding, $1) AS distance
  FROM products
  WHERE price < 50
  ORDER BY embedding <-> $1  -- cosine distance
  LIMIT 5
)
SELECT * FROM ranked ORDER BY distance;

How to Use ParadeDB Instead of Oracle in PostgreSQL Syntax


-- Install once per database
CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS parade;

-- Add embeddings to the Products table
ALTER TABLE products ADD COLUMN embedding vector(384);

-- Create a vector index with cosine distance
CREATE INDEX idx_products_embedding
ON products USING ivfflat (embedding vector_cosine_ops)
WITH (lists = 200);

-- Hybrid index combining text and vector search
CREATE INDEX idx_products_hybrid
ON products USING parade_hybrid (
  name tsvector,       -- weighted text field
  embedding vector_cosine_ops
);

-- Example parameters
-- lists:   number of IVF lists (accuracy vs. memory)
-- probes:  runtime setting to trade speed for recall

Common Mistakes

Installing ParadeDB only on the primary server. Replica re-play will fail because the extension’s OIDs are missing. Fix: CREATE EXTENSION parade; on every replica.
Creating a vector column with the wrong dimension (e.g., vector(768) when embeddings are 384). Inserts will error. Fix: match column dimension to embedding size.