Choose your approach

Three ways to model your Oracle environment. Start with a quick estimate or go straight to the detailed assessment — both produce a downloadable PDF report.

What to expect — Quick Estimate

~2 mins

Enter your total Oracle software support cost (the annual amount on your Oracle invoice) and, if applicable, your hardware support cost. If you don't have those figures, just enter your best guestimate! Optionally, select product types to give further context about your environment. Choose your target PostgreSQL model and click Calculate to see your 5-year cost comparison. Its amazing how simple it can be! You can then request a full PDF report by entering your business email.

What to expect — Detailed Assessment

5–15 mins

Build your Oracle software environment with more comprehensive details. Each product, metric (Processor or NUP), quantity, and annual support cost. Add Oracle hardware items individually with the year each was purchased. Enter your database counts (production and non-production). The result is the most accurate cost projection available without a formal Pebble IT assessment — and it produces a comprehensive PDF report suitable for sharing with your CFO or board.

What to expect — Talk to Pebble IT

~1 min

Choose to arrange a short no-obligation meeting with a database specialist or send a message to Pebble IT for later discussion.

About this calculator

The Pebble IT Oracle to PostgreSQL Cost Optimiser is a free tool that models the full financial case for migrating an Oracle database environment to PostgreSQL. Unlike software-only cost comparisons, it includes Oracle's expensive hardware refresh cycle — a cost your organisation will face regardless of whether it migrates. Oracle database software support costs increase at 10% per year under Oracle's standard support terms. An organisation paying $500,000 annually today will be paying over $800,000 by Year 5 — for no additional capability. This totals to $3.8M after 5 years, not $3M. PostgreSQL is open source with zero licensing cost. The migration project investment is typically recovered within 2–3 years, after which the savings compound every year. The calculator emails you a PDF report covering the full 5-year cost projection, ROI percentage, breakeven analysis, and recommended next steps — suitable for sharing with a CFO or board.

Frequently asked questions about Oracle to PostgreSQL migration costs

How much can I save by migrating from Oracle to PostgreSQL?
Savings depend on your Oracle environment, but organisations typically see a 60–90% reduction in annual database software costs after migrating to PostgreSQL. Oracle annual support increases at 10% per year under standard terms; PostgreSQL has zero licensing cost. The Pebble IT calculator models your specific environment over 5 years — including software support, hardware refresh, and migration project investment — and calculates your exact savings, ROI, and breakeven point.
What is the typical ROI of an Oracle to PostgreSQL migration?
Most organisations achieve a positive return on their Oracle to PostgreSQL migration within 2–3 years. Five-year ROI figures of 100%–400% are common for mid-size to large Oracle environments. The exact figure depends on your current Oracle support spend, how close your hardware is to a refresh cycle, and the PostgreSQL target environment you select. Use the free calculator above to model your specific requirements and future state.
Does Oracle database licensing cost increase every year?
Yes. Oracle's standard annual support increase is currently compounding at 10% per year. On a $500,000 annual Oracle support contract, that compounds to over $800,000 by Year 5 with no additional software capability delivered. This compounding cost escalation — entirely independent of your infrastructure growth — is the primary financial driver for Oracle to PostgreSQL migrations in Australian enterprise and government organisations.
What does an Oracle to PostgreSQL migration project cost?
Migration project costs depend on the complexity of your Oracle environment. For organisations with annual Oracle software support costs up to $100,000, migration projects typically range from $100,000 to $200,000. Larger environments spending $500,000 or more annually typically require $300,000 to $800,000 in migration investment. These costs are front-loaded in Year 1 and recovered within the 5-year window in the vast majority of cases. The calculator applies these bands automatically to your inputs.
Can PostgreSQL replace Oracle Database Enterprise Edition?
Yes, for the majority of Oracle Database Enterprise Edition workloads. PostgreSQL is a mature, enterprise-grade open-source database used by the world's largest organisations. Tools such as Spectral Core SQL Trans — for which Pebble IT holds the exclusive Australian partnership — automate the conversion of Oracle-specific SQL, stored procedures, and schema objects. A formal Pebble IT assessment identifies any workloads requiring remediation before migration proceeds.
How long does an Oracle to PostgreSQL migration take?
Timelines range from 3 months for smaller, simpler environments to 6–9 months for large enterprise deployments with extensive stored procedures, triggers, and multiple dependent applications. Pebble IT's six-phase methodology — Assess > Plan > Execute > Replicate > Cut Over > Run and Support — compresses timelines by using automated tooling (SQL Trans, Omni Loader, Cortex) for schema conversion and SQL translation, focusing engineering effort on the work that cannot be automated.
What about my applications, will they need to change?
The application connection changes from Oracle to PostgreSQL is reasonably trivial. However, the SQL generated by the application can vary application by application. Whilst there is very strong compatibility between Oracle and PostgreSQL SQL, the applications will need to be reviewed to ensure the SQL is compliant. Same for the treatment of the returned data from the database. An example is Oracle catering for multiple return values whereas PostgreSQL allows a single return value only and this would typically be remediated by returning a single JSON object containing all return values and the application having a common utility to extract all return values from the JSON object.
Do I need to replace Oracle hardware when migrating to PostgreSQL?
Oracle hardware — Exadata, Oracle Database Appliance, SPARC servers — is proprietary and cannot run PostgreSQL. However, Oracle hardware already requires a full replacement approximately every 5 years regardless of whether you migrate. A migration to PostgreSQL substitutes commodity server hardware — typically 25%-50% less expensive than equivalent Oracle hardware — for the Oracle refresh that would have been required regardless. The Pebble IT calculator models this hardware refresh cycle in its 5-year projection so the true cost comparison is visible.
What is the difference between Oracle Processor and NUP licensing?
Oracle Database can be licensed by Processor (per physical processor core, subject to Oracle's core factor table) or by Named User Plus — NUP — with a minimum of 25 NUPs per Processor for Enterprise database. Processor licensing is the most common model for enterprise deployments. Annual Oracle support for Database Enterprise Edition is currently US$47,500 per Processor licence plus US$10,450 each year (A$87k in total). The Pebble IT detailed calculator supports both licensing metrics when building a product-by-product environment assessment.
Is this calculator free to use?
Yes. The Pebble IT Oracle to PostgreSQL Cost Optimiser is completely free, with no account or signup required. Enter your Oracle costs, click Calculate, and see your results immediately. If you choose to receive a PDF report, you provide your business email address — that is used to deliver the report. No personal data is stored in the database. Which by the way is distributed PostgreSQL on AWS ;)