Databasus vs pgBackRest

Databasus and pgBackRest are both built for disaster recovery with minimal RTO and RPO, and both support physical backups, WAL archiving and Point-in-Time Recovery. Databasus runs these backups remotely on PostgreSQL 17's native stack, so it reuses PostgreSQL's own battle-tested tooling instead of re-inventing it, all behind an intuitive web interface. It works for databases of any size and complexity. Physical backups do require PostgreSQL 17 or newer; on older versions only logical pg_dump backups are available. pgBackRest ships its own backup engine, so it also covers physical and incremental backups on much older PostgreSQL versions, and it adds advanced features like differential backups and delta restore.

Quick comparison

Here's a quick overview of the key differences between Databasus and pgBackRest:

Feature	Databasus	pgBackRest
Target audience	Individuals, teams, DBAs, enterprises	DBAs, command-line and IaC workflows
Backups management	✅ Multiple DBs	❌ Single DB only
Support of other DBs	✅ PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB	❌ PostgreSQL only
Interface	Web UI	Command-line, config files
Backup type	Logical + Physical	Physical (file-level)
PostgreSQL version for physical backups	17+ (native)	9.4+ (own engine)
Recovery options	✅ PITR	✅ PITR
Parallel operations	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Incremental backups	✅ Block-level (PG 17+)	Block-level incremental
Differential backups	❌ No	✅ Yes
Delta restore	❌ No	✅ Yes (changed files only)
Remote backups	✅ Yes	❌ No (requires filesystem access)
Team features	✅ Workspaces, RBAC, audit logs	❌ Single user
Learning curve	Minimal	DBA expertise required
Installation	One-line script or Docker	Manual configuration required
Suitable for self-hosted DBs	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Suitable for cloud DBs	✅ Yes (RDS, Cloud SQL, Azure)	❌ No (requires filesystem access)

Target audience

The most significant difference between these tools is who they are designed for:

Databasus audience

Databasus is built for a broad audience, from individual developers to large enterprises:

Individual developers: Simple setup and intuitive UI make it easy to protect personal projects without deep PostgreSQL expertise.
Development teams: Workspaces, role-based access control and audit logs enable secure collaboration across team members.
Enterprises: Scales to meet enterprise needs with comprehensive security, multiple storage destinations and notification channels.
DBAs and disaster recovery: Physical backups, WAL archiving and PITR for mission-critical systems with near-zero data loss requirements.

pgBackRest audience

pgBackRest is a command-line tool aimed at teams that want to run the backup engine themselves:

Command-line and IaC workflows: Teams that prefer configuring backups through files and scripts rather than a web interface.
Older PostgreSQL versions: pgBackRest ships its own engine, so it can run physical and incremental backups on PostgreSQL versions older than 17.
Advanced features at scale: Where differential backups, delta restore and standby creation are worth the extra setup.

Backup approach

The tools use fundamentally different backup strategies, each with distinct advantages:

Databasus: Logical + Physical backups

Databasus supports both logical and physical backup strategies:

Physical, incremental and WAL backups: Run remotely over the PostgreSQL replication protocol on PostgreSQL 17's native stack — pg_basebackup, block-level pg_basebackup --incremental driven by server-side WAL summaries, pg_receivewal and pg_combinebackup. Databasus reuses PostgreSQL's own battle-tested tooling instead of re-inventing it. Requires PostgreSQL 17 or newer.
Logical backups: Uses pg_dump for portable backups that can be restored to different PostgreSQL versions, with selective restore of specific tables or schemas. This is also the only backup type on PostgreSQL older than 17 and the path for MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB.
Nothing installed on the database: Backups connect remotely; closed networks are reached through an SSH tunnel to an internal host or a bastion, so the database never has to be exposed publicly.
Efficient compression: Uses zstd (level 5) for both backup types, reducing sizes by 4-8x.
Read-only access: Logical backups only require SELECT permissions, minimizing security risks.

pgBackRest: Physical backups

pgBackRest performs file-level (physical) backups of the PostgreSQL data directory:

Block-level incremental: Only changed blocks are backed up, reducing backup time and storage for very large databases.
WAL archiving: Continuous archiving of Write-Ahead Logs enables precise Point-in-Time Recovery.
Full, differential, incremental: Multiple backup strategies for different recovery scenarios.
Optimized for scale: Designed for databases where logical backups would take too long.

Recovery options

Both tools offer flexible recovery options, but with different granularity:

Databasus recovery

Point-in-Time Recovery: Restore to any specific second using WAL replay.
Full cluster restore: Restore the entire database cluster to a specific point in time from physical backups.
Logical restore: Restore from scheduled logical backups to any backup point.
One-click restore: Download and restore logical backups directly from the web interface.
Cross-version compatibility: Logical backups can be restored to different PostgreSQL versions.

pgBackRest recovery

Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR): Restore to any specific second using WAL replay.
Full cluster restore: Restore the entire database cluster to a specific point in time from physical backups.
Parallel restore: Multi-threaded restoration for faster recovery of large databases.
Delta restore: Only restore changed files, reducing recovery time.
Standby creation: Create PostgreSQL replicas from backups.

