Database Design & Optimization

Database Services That Make Your App Fast

You need database design that makes your application fast when it has 10 users and still fast when it has 100,000. Whether you want to hire a database optimization company to fix slow queries that are killing your page load times, bring in experienced database engineers for custom database design that matches your data model and access patterns, or need full database design services covering schema architecture, indexing strategy, and performance tuning to optimize database performance across your entire stack, the goal is always the same: a database that is fast, reliable, and does not fall over under load. We deliver database design and optimization for web applications across SaaS, e-commerce, fintech, healthcare, and B2B platforms. Ready for a database optimization quote? Tell us what is slow.

Executive Summary

Database design and optimization typically costs between USD 8,000 and USD 60,000 depending on scope. A schema design for a new application with 15 to 20 tables starts around USD 8,000. Performance optimization of an existing database with query tuning, indexing, and migration runs USD 15,000 to USD 60,000.

Core Capabilities and Features

Schema Design for New Applications

Schema Design for New Applications

Building the right schema from the start saves months of refactoring later. Your schemas are designed based on your application domain, access patterns, and scaling requirements. For SaaS applications, this means multi-tenant schema design (shared database with tenant isolation, or schema-per-tenant). For e-commerce, this means product catalogues, inventory, orders, and customer data modelled for fast reads and reliable transactions. Every project includes documented ERD diagrams, migration scripts, and a data dictionary.

  • Schemas designed based on your application domain, access patterns, and scaling requirements
  • Multi-tenant design for SaaS and product-catalogue modelling for e-commerce included
  • Documented ERD diagrams, migration scripts, and a data dictionary delivered with every project
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Database schema design with entity relationship diagram and migration scripts for new applications
Query Performance Tuning

Query Performance Tuning

The fastest fix for a slow application is usually a slow query. Your query workload is analysed using EXPLAIN ANALYSE (PostgreSQL) or EXPLAIN (MySQL) to identify full table scans, missing indexes, inefficient joins, and suboptimal query plans. Queries are rewritten for performance. A single index addition or query rewrite can reduce page load times from 3 seconds to 200 milliseconds.

  • EXPLAIN ANALYSE identifies full table scans, missing indexes, inefficient joins, and suboptimal plans
  • A single index addition or query rewrite can reduce page load times from 3 seconds to 200 milliseconds
  • Unused indexes identified and removed to improve write performance without hurting reads
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Query performance tuning with EXPLAIN ANALYSE output and index recommendations
Database Migration

Database Migration

Moving from MySQL to PostgreSQL. From self-hosted to managed cloud (RDS, Cloud SQL, Aurora). From a monolithic database to database-per-service in a microservices architecture. Migrations are planned and executed with parallel-run validation, data integrity checks, and zero-downtime cutover strategies. Database migrations are high-risk projects. That risk is minimised through thorough testing and phased rollout.

  • MySQL to PostgreSQL, self-hosted to managed cloud, monolith to database-per-service all covered
  • Parallel-run validation ensures both databases produce identical results before switching
  • Zero-downtime cutover strategies with rollback plans and version-controlled migration tools
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Database migration with parallel-run validation and zero-downtime cutover strategy
The Real Impact

Why It Matters

Your database is the foundation everything else sits on. If it is slow, your application is slow. If it loses data, your business loses trust. If it cannot scale, your product cannot grow. A well-designed database handles 10x your current traffic without redesign. A poorly designed one starts degrading the moment you get real users. And the cost of fixing a bad schema in production is orders of magnitude higher than designing it correctly from the start, because every table, every query, and every piece of application code depends on the schema. The teams that get the most from their database investment are the ones who treat the database as architecture, not an implementation detail. They invest in schema design before writing application code. They run EXPLAIN on queries during development, not after users complain. They monitor performance continuously. And they bring in specialists when the database needs attention, because a slow database is a problem that compounds every day it goes unaddressed.

Industry Data

By the Numbers

$104B

The global database management market is growing at over 12% annually. Database infrastructure is the foundation for every application, analytics system, and AI model your business runs.

Source: Gartner / Market Research

80%

In most applications, the database is the bottleneck. Slow queries, missing indexes, and poor schema design cause the majority of performance problems that users experience as slow page loads.

Source: Industry consensus / Percona

12%

Bad database design leads to data inconsistency, duplication, and integrity issues. These errors compound through every report, dashboard, and business decision downstream.

Source: Precisely / Data Integrity Trends Report, 2025

100x

An index turns a full table scan (reading every row) into an index lookup (reading only the matching rows). For a table with 1 million rows, this is the difference between 3 seconds and 30 milliseconds.

