# How PostgreSQL Handles Large Values - TOAST and What It Costs You

DevFeed: [How PostgreSQL Handles Large Values - TOAST and What It Costs You](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/how-postgresql-handles-large-values-toast-and-what-it-costs-you-39649.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.gauravsarma.com/posts/2026-03-07_postgres-toast>)

Published: 2026-03-07T00:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Gaurav Sarma's Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/gaurav-sarma-s-blog.md>)

Topics: [PostgreSQL](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/postgresql.md>), [Compression](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/compression.md>), [SQLite](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/sqlite.md>)

Tags: [compression](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/compression.md>), [postgresql](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/postgresql.md>), [schema-design](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/schema-design.md>), [sqlite](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sqlite.md>), [storage](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/storage.md>)

## AI overview

This article explains how PostgreSQL handles values that exceed a page's capacity through TOAST. It covers compression, out-of-line storage in a separate system-managed table, chunking, indexing, read-time reconstruction, storage thresholds, and the costs of the approach compared with SQLite.

## Source excerpt

. [How PostgreSQL Handles Large Values](postgres-toast-cover...