3 Ways to Insert Data into PostgreSQL: Sequential, Batch, and COPY
Imagine inserting 1 million rows into your database. You have three strategies:
1. Sequential INSERT: One row at a time
Executes a separate INSERT for each row.
Simple, but slow due to repeated database communication.
2. Batch INSERT: Multiple rows at once
Groups many rows into a single INSERT statement.
1M rows with batches of 1,000 = 1,000 INSERT statements.
Faster because it reduces database round trips and statement overhead.
3. COPY: Bulk data loading
PostgreSQL's optimized mechanism for loading large datasets.
Streams data directly into the database without individual INSERT statements.
Usually the fastest option for massive data ingestion.
One important distinction: server-side COPY FROM reads a file accessible to the PostgreSQL server. \copy in psql reads a client-side file, and COPY FROM STDIN lets applications stream data.
How do we compare them?
Measure their throughput:
Throughput = Total rows inserted / Time (seconds)
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