Databasus vs WAL-G

Databasus and WAL-G are both capable backup tools that support PostgreSQL, but they take fundamentally different approaches. Databasus focuses on comprehensive backup management with an intuitive web interface, while WAL-G is a command-line tool that supports multiple database systems including PostgreSQL, MySQL, MS SQL, MongoDB and others. If you need a user-friendly solution for managing backups across multiple databases, Databasus offers a more streamlined experience.

Quick comparison

Here's a quick overview of the key differences between Databasus and WAL-G:

Feature	Databasus	WAL-G
Backups management	✅ Yes (Multiple DBs)	❌ No (single DB only)
Support of other DBs	✅ PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB	✅ PostgreSQL, MySQL, MS SQL
Interface	Web UI	Command-line only
Backup type	Logical (pg_dump)	Physical (WAL archiving)
Backup scheduling	✅ Built-in scheduler	Requires external (cron)
Recovery options	❌ No PITR (restore to any hour or day)	✅ WAL-based PITR (second-precise)
Incremental backups	Full backups with compression	Delta backups (changed pages only)
Team features	✅ Workspaces, RBAC, audit logs	❌ OS-level permissions only
Notifications	✅ Slack, Teams, Telegram, Email	❌ Requires custom scripting
Encryption	Built-in AES-256-GCM	GPG or libsodium
Learning curve	Minimal	CLI proficiency required
Installation	One-line script or Docker	Binary download + configuration
Suitable for self-hosted DBs	✅ Yes	✅ Yes
Suitable for cloud DBs	✅ Yes (RDS, Cloud SQL, Azure)	❌ Backup only (no restore to cloud)

Database focus

One of the most significant differences between these tools is their database scope:

Databasus: Comprehensive backup management

Databasus is built for comprehensive backup management across multiple database systems with a focus on ease of use:

Multi-database support: Manage backups for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB from a single interface.
Unified experience: The interface, workflows and features work consistently across all supported databases.
Version support: Supports PostgreSQL versions 12 through 18, with version-specific optimizations.
Streamlined management: All development effort goes into improving the backup management experience.

WAL-G: Multi-database support

WAL-G started as a PostgreSQL backup tool but has expanded to support multiple database systems:

PostgreSQL: The original and most mature implementation.
MySQL/MariaDB: Supports binlog-based backups.
MS SQL Server: Windows-based SQL Server backups.
MongoDB: Document database backup support.
FoundationDB: Distributed database support.
Greenplum: Data warehouse backup support.

When comprehensive management matters: If you need to manage backups for multiple databases with a unified interface, Databasus offers a streamlined experience. You get centralized backup management without the complexity of juggling different tools for different databases and with team features.

Target audience

The tools serve different user profiles based on their design philosophy:

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.
Multi-database environments: Organizations running PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB or MongoDB benefit from centralized backup management.

WAL-G audience

WAL-G is designed for users comfortable with command-line tools:

DevOps engineers: Those who prefer infrastructure-as-code and CLI-based workflows.
Multi-database environments: Organizations running PostgreSQL alongside MySQL, MongoDB or other supported databases.
Cloud-native deployments: Teams using Kubernetes or containerized environments where CLI tools integrate well.
Users needing PITR: Those requiring second-precise Point-in-Time Recovery for mission-critical systems.

Backup approach

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

Databasus: Logical backups

Databasus uses pg_dump for logical backups, creating SQL representations of your data:

Portable: Backups can be restored to different PostgreSQL versions or even different servers.
Efficient compression: Uses zstd (level 5) compression, reducing backup sizes by 4-8x with only ~20% runtime overhead.
Read-only access: Only requires SELECT permissions, minimizing security risks.

WAL-G: Physical backups with WAL archiving

WAL-G performs file-level (physical) backups with continuous WAL archiving:

Base backups: Full file-level copies of the PostgreSQL data directory.
Delta backups: Only changed pages are backed up, reducing storage and transfer time.
WAL archiving: Continuous archiving of Write-Ahead Logs enables Point-in-Time Recovery.
Copy-on-write optimization: Efficient handling of unchanged data blocks.

