Why You Should Use PostgreSQL 17 with pgvector Instead of Dedicated Vector Databases for RAG in 2026 Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) has become the backbone of production-grade generative AI applications, but the tooling ecosystem for vector storage has fractured. For years, dedicated vector databases like Pinecone, Milvus, and Weaviate dominated the conversation, but 2026 is the year PostgreSQL 17 with the pgvector extension takes the crown for most RAG workloads. Here’s why. The Hidden Costs of Dedicated Vector Databases Dedicated vector DBs promise purpose-built performance, but they come with steep tradeoffs most teams ignore until it’s too late. First, there’s the operational overhead: adding a new database to your stack means new monitoring, backup, and compliance workflows. For teams already running PostgreSQL for transactional data, this is redundant work that burns engineering hours. Then there’s vendor lock-in.…