Limitations of storing data as meta values

We use the post meta table in most occasions to store custom data related to different custom post types. However, as the meta tables gets larger, it will be difficult to manage all the meta values. The site will get slower, creating major performance issues. So, we have to consider this limitation when planning the site in the initial stages. Once the posts meta table is used, it's difficult to migrate to a custom solution in later stages, especially when we decide to use custom post type plugins to manage the custom fields.

So, using the post meta table to store custom field data is ideal for small- to medium-scale sites where the posts and post meta tables won't get overloaded with data. In advanced applications, we should consider using a custom table for the custom fields, while using the posts table for the main details of a custom post type item.