SaintBackup compared
There are several good ways to back up MariaDB. This page puts SaintBackup next to popular alternatives so you can pick what fits, even when that is not SaintBackup. Facts about other products come from each vendor's own pricing pages and documentation; where a vendor does not say, we write "Unknown" rather than guess.
Updated: November 2026 · Competitor prices are per pricing page, 9 Nov 2026, excluding tax, and may have changed. Please check each vendor's site.
| Criteria | SaintBackup | Backup NinjaSeveralnines | SQLBackupAndFTPPranas.NET | SqlBakPranas.NET | SimpleBackups | Ottomatik | DIY script (mariabackup / XtraBackup) | Acronis Cyber Protect CloudMariaDB / Percona, open source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Databases supported | MariaDB (v1.0). MySQL, PostgreSQL: planned | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, TimescaleDB, MongoDB | SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL | SQL Server, MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Azure SQL, Amazon RDS SQL Server | MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis (plus files, volumes, SaaS apps) | MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Supabase (plus files) | mariabackup: MariaDB. XtraBackup: MySQL / Percona Server | Many workload types; MariaDB and MySQL via the Advanced Backup pack |
| MariaDB | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes 10.0 – 10.6 (per requirements page) | Unknown pricing page lists MySQL only | ✓ Yes 10.2 and later | ✓ Yes | Unknown MariaDB not named | ✓ Yes use mariabackup; XtraBackup does not support MariaDB 10.3+ | ✓ Yes |
| Where the management console runs | Center installed on your own machine (office server, VPS, laptop). Agent on the DB host | SaaS. Agent makes outbound HTTPS calls to the service | Desktop app installed on Windows (on-premises) | Web dashboard at sqlbak.com + background app on each server | SaaS (web) | SaaS (web), runs commands on your server over SSH | None built in: you script and monitor it (cron, logs) | Acronis cloud console, usually via a service provider |
| Backup method | Physical: daily mariabackup full + per-minute incrementals | mysqldump or mariabackup / xtrabackup (physical); pg_basebackup; mongodump | Logical: mysqldump; incrementals from binlogs (Standard and up) | Logical: mysqldump; incrementals from binlogs | mysqldump by default; a Percona XtraBackup guide exists; binlogs | Shell commands over SSH; MySQL binlog backup option | Physical full + incremental (you wire it up) | Application-level backup, restore single DBs / tables |
| Point-in-time restore | ✓ Yes into MariaDB on the Center, pre-prepared | Unknown | Partial via binlog incremental chain | Partial via binlog incremental chain | Partial via binlogs | Partial via binlogs | Partial possible if you script it | Unknown |
| Shortest backup interval | Minutes (incrementals) | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | By plan: daily (Basic) to 5 minutes (Max) | By plan: daily (Lite), 5 min (Professional), 1 min (Agency) | Whatever cron allows | Unknown |
| Automatic test restore to prove backups work | ✓ Yes daily restore into a real database <db>_yyyyMMdd | Unknown not mentioned in docs | Unknown not mentioned (one-click restore exists) | Partial "Restore tasks" auto-restore to another server; no verification step described | Unknown not mentioned | Unknown not mentioned (one-click restore exists) | Partial only if you build it | Partial backup validation task; not a database test restore |
| Encryption | ✓ Yes AES-256-GCM, end-to-end with the Center's public key | ✓ Yes AES-256 (OFB) at source; key not stored in the SaaS | Partial AES-256 (zip/7zip), Professional edition only | ✓ Yes AES; files go from your server to storage, bypassing sqlbak.com | ✓ Yes AES-256 + your RSA public key; only you can decrypt | ✓ Yes encrypted at rest and SSL; algorithm not published | Partial you configure it (e.g. openssl / gpg) | ✓ Yes yes; algorithm not named in datasheet |
| Where backups are stored | Center's own disk. Cloud relay (1 TB = 50 USD) or your R2/S3: coming soon | DB host, on-prem storage, S3, Google Cloud Storage, Backblaze, Wasabi, other S3-compatible | Folder / NAS / FTP / SFTP, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, B2; S3, Azure on Professional | Folder / NAS / FTP, B2, Box; Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive (Standard); S3, Azure (Professional) | Bundled SimpleStorage, or your own storage | Ottomatik storage, S3, Google Drive, Backblaze, Dropbox | Anywhere you choose | Acronis cloud, public cloud (e.g. Azure), local storage |
| Operating systems | Windows, Linux | Linux (CentOS, RHEL, Ubuntu, Debian), Windows | Windows | Windows, Linux (incl. Docker) | Unknown connects to servers, Docker or managed DBs | Servers reachable over SSH (needs Python) | Depends on the tool | Unknown see vendor docs |
