Efficient storage in PostgreSQL can be achieved by understanding data type alignment and padding bytes. By organizing columns in a specific order, one can minimize space waste while maintaining or even enhancing performance during data retrieval.

PostgreSQL's full-text search (FTS) can be significantly faster than often perceived, achieving a ~50x speed improvement with proper optimization techniques such as pre-calculating `tsvector` columns and configuring GIN indexes correctly. Misleading benchmarks may overlook these optimizations, leading to an unfair comparison with other search solutions. For advanced ranking needs, extensions like VectorChord-BM25 can further enhance performance.

PostgreSQL v18 introduces the ability to preserve optimizer statistics during major upgrades, enhancing performance and reducing downtime. This feature allows users to export optimizer statistics with `pg_dump` and ensures that statistics remain intact when using `pg_upgrade`, streamlining database upgrades.