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See how upgrading Postgres can improve query performance without code changes. Divya Bhargov (Microsoft) compares versions in her talk “PostgreSQL 17 vs 18: Side‑by‑Side Performance Wins in Real‑World Queries” at POSETTE: An Event for Postgres 2026. Abstract: Simply upgrading PostgreSQL can make many everyday queries run faster, without any schema changes or application rewrites. In this talk, I’ll do a side‑by‑side comparison of Postgres 17 and 18 using common query patterns that developers and operators see in real systems. For each example, I’ll compare execution plans and runtimes to show where PostgreSQL 18 is faster and what planner or executor changes are responsible.
Divya Bhargov is an engineering leader at Microsoft, managing the PostgreSQL engine team for Azure Flexible Server Postgres. Prior to this, she worked on big data products like Greenplum, gaining deep expertise in large-scale data systems and bridging the gap between engineering and business needs. Divya is passionate about databases and distributed systems and enjoys tackling complex database challenges. A strong advocate for open-source and high-performance engineering organizations, she focuses on building and scaling teams that drive innovation in database technologies.
► Video chapters:
⏩ 00:00 – Music & introduction
⏩ 00:32 – Test setup and fair comparison methodology
⏩ 01:48 – Realistic datasets and workload modeling
⏩ 02:33 – Or-to-any transformation and query speedups
⏩ 06:18 – B-tree skip scan: huge gains on composite indexes
⏩ 13:02 – Self-join elimination in ORM-generated queries
⏩ 17:39 – Smarter group by pruning with unique indexes
⏩ 20:01 – Faster EXCEPT queries and cleaner execution plans
⏩ 23:08 – Summary of 5 major performance improvements in PG 18
⏩ 25:01 – When upgrading to Postgres 18 makes sense
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