| Needs your own machine for the console | Yes: one machine runs the Center (can be an existing one) | ✕ No | Yes: a Windows machine; incrementals need the MySQL host itself | ✕ No | ✕ No | ✕ No | Depends on your setup | ✕ No |
| Pricing model | Yearly Center licence including 1 Agent seat | Subscription per agent / month | One-time per computer; optional yearly subscription | Subscription per server / month | Monthly subscription by jobs and storage | Monthly subscription by jobs | Free software; costs engineering time | Per workload or consumption, via partners |
| Starting price | 50 USD / 1 yr, 80 USD / 2 yrs, 120 USD / 3 yrs; extra Agent 30 USD / yr | 40 USD / agent / month; 15% off from 5 agents, 25% above 10 | Free (up to 2 DBs); Lite 39 USD, Standard 89 USD, Professional 129 USD (one-time) | Free (1 server, 2 DBs); Standard 6, Professional 9 / server / month | Basic 0 USD; Lite 49 USD / month; Plus 99; Max 299 | Lite 14 USD / month; Professional 79; Agency 199 | 0 USD | Unknown no public list price found |
| Trial / free tier | 1-month trial; Agent is free | 14-day trial | Permanent Free edition | Free plan + 30-day Professional trial | Free Basic plan (1 job, 1 GB) | 14-day trial | Not applicable | Unknown |
When another product is the better choice
- You need many database engines today (PostgreSQL, MongoDB, SQL Server…): Backup Ninja, SqlBak and SimpleBackups already cover several. SaintBackup 1.0 is MariaDB only; MySQL and PostgreSQL are on the roadmap.
- You do not want to run any extra machine: SaaS services (Backup Ninja, SqlBak, SimpleBackups, Ottomatik) need no console host. SaintBackup needs one machine for the Center, even if it is an existing server or laptop.
- You want cloud storage with zero setup: SimpleBackups and Ottomatik bundle storage; SQLBackupAndFTP and SqlBak upload straight to S3, Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox. SaintBackup cloud storage is coming soon.
- Mostly SQL Server on Windows, or you prefer a one-time purchase: SQLBackupAndFTP sells perpetual licences and has a Free edition.
- One small server, a few databases, zero budget: the Free plans of SqlBak or SQLBackupAndFTP are a sensible start.
- A strong DBA team with time: a DIY mariabackup script is free and the most flexible, as long as someone maintains it and tests restores regularly.
- You must protect servers, VMs, endpoints, mail… in one system: an enterprise platform such as Acronis (or Veeam) fits better than a database-only tool.
What makes SaintBackup different
Backups proven every day
Every day the Center restores the backup into a real database named <db>_yyyyMMdd. You can open it, not just trust a "success" line. How verification works.
Physical backups, minimal data loss
Built on mariabackup: daily full plus per-minute incrementals, pre-prepared for fast point-in-time restore into MariaDB on the Center.
Only your machine can read the data
The Agent encrypts with AES-256-GCM using the Center's public key before sending. Even the cloud relay cannot decrypt it. Security.
No lock-in
Files are standard mariabackup format and can be restored by hand. If SaintBackup ever stops operating, activated software keeps running. If we stop · Manual restore.
Simple yearly price
The Agent is free; you pay only for the Center licence, which includes one Agent seat. No per-GB or per-job fees. See pricing.
Sources
- Backup Ninja – Pricing (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Backup Ninja docs – Requirements (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Backup Ninja docs – Backup methods (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Backup Ninja docs – Getting started (encryption) (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Backup Ninja docs – Agent security (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Backup Ninja docs – Cloud storage (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- SQLBackupAndFTP – Pricing (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- SQLBackupAndFTP docs – MySQL backup & restore (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- SQLBackupAndFTP docs – Encryption (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- SqlBak – Pricing (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- SqlBak – MySQL backups (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- SimpleBackups – Pricing (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- SimpleBackups docs – MySQL backup (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- SimpleBackups docs – Backup encryption (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Ottomatik – Pricing (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Ottomatik – Home (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- MariaDB KB – Percona XtraBackup (MariaDB 10.3+) (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- MariaDB docs – mariadb-backup (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Acronis – MariaDB integration (Accessed 09/11/2026)
- Acronis – Cyber Protect Cloud Advanced Backup datasheet (Accessed 09/11/2026)
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