Is Prisma slow? You're not alone. Love Prisma's DX but need better performance?
Speed up slow Prisma queries by 2-7x without changing a single line of code.
import { PrismaClient, Prisma } from '@prisma/client'
import { speedExtension, convertDMMFToModels } from 'prisma-sql'
import postgres from 'postgres'
const sql = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL)
const models = convertDMMFToModels(Prisma.dmmf.datamodel)
// This single line fixes slow Prisma queries
const prisma = new PrismaClient().$extends(
speedExtension({ postgres: sql, models })
)
// Your slow Prisma queries are now 2-7x faster
const users = await prisma.user.findMany({
where: { status: 'ACTIVE' },
include: { posts: true }
})Understanding Prisma's evolution and performance characteristics helps explain why this extension exists.
Prisma 2 launched in 2019, revolutionizing the Node.js ORM landscape. The team introduced a game-changing approach: type-safe database access with auto-generated types from your schema. Unlike traditional ORMs, Prisma built a custom query engine in Rust to handle the heavy lifting of query translation and type validation. This architecture was a deliberate choice—it enabled features that were previously impossible in JavaScript ORMs.
During this period, Prisma added powerful features like nested writes, transaction support, and middleware. Each feature made Prisma more capable but also added layers to the query engine. The Rust-based engine provided safety and cross-database compatibility, but every query had to traverse multiple abstraction layers: TypeScript → Query Engine → Database Driver → Database. For most use cases, the developer experience gains far outweighed the performance overhead.
As Prisma matured through version 5, more teams deployed it at scale. With high-traffic production workloads, the query engine overhead became measurable. Benchmarks showed Prisma was 2-7x slower than raw SQL for read operations. The community started discussing "slow Prisma" performance issues, particularly for analytics queries, complex aggregations, and high-throughput APIs. This wasn't a bug—it was the inherent cost of Prisma's architecture providing type safety and validation.
The Prisma team recognized performance concerns and made significant optimizations in versions 6 and 7. They improved query planning, reduced serialization overhead, and optimized the engine's communication layer. Prisma v7, released in late 2024, showed measurable improvements—some queries were 30-40% faster than v5. However, the fundamental architecture remained: queries still passed through the engine layer, and read operations were still 2-5x slower than raw SQL.
This extension was created and released in December 2024 to complement
Prisma's strengths. Instead of competing with Prisma, it extends the ecosystem by addressing one
specific challenge: read performance. The extension bypasses the query engine for read operations
(findMany, findFirst, findUnique, count,
aggregate, groupBy) while keeping all of Prisma's features for writes,
migrations, and schema management. It was designed alongside Prisma v7 and tested
extensively against both v6 and v7 to ensure compatibility.
Prisma made the right architectural choices for its goals: type safety, developer experience, and cross-database compatibility. But those choices create overhead that's noticeable at scale. This extension doesn't replace Prisma—it enhances it for teams who need both the amazing DX and raw SQL performance. You keep using Prisma for everything it's great at (migrations, type safety, schema management, writes) while getting 2-7x faster reads.
Prisma's Rust engine translates TypeScript queries into database-specific SQL. This enables amazing features like cross-database compatibility and type safety, but adds processing time to every query. This overhead is the trade-off for Prisma's incredible developer experience.
The engine validates every query against your schema and ensures type safety at runtime. These safety features are invaluable for development and prevent entire classes of bugs, but they add overhead to each database operation.
Results get serialized and transformed through multiple layers to match your TypeScript types perfectly. This ensures type safety end-to-end but adds latency, especially for large result sets and complex queries.
This extension complements Prisma by offering an alternative path for read queries. You keep everything you love about Prisma while getting 2-7x faster reads when performance matters.