Source: PostgreSQL documentation / industry benchmarks

#2

After slow queries, running out of database connections is the most frequent cause of database-related application failures. Connection pooling prevents it and takes less than an hour to configure.

Source: Percona / industry consensus

"The fastest way to speed up your application is to fix the database. In almost every engagement, the first week produces a query optimization or index addition that cuts page load time in half. The database is where performance lives."
Techneth Database Engineering Team

Technologies

Our Tech Stack

Node.js
Node.js
Python
Python
PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL
MongoDB
MongoDB
Redis
Redis
GraphQL
GraphQL
Kafka
Kafka
Docker
Docker
Kubernetes
Kubernetes
AWS
AWS
Stripe
Stripe
gRPC
gRPC

Our Process

How we turn ideas into reality.

01

Project Brief

You fill in the short project brief form (takes 5 minutes).

02

Database Review

Your database setup and performance concerns are reviewed within 24 hours.

03

Alignment Call

A 30-minute call is scheduled to align on scope, priorities, and budget.

04

Written Proposal

You receive a written proposal with clear deliverables and fixed pricing.

Pricing

Investment Overview

Database Size and Complexity

A database with 20 tables and 1 million rows is a different scope than one with 200 tables and 500 million rows. Larger databases take longer to audit, have more queries to optimize, and require more careful migration planning.

Contact us for a detailed project estimation.

Current Performance State

A database that is "a bit slow" needs less work than one with queries timing out, connections maxing out, and tables locked during peak hours. The worse the current state, the more work is needed.

Contact us for a detailed project estimation.

Schema Design vs Optimization

Designing a new schema is a focused project with a clear endpoint. Optimizing an existing database is iterative: fix the biggest problems first, measure the impact, then address the next layer.

Contact us for a detailed project estimation.

Everything we do at Techneth is built around making data move reliably between the systems that matter. If you want to understand our approach before committing, you can read more about our team and how we work. Or explore the full range of digital product and development services we offer, like database design and optimization. And if you already know what you need, get in touch directly and we will find time to talk.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this service.

How do I know if my database needs optimization?
If your application has page loads over 2 seconds, if your database CPU is consistently above 70%, if you see timeout errors during peak traffic, or if your team regularly waits for queries to finish, your database needs optimization. A performance audit identifies exactly where the bottlenecks are and quantifies the impact of fixing them.
How long does a database optimization project take?
A performance audit takes 1 to 2 weeks. Implementing the highest-impact optimizations (indexing, query rewrites, connection pooling) takes another 1 to 2 weeks. A full schema redesign for a complex application takes 4 to 8 weeks. Most clients see measurable improvement within the first 2 weeks because the changes with the biggest impact are prioritised first.
Which database should I use for my new application?
PostgreSQL for most applications. It handles relational data, JSON, full-text search, and geospatial data with excellent performance, reliability, and community support. Use MongoDB when your data is genuinely document-shaped without complex relationships. Use Redis as a caching layer. Use Elasticsearch for search features. Recommendations are based on your data model and access patterns, not on vendor marketing.
How do you handle zero-downtime migrations?
Online schema change tools (pg_repack for PostgreSQL, pt-online-schema-change for MySQL) alter tables without locking them. For complex migrations, the old and new schemas run in parallel, both are validated to produce identical results, then traffic switches to the new schema. No downtime. No data loss. No surprises.
Can you optimize queries without changing the schema?
Often, yes. Adding the right index, rewriting a query to use a more efficient execution plan, or adding a caching layer can solve performance problems without schema changes. The least invasive optimization is always tried first. Schema changes are reserved for structural problems that cannot be solved at the query level.
How do you design multi-tenant databases?
Three approaches: shared database with row-level security (each tenant's data is in the same tables, filtered by tenant ID), schema-per-tenant (each tenant gets their own schema within one database), or database-per-tenant (full isolation). Shared database is cheapest and simplest. Database-per-tenant offers the strongest isolation. The recommendation depends on your security requirements, compliance needs, and expected tenant count.

Ready to get a quote on your database design and optimization?

Tell us what you are building and we will put together a scoped proposal within 3 business days. Here is what happens when you reach out:

  • 1
    You fill in the short project brief form (takes 5 minutes).
  • 2
    We review it and come back with initial thoughts within 24 hours.
  • 3
    We schedule a 30 minute call to align on scope, timeline, and budget.
  • 4
    You receive a written proposal with fixed price options.

No commitment required until you are ready. Request your free database design and optimization quote now.

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