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DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL for vector search is the same managed PostgreSQL engine available under Managed Databases, with support for vector workloads through PostgreSQL extensions.

Use PostgreSQL for vector search when you want to store embeddings alongside relational data, query vectors with SQL, and keep one database as your source of truth.

PostgreSQL vector databases support:

• vector: The pgvector extension for vector, halfvec, and sparsevec columns, exact search, HNSW indexes, and IVFFlat indexes. Available on PostgreSQL 13 and later.
• vectorscale: The pgvectorscale extension for StreamingDiskANN and Statistical Binary Quantization for larger, disk-resident vector workloads. Available on PostgreSQL 14 and later.

Enable each extension per database with CREATE EXTENSION.

When to Choose PostgreSQL

Choose PostgreSQL for vector workloads when you need:

• Vectors with relational data: Combine vector similarity search with SQL filters, joins, and transactions.
• One database: Store source data, metadata, and embeddings together without syncing to a separate vector store.
• PostgreSQL tooling: Use existing migrations, backups, replication, observability, and access-control patterns.
• Small to medium vector datasets: Use pgvector HNSW or IVFFlat indexes for common vector search workloads.

For larger search-focused workloads, consider OpenSearch or Weaviate. For hybrid keyword and vector search as a first-class search workflow, consider OpenSearch.

What Is Included

PostgreSQL vector databases include the following vector search capabilities:

• pgvector vector extension: Available on PostgreSQL 13 and later.
• pgvectorscale vectorscale extension: Available on PostgreSQL 14 and later.
• HNSW and IVFFlat indexes: Supported through pgvector.
• StreamingDiskANN and SBQ: Supported through vectorscale.
• Hybrid full-text and vector search: Supported with tsvector, GIN indexes, and vector indexes.
• In-database embedding generation: Not supported. Generate embeddings in your application or ingest pipeline, then insert them into PostgreSQL.

PostgreSQL doesn’t generate embeddings. Generate embeddings in your application or ingest pipeline, then insert the resulting vectors into PostgreSQL.

Use Existing PostgreSQL Clusters

PostgreSQL clusters created through Vector Databases and Managed Databases use the same managed PostgreSQL engine. If you already have a compatible Managed PostgreSQL cluster, enable vector search with:

CREATE EXTENSION vector;

Latest Updates

28 April 2026

• DigitalOcean Vector Databases is now generally available in Data Services that groups managed engines for vector similarity search. The launch includes:

  • Weaviate in private preview for retrieval-augmented generation and semantic search workloads. Available to opted-in customers; preview clusters are not billed.
  • OpenSearch with the k-NN, ML Commons, and Neural Search plugins for hybrid (vector plus keyword) search and remote embedding models. Uses the existing Managed Databases OpenSearch engine.
  • PostgreSQL with the vector (pgvector) and vectorscale (pgvectorscale) extensions for vector similarity search alongside relational data.

  For an overview and guidance on choosing an engine, see Vector Databases.

• PostgreSQL Advanced Edition clusters are now available in public preview, offering enhanced performance and scalability for production workloads.

24 February 2026

• DigitalOcean Managed PostgreSQL Standard Edition and MySQL Standard Edition clusters now support custom CNAME records, allowing clients to connect through your own hostname instead of the default *.db.ondigitalocean.com address. Custom CNAMEs are available through the API when creating clusters or replicas. Advanced Edition clusters do not support custom CNAMEs. For more information, see Configure Custom CNAMEs for PostgreSQL or Configure Custom CNAMEs for MySQL.

5 November 2025

• PostgreSQL 18 is now available for database clusters. You can upgrade earlier versions of PostgreSQL clusters to newer versions without any downtime using the DigitalOcean Control Panel.

For more information, see the full release notes.