I built a tool to help you choose the right database (based on real tradeoffs)

Akshith Varma Chittiveli — Sat, 25 Apr 2026 05:26:46 +0000

Choosing a database should be simple. But it never is.

You start with:

“Should I use PostgreSQL or MongoDB?”

And 2 hours later you’re reading about:

CAP theorem
distributed consistency
indexing strategies
scaling limits

And still… no decision.

The real problem

Most advice online looks like this:

“Use SQL for structured data”
“Use NoSQL for flexibility”
“Use Redis for caching”

That’s not helpful.

Because real systems don’t fail due to definitions —
they fail due to wrong tradeoffs.

Where systems actually break

From experience, database decisions usually fail at:

🔥 Scale → write throughput collapses
⚡ Latency → p99 spikes under load
💸 Cost → infra becomes unsustainable
🧩 Complexity → debugging becomes painful

The problem isn’t choosing a database.

It’s understanding:

what will break later

So I built something for this

I created a simple tool that helps you choose a database based on:

your use case
scale requirements
consistency needs
system constraints

👉 Try it here:
https://whatdbshouldiuse.com

What it actually does

Instead of saying:

“Use MongoDB”

It tries to answer:

“Why would MongoDB fail for your use case?”

And then suggests:

better alternatives
combinations (e.g., PostgreSQL + Redis)
architecture patterns

Example

If you’re building a chat app:

You might get something like:

PostgreSQL → good for consistency
Redis → great for real-time messaging
Cassandra → useful for massive scale

But also:

where each breaks
when to switch
what hybrid architecture looks like

What I’m trying to build

Not just a “database picker”

But a:

decision system for backend architecture

Would love feedback

Does this actually help?
What use cases should I add?
What’s confusing?

👉 https://whatdbshouldiuse.com

If you’ve ever struggled with choosing the right database, I’d love to hear your thought process.

DEV Community: Akshith Varma Chittiveli