pg_basebackup and pgBackRest are PostgreSQL database backup tools, but they have significant differences in their intended use, features, and flexibility. The following table summarizes the comparison of these two tools.
Comparison: pg_basebackup vs pgBackRest
| Feature | pg_basebackup | pgBackRest |
|---|---|---|
| Official Support | Core PostgreSQL utility | Community-supported, widely adopted |
| Backup Type | Full physical backup only | Full, incremental, and differential physical backups |
| Restore Process | Manual | Automated and flexible |
| WAL Archiving | Requires external scripting | Built-in WAL archiving and restore support |
| Encryption | Not supported natively | Supported |
| Compression | Not supported | Supported |
| Backup Validation | Not available | Supported |
| Multi-Server Support | No | Yes (parallel backup & restore, remote backup servers) |
| Backup Targets | Local or remote server | Local, remote, and cloud (e.g., S3) |
| Scheduling | Needs manual cron setup | Easily scriptable and cron-friendly |
| Monitoring/Logging | Basic stdout logging | Advanced logging and reporting |
| Ease of Use | Simple (good for basic needs) | More complex but highly powerful for production environments |
When to use pg_basebackup?
- For quick and simple full backups
- When setting up streaming replication (base backup required)
- If WAL archiving or incremental backups are not needed
When to use pgBackRest?
- For professional backup strategies in production
- When you need incremental backups and fast restores
- When you require features like WAL archiving, encryption, compression, and scheduling
- For large databases and multi-server environments
Conclusion:
- For simple use cases or replication setup → Use
pg_basebackup - For robust, secure, and automated backup/restore workflows → Use
pgBackRest
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