Building a multi-tenant B2B SaaS platform requires making foundational database architecture decisions early. Choosing between shared database shared schema versus isolated databases impacts scalability, compliance, and infrastructure costs.
1. Shared Schema with Row Level Security (RLS)
PostgreSQL Row Level Security (RLS) offers the perfect balance of cost-efficiency and tenant data isolation. Every query automatically filters rows by tenant_id without requiring complex application-level logic.
- Lowest infrastructure cost for early-stage and mid-market SaaS
- Simplified schema migrations across thousands of tenants
- Enforced at database engine level preventing cross-tenant data leaks
Key Technical Takeaways
- 1Use Postgres RLS for cost-efficient multi-tenant data isolation.
- 2Implement tenant-specific connection pooling using PgBouncer.
- 3Design audit logs with tenant_id fields for SOC2 compliance.