JetGraph vs PostgreSQL
Rows and joins vs a live fraud graph
Keep PostgreSQL (or any OLTP store) as the system of record. Use JetGraph when relationship traversal and precomputed graph features dominate the authorize path.
| Scenario | PostgreSQL | JetGraph |
|---|---|---|
| Primary-key row lookup | Ideal | Unnecessary overhead |
| Multi-hop relationships | Expensive recursive joins | Native adjacency |
| Real-time velocity | Aggregate queries or extra tables | O(1) pre-computed rings |
| Durable system of record | Ideal | Use upstream store; JetGraph snapshots the working graph |
| Pattern detection across a network | Complex SQL | Cypher + feature APIs |
This table is the same honest split used in the developer documentation. JetGraph is not “Postgres but faster for SELECT *.”