Comparison of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded vs EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server

Each of the following tables focuses on a specific database operation, where the last table presents average results comparison.

Speed comparison of JPA database persistence operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	32.6	7.3	13.1	4.2	22.9	5.8
Element Collection Test	15.1	3.1	8.2	1.9	11.7	2.5
Inheritance Test	25.5	6.9	13.6	5.0	19.5	5.9
Indexing Test	29.6	10.0	18.8	6.8	24.2	8.4
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	13.8	3.5	15.6	3.3	14.7	3.4
Multithreading Test	37.4	31.8	13.0	14.5	25.2	23.1
All Tests	25.6	10.4	13.7	6.0	19.7	8.2

The results above show that in general Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is more efficient than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server in persisting JPA entity objects to the database. Comparing the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (8.2) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (19.7) reveals that in these tests, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is 2.4 times faster than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server.

A large performance gap has been detected when using JPA element collections with small transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (3.1) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (15.1) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is 4.9 times faster than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server.

Speed comparison of JPA database retrieval operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Retrieval Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	24.8	6.8	16.4	17.2	20.6	12.0
Element Collection Test	11.3	0.026	10.8	0.020	11.0	0.023
Inheritance Test	21.7	6.0	21.0	19.7	21.3	12.9
Indexing Test	11.9	5.6	21.5	19.5	16.7	12.6
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	3.6	0.47	4.7	0.61	4.1	0.54
Multithreading Test	19.8	13.5	21.5	27.8	20.6	20.6
All Tests	15.5	5.4	16.0	14.1	15.7	9.8

The results above show that in general Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is more efficient than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server in retrieving JPA entity objects from the database.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using JPA element collections with large retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (0.020) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (10.8) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is 540 times faster than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server.

Speed comparison of JPA database query operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Retrieval Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	3.6	55.5	0.88	7.8	2.2	31.6
Element Collection Test	3.4	15.4	1.7	0.028	2.6	7.7
Inheritance Test	2.9	54.9	1.0	11.5	1.9	33.2
Indexing Test	9.9	0.077	21.7	10.0	15.8	5.1
Multithreading Test	1.1	55.3	0.58	12.0	0.82	33.7
All Tests	4.2	36.2	5.2	8.3	4.7	22.3

The results above show that in general EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server is much more efficient than Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded in executing the tested JPA queries. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (4.7) to the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (22.3) reveals that in these tests, EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server is 4.7 times faster than Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using multithreading with small retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (1.1) to the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (55.3) reveals that in that case, EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server is 50.3 times faster than Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded.

On the other hand, EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server is slower, for instance, when using database indexes with small retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (0.077) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (9.9) reveals that in that case, EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server is 129 times slower than Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded.

Speed comparison of JPA database update operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	14.2	6.2	5.0	4.1	9.6	5.1
Element Collection Test	10.1	0.080	5.6	0.028	7.8	0.054
Inheritance Test	13.4	6.4	7.5	6.1	10.5	6.2
Indexing Test	10.7	6.5	6.1	7.0	8.4	6.8
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	3.7	0.90	2.5	0.50	3.1	0.70
Multithreading Test	23.9	36.0	3.8	9.1	13.9	22.5
All Tests	12.7	9.3	5.1	4.5	8.9	6.9

The results above show that in general Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is slightly more efficient than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server in updating JPA entity objects in the database.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using JPA element collections with large transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (0.028) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (5.6) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is 200 times faster than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server.

On the other hand, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is slower, for instance, when using multithreading with large transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (3.8) to the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (9.1) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is 2.4 times slower than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server.

Speed comparison of JPA database removal operations (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction Size =>	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	26.1	5.7	17.5	5.7	21.8	5.7
Element Collection Test	9.1	0.025	5.2	stopped	7.1	0.012
Inheritance Test	21.4	5.5	17.7	5.4	19.6	5.4
Indexing Test	33.0	10.4	16.3	10.0	24.7	10.2
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	5.4	0.016	8.2	0.013	6.8	0.015
Multithreading Test	38.5	26.3	28.6	16.8	33.5	21.6
All Tests	22.3	8.0	15.6	6.3	18.9	7.2

The results above show that in general Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is more efficient than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server in deleting JPA entity objects from the database. Comparing the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (7.2) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (18.9) reveals that in these tests, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is 2.6 times faster than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using graphs of objects with large transaction size. Comparing the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (0.013) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (8.2) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is 631 times faster than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server.

Comparison of JPA/Database speed - the averages (normalized score, higher is better)

Transaction/Retrieval Size	Few Entities		Many Entities		Average Score
	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server	Hibernate HSQLDB embedded	EclipseLink PostgreSQL server
Basic Person Test	20.2	16.3	10.6	7.8	15.4	12.1
Element Collection Test	9.8	3.7	6.3	0.40	8.0	2.1
Inheritance Test	17.0	15.9	12.2	9.5	14.6	12.7
Indexing Test	19.0	6.5	16.9	10.7	18.0	8.6
Graph (Binary Tree) Test	6.6	1.2	7.8	1.1	7.2	1.2
Multithreading Test	24.1	32.6	13.5	16.0	18.8	24.3
All Tests	16.5	13.1	11.3	7.8	13.9	10.5

The results above show that in general Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is more efficient than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server in performing JPA database operations.

A huge performance gap has been detected when using JPA element collections with large transaction/retrieval size. Comparing the normalized speed of EclipseLink with PostgreSQL database server (0.40) to the normalized speed of Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded database (6.3) reveals that in that case, Hibernate with HSQLDB embedded is 15.7 times faster than EclipseLink with PostgreSQL server.

JPA Performance Benchmark (JPAB)