Do I need JSONB in PostgreSQL for an app?

Not necessarily. You do not need JSONB in PostgreSQL for most apps.

Use regular relational columns/tables if:

• Your data has a known structure
• You need strong validation and constraints
• You’ll query the same fields often
• You want simpler indexing and better performance predictability

Consider JSONB if:

• Some parts of the data are flexible or user-defined
• The shape of the data changes often
• You need to store nested documents
• You sometimes query inside the document, not just store/retrieve it

Good rule of thumb

• Core business data: use normal tables and columns
• Optional/rarely queried flexible data: JSONB can be useful

Downsides of JSONB

• Harder to enforce schema consistency
• More complex queries
• Can become messy if overused
• Updates to nested data can be more cumbersome
• Reporting and joins are usually better with normalized tables

Example

If you’re building an e-commerce app:

• users, orders, products → normal tables
• extra_profile_settings, custom_attributes, metadata → JSONB may fit

If you want, I can help you decide for your specific app by looking at:

• the data model
• query patterns
• whether the schema is fixed or dynamic