Recovery options

Both tools offer recovery capabilities, but with different granularity:

Databasus recovery

Restore to any hour or day: With hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or cron backup schedules, you can restore to any backup point you've configured.
One-click restore: Download and restore backups directly from the web interface.
Parallel restores: Utilize multiple CPU cores to speed up restoration of large backups.
Cross-version compatibility: Restore backups to different PostgreSQL versions when needed.

WAL-G recovery

Point-in-Time Recovery (PITR): Restore to any specific second using WAL replay, minimizing data loss.
Full cluster restore: Restore the entire database cluster to a specific point in time.
Delta restore: Faster recovery by only fetching changed pages.
Standby creation: Create PostgreSQL replicas from backups for high availability setups.

Note: For most applications, restoring to the nearest hour or day (as Databasus provides) is sufficient. Second-precise PITR is typically only required for mission-critical financial or transactional systems where every transaction must be recoverable. Learn why Databasus doesn't support PITR →

Ease of use

The tools differ significantly 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.

WAL-G user experience

Command-line interface: All operations performed via terminal commands like wal-g backup-push, wal-g backup-fetch.
Environment variables: Configuration primarily through environment variables rather than config files.
External scheduling: Requires cron jobs or external orchestration for automated backups.
WAL archiving setup: Must configure PostgreSQL's archive_command to integrate with WAL-G.
CLI proficiency expected: Documentation assumes familiarity with command-line tools and shell scripting.

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.

WAL-G team capabilities

WAL-G 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 and cloud IAM policies

Learn more about Databasus access management →

Security

Both tools provide security features, but with different approaches:

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.

WAL-G security

GPG encryption: Supports GPG-based encryption for backup files.
libsodium encryption: Alternative encryption using the libsodium library.
Cloud IAM integration: Leverages cloud provider IAM for access control to storage.
No built-in credential management: Relies on environment variables or external secret management.

Learn more about Databasus security →

Storage options

Both tools support cloud storage, with different focus areas:

Databasus storage

Consumer-friendly options for various use cases:

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

WAL-G storage

Cloud-native storage options:

Amazon S3
Google Cloud Storage (GCS)
Azure Blob Storage
Swift (OpenStack)
Local file system
SSH/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

WAL-G notifications

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

Custom scripting around backup commands
External monitoring tools integration
Manual log parsing and alerting setup
Integration with tools like Prometheus, Grafana or custom solutions

View all Databasus notification channels →

Compression

Both tools offer compression to reduce backup sizes:

Databasus compression

zstd compression: Uses zstd at level 5 for balanced speed and compression ratio.
4-8x size reduction: Typical compression ratios with only ~20% runtime overhead.
Automatic: Compression is enabled by default with no configuration needed.

WAL-G compression

Multiple algorithms: Supports LZ4, LZMA, Brotli and zstd.
Configurable levels: Fine-tune compression ratio vs. speed tradeoffs.
Per-file compression: WAL files and base backups can use different settings.

Conclusion

Databasus and WAL-G serve different needs in the PostgreSQL backup ecosystem. The right choice depends on your database environment, team structure and operational preferences.

Choose Databasus if:

You need comprehensive backup management for PostgreSQL from a single interface
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 built-in scheduling without external cron setup
Restoring to any hour or day meets your recovery requirements
You want quick setup with minimal database expertise
Built-in backup encryption is important to you
You use cloud-managed databases (AWS RDS, Google Cloud SQL, Azure) or self-hosted databases

Choose WAL-G if:

You manage multiple self-hosted database systems (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.) and want a unified tool
You require second-precise Point-in-Time Recovery for mission-critical self-hosted systems
Delta backups are important for reducing storage and transfer time
You prefer command-line tools and infrastructure-as-code workflows
You're comfortable setting up cron jobs and custom notification scripts
Your team has DevOps expertise for CLI-based tool management
You're building a database platform and need to backup customer databases with PITR capabilities

For comprehensive backup management, Databasus offers a more streamlined experience with its unified interface and built-in features — and works seamlessly with both self-hosted and cloud-managed databases. Databasus is suitable for comprehensive backup management of production databases, not just backups.

WAL-G remains an excellent choice for organizations with self-hosted databases who prefer CLI-based workflows and need advanced features like delta backups and precise PITR, or for teams building database platforms that need to provide PITR capabilities to their customers.