What is the purpose of `EXPLAIN` or `EXPLAIN ANALYZE` in PostgreSQL?

Question

Advanced SQL Developer — Medium

What is the purpose of `EXPLAIN` or `EXPLAIN ANALYZE` in PostgreSQL?

Accepted Answer

The purpose of `EXPLAIN` or `EXPLAIN ANALYZE` in PostgreSQL is to show the query execution plan chosen by the optimizer. `EXPLAIN` displays estimated costs, while `EXPLAIN ANALYZE` executes the query and compares actual vs estimated rows and timing.