See exactly how this extension accelerates Prisma across 137 test cases
Benchmark environment: MacBook Pro M1 • PostgreSQL 15 • SQLite 3.43
Direct comparison showing how this extension accelerates Prisma queries across identical operations. View complete benchmark data →
Bypass the query engine for reads while keeping all of Prisma's features
Extension catches read operations (findMany, findFirst, findUnique, count, aggregate, groupBy) before they hit Prisma's query engine
Convert Prisma queries into fast, parameterized SQL with optimized JOINs
Run queries through postgres.js or better-sqlite3, completely bypassing Prisma's engine overhead
Results match Prisma's exact format. Your types, IntelliSense, and existing code work unchanged
// Standard Prisma (before)
const users = await prisma.user.findMany({
where: { status: 'ACTIVE' },
include: { posts: true }
})
// Routes through query engine
// ~2.10ms overhead
// Optimized Prisma (after)
const users = await prisma.user.findMany({
where: { status: 'ACTIVE' },
include: { posts: true }
})
// ✅ Direct SQL execution
// ✅ ~1.00ms overhead
// ✅ Accelerates Prisma instantlyGet raw SQL performance while keeping everything you love about Prisma
One line of code accelerates Prisma queries. No refactoring, no migration, no downtime.
Full TypeScript support maintained. All type inference, autocomplete, and compile-time safety preserved while accelerating Prisma.
137 E2E tests prove compatibility with Prisma v6 and v7. Already accelerating Prisma in production apps.
Optimize Prisma on PostgreSQL (including Neon, Supabase, PlanetScale) and SQLite/Cloudflare D1.
Optional generator creates build-time SQL, reducing overhead to microseconds for your hottest queries.
Accelerate Prisma in Vercel Edge Functions, Cloudflare Workers, and any serverless platform.
Common scenarios where this extension makes a real difference
Prisma aggregations and groupBy operations benefit significantly from direct SQL
Query overhead compounds under load - optimization matters
Every millisecond matters in serverless - optimize Prisma execution time
Users notice laggy responses - speed up Prisma for better UX
Accelerate Prisma performance in under 60 seconds
# PostgreSQL (optimize Prisma on Postgres)
npm install prisma-sql postgres
# SQLite (optimize Prisma on SQLite)
npm install prisma-sql better-sqlite3import { PrismaClient, Prisma } from '@prisma/client'
import { speedExtension, convertDMMFToModels } from 'prisma-sql'
import postgres from 'postgres'
const sql = postgres(process.env.DATABASE_URL)
const models = convertDMMFToModels(Prisma.dmmf.datamodel)
// This line optimizes Prisma queries
const prisma = new PrismaClient().$extends(
speedExtension({ postgres: sql, models })
)// Your Prisma queries are now 2-7x faster
// No other changes needed!
const users = await prisma.user.findMany({
where: { status: 'ACTIVE' },
include: { posts: true }
})Common questions about optimizing Prisma
Prisma's query engine adds overhead because it provides incredible features like type safety, schema migrations, and cross-database compatibility. The engine translates your queries, validates them against your schema, and transforms results. This architecture made Prisma the best TypeScript ORM, and this extension simply optimizes read performance while keeping all those great features.
Optimize Prisma queries by using this extension. It bypasses Prisma's query engine for read operations, executing queries directly via postgres.js or better-sqlite3. This accelerates performance while maintaining Prisma's API and type safety. Installation takes less than 60 seconds and requires zero code changes.
Yes, Prisma is slower than raw SQL for read operations - our benchmarks show 2-7x overhead due to the query engine layer. But this overhead exists because Prisma gives you type safety, migrations, and an amazing developer experience. This extension gives you both: Prisma's DX with raw SQL speed for reads.
Absolutely. This extension speeds up Prisma queries without any code changes to your application. Simply add the extension to your Prisma Client initialization and all read queries automatically execute 2-7x faster. Your existing Prisma code, types, and schema remain completely unchanged.
Yes, this extension is production-ready and battle-tested. With 137 comprehensive E2E tests validating exact compatibility with Prisma v6 and v7, it's currently optimizing Prisma in production environments. Released alongside Prisma v7.2 in January 2026.
Prisma aggregations and groupBy operations go through the same query engine overhead as other operations. The engine processes complex queries through multiple transformation layers before execution. This extension optimizes these operations by generating SQL directly, resulting in 3-5x faster aggregate queries while keeping Prisma's API.