diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 0905890f..9b5f4b4a 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ readme = "README.md"
 python = "^3.12"
 SQLAlchemy = "^2.0.22"
 httpx = "^0.25.0"
-psycopg2 = "^2.9.9"
+psycopg2-binary = "^2.9.9"
 redis = {extras = ["hiredis"], version = "^5.0.1"}
 uvicorn = "^0.24"
 sentry-sdk = "^1.32.0"
diff --git a/settings.py b/settings.py
index edaaa36e..fe168802 100644
--- a/settings.py
+++ b/settings.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@ from os import environ
 
 PORT = 8080
 DB_URL = (
-    environ.get("DATABASE_URL")
-    or environ.get("DB_URL")
+    environ.get("DATABASE_URL", "").replace("postgres://", "postgresql://")
+    or environ.get("DB_URL", "").replace("postgres://", "postgresql://")
     or "postgresql://postgres@localhost:5432/discoursio"
 )
 REDIS_URL = environ.get("REDIS_URL") or "redis://127.0.0.1"