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Rowsafe vs SnapShooter for PostgreSQL backups

SnapShooter, part of DigitalOcean since 2023, schedules backups of servers, volumes, files, databases and apps; its PostgreSQL backups use pg_dump, with one-click restore and your choice of storage. Rowsafe does only PostgreSQL, but continuously: restore to any second with up to about a minute of writes at risk, a full restore tested every week, and health monitoring. Choose SnapShooter to back up many kinds of things in one place; choose Rowsafe for point-in-time recovery and tested restores of PostgreSQL.

Checked on . Sources are listed at the end.

Rowsafe and SnapShooter, side by side

Rowsafe compared with SnapShooter
FeatureRowsafeSnapShooter
How it backs up PostgreSQLContinuous WAL archiving plus full and differential backups with pgBackRestpg_dump on a schedule, over SSH or through the SnapShooter Agent
Point-in-time recoveryYes, to any second in the recovery window (about 1 to 2 weeks by default, adjustable), or to a Mark you saved by nameNo: you restore to the moment a backup ran
Data you can loseUp to about a minute of writes on a quiet database, less on a busy oneEverything since the last backup. Schedules run from monthly down to every 5 minutes, depending on plan
Automatic restore testsYes, every week (Proof): a full restore on your server, started and checked database by database. Needs free disk of about 1.3 × the database sizeNo automated restore tests in its PostgreSQL docs
Backups in your own bucketYes: any S3-compatible bucket you own, such as Cloudflare R2, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2 or MinIOYes: your S3-compatible storage (Amazon S3, Spaces, B2, Wasabi, MinIO), or SnapShooter's own
Client-side encryptionYes: aes-256-cbc on your server before upload. The passphrase and bucket keys never leave itYes, optional: you upload a public key and keep the private key
Monitoring and alertsYes (Pulse): health score, disk forecast, slow queries, locks and WAL archiving. Alerts by email, Slack, Discord or webhookPartial: Slack and email notifications when a backup fails
AI-agent restore points (MCP)Yes (Guard): an MCP server and a Claude Code hook save a Mark before risky changesNo MCP server documented
RestoreYes, one click on the database's own server: restore a copy as it was at any second, compare it and bring back the rows you lost, or rewind the whole database with undo. Onto a new server: a documented pgBackRest restoreYes: one-click restore, including to another server or a new database
What it backs upPostgreSQL 13 to 18. MySQL, MariaDB and MongoDB in beta. Redis is planned, not availableServers, volumes, files, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, WordPress and Laravel apps
Open-source agentYes: agent, CLI and installer are Apache-2.0, with signed releases and SLSA provenance. The hosted control plane is not open sourceNo published source that we could find
Free planYes: 1 server, 3 databases, every featureYes: 1 backup job, 500 MB of storage
PriceFree for 1 server, 3 databases. Pro $39/month (5 servers), Business $149/month (25 servers). Every plan has every feature. Storage is billed by your bucket providerPaid plans from $14/month, priced by backup jobs and included storage

Which one should you use?

Choose Rowsafe if

  • You need to restore PostgreSQL to a precise moment, not just to the last backup.
  • You want a restore tested every week without doing it by hand.
  • You want PostgreSQL health monitoring and alerts along with backups.
  • AI coding agents work on your database.
  • You want the software that runs on your server to be open source.

Choose SnapShooter if

  • You want one service for servers, volumes, files, MySQL, MongoDB, WordPress or Laravel apps as well as PostgreSQL.
  • You want one-click restores onto another server or into a new database.
  • A scheduled pg_dump is enough for your data, and you'd rather not change PostgreSQL's settings or restart it.
  • You'd rather not manage a storage bucket: SnapShooter can store backups for you.
  • Your servers run on an operating system Rowsafe doesn't support yet.

The details

Different jobs
SnapShooter is a general backup scheduler: one place for droplet snapshots, volumes, files, databases and apps. Rowsafe is a recovery system for the databases you run: it keeps every change, so you can go back to any second, and it proves every week that a restore works.
Using both
They don't conflict. SnapShooter can keep snapshotting the server and backing up your files, while Rowsafe handles PostgreSQL recovery. A periodic pg_dump from SnapShooter is also a portable copy for major-version upgrades.
Where SnapShooter stands
DigitalOcean acquired SnapShooter in January 2023. It is still sold on snapshooter.com and documented as a DigitalOcean product. Its docs mark connecting accounts and servers from other cloud providers as deprecated.

Questions

Does SnapShooter do point-in-time recovery for PostgreSQL?

Its PostgreSQL backups use pg_dump and pg_restore, so a restore goes back to when a backup ran. Its docs don't describe WAL archiving or point-in-time recovery.

Is SnapShooter still available?

Yes. DigitalOcean acquired it in January 2023, and on September 24, 2026 it was still sold with a free plan and paid plans from $14/month.

Can Rowsafe back up my files or whole server like SnapShooter?

Only the folders that go with a database, such as uploads, so a restore brings back rows and files from the same moment. Not whole servers or other files: use SnapShooter or another backup tool for server snapshots.

Which is cheaper?

Both have free plans. SnapShooter's paid plans start at $14/month and are priced by backup jobs and included storage. Rowsafe's start at $39/month for 5 servers and don't include storage: you pay your bucket provider directly.

Sources

Facts about other products come from their own public pages, checked on . Products change: if something here is out of date, tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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