postgres-impl-bulk-loading

Quick Reference :

COPY is the fast path for bulk data : an order of magnitude faster than INSERT because it bypasses per-row statement parsing and planning. Pick the transport by where the file lives :

File on the DB server machine    -> COPY ... FROM '/abs/path'   (server-side)
File on the client machine       -> \copy ... FROM 'path'       (psql, client-side)
Data streamed by an app/driver   -> COPY ... FROM STDIN         (psycopg, JDBC, etc.)

Performance ladder, fastest first : COPY >> multi-row INSERT (one statement, many VALUES rows) >> single-row INSERT in a loop. NEVER write a row-by-row INSERT loop for bulk data.