Note: Both tools support PITR. pgBackRest additionally offers delta restore (only fetching changed files), differential backups and standby creation from backups. Learn how Databasus supports PITR →

Ease of use

The tools differ dramatically in their approach to user experience:

Databasus user experience

Web interface: Point-and-click configuration for all backup settings. No command-line required.
2-minute installation: One-line cURL script or simple Docker command gets you running immediately.
Visual monitoring: Dashboard shows backup status, health checks and history at a glance.
Built-in notifications: Configure Slack, Teams, Telegram, Email or webhook alerts directly in the UI.
No PostgreSQL expertise required: Designed for developers who want reliable backups without becoming database experts.

pgBackRest user experience

Command-line interface: All operations performed via terminal commands.
Configuration files: Requires manual editing of INI-style configuration files.
WAL archiving setup: Must configure PostgreSQL's archive_command and related settings.
Steep learning curve: Requires understanding of PostgreSQL internals, WAL mechanics and backup strategies.
DBA expertise expected: Documentation assumes familiarity with database administration concepts.

View Databasus installation guide →

Team features

For organizations with multiple team members managing backups:

Databasus team capabilities

Workspaces: Organize databases, notifiers and storages by project or team. Users only see workspaces they're invited to.
Role-based access control: Assign viewer, editor or admin permissions to control what each team member can do.
Audit logs: Track all system activities and changes. Essential for security compliance and accountability.
Shared notifications: Team channels receive backup status updates automatically.

pgBackRest team capabilities

pgBackRest is a command-line tool without built-in team features:

No user management or access control
No audit logging of operations
Team coordination requires external tools and processes
Access controlled via OS-level permissions on configuration files

Learn more about Databasus access management →

Security

Both tools provide robust security features:

Databasus security

AES-256-GCM encryption: All passwords, tokens and credentials are encrypted. The encryption key is stored separately from the database.
Unique backup encryption: Each backup file is encrypted with a unique key derived from master key, backup ID and random salt.
Read-only database access: Enforces SELECT permissions only, preventing data corruption even if compromised.

pgBackRest security

Repository encryption: Backup repositories can be encrypted with AES-256.
TLS/SSH transport: Secure communication for remote operations.
Checksum verification: Validates backup integrity during creation and restore.

Learn more about Databasus security →

Storage options

Both tools support multiple storage destinations, with Databasus offering more consumer-friendly options:

Databasus storage

Local storage
Amazon S3 and S3-compatible services
Google Drive
Cloudflare R2
Azure Blob Storage
NAS (Network-attached storage)
Dropbox

pgBackRest storage

Local storage (POSIX, CIFS)
Amazon S3 and S3-compatible services
Cloudflare R2 (S3-compatible)
Azure Blob Storage
NAS (Network-attached storage)
Google Cloud Storage
SFTP

View all Databasus storage options →

Notifications

Staying informed about backup status:

Databasus notifications

Built-in support for multiple notification channels:

Slack
Discord
Telegram
Microsoft Teams
Email
Webhooks

pgBackRest notifications

pgBackRest does not have built-in notification support. Notifications require:

Custom scripting around backup commands
External monitoring tools integration
Manual log parsing and alerting setup

View all Databasus notification channels →

Conclusion

Databasus and pgBackRest serve different needs in the PostgreSQL backup ecosystem. The right choice depends on your database size, team structure and technical requirements.

Choose Databasus if:

You're an individual developer, team or enterprise looking for an intuitive backup solution
You prefer a web interface over command-line tools
You need team collaboration features (workspaces, RBAC, audit logs)
You want built-in notifications to Slack, Teams, Telegram etc.
You want to manage backups for multiple databases from a single dashboard with scheduling, notifications and team features
You want quick setup with minimal PostgreSQL expertise
You use cloud-managed databases (AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, Azure) or self-hosted PostgreSQL

Choose pgBackRest if:

You need physical or incremental backups on PostgreSQL older than 17 (pgBackRest ships its own backup engine)
You need differential backups or delta restore (only changed files)
You need standby creation from backups for high availability
You prefer command-line tools and infrastructure-as-code workflows
Your team has the PostgreSQL expertise to run and tune it

Both tools support physical backups, WAL archiving and PITR, and both are built for disaster recovery with minimal RTO and RPO. Databasus works for databases of any size and complexity, and it gives you a web interface, team features and both logical and physical backups across self-hosted and cloud-managed databases.

pgBackRest is the better fit when you want to run the backup engine yourself, need physical backups on PostgreSQL older than 17, or rely on its differential backups and delta restore.