DumpCat
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DumpCat vs SQLBackupAndFTP

SQLBackupAndFTP, from Pranas.NET, is a long-standing Windows app that backs up SQL Server, MySQL, MariaDB and PostgreSQL to local and cloud storage. DumpCat is a free, open-source MySQL and MariaDB backup manager for Linux and Windows. Here is how they compare.

Download DumpCat Source on GitHub

At a glance

DumpCatSQLBackupAndFTP
Price and licenseFree and open source (Apache-2.0). No account, no license key.One-time licence per computer: Free (2 databases), Lite $39 (5 databases), Standard $89, Professional $129, Professional Lifetime $499. Optional yearly Full-Service plan.
How it runsSelf-hosted: one binary with a web UI, running as a systemd or Windows service next to your database.Windows desktop app plus a Windows service; needs .NET Framework 4.7.2. For Linux the vendor offers a separate product, SqlBak.
PlatformsLinux (amd64, arm64) and Windows (64-bit).Windows only.
DatabasesMySQL 5.7, 8.0, 8.4, Percona Server, MariaDB 10.x and 11.x.MySQL 5.6, 5.7, 8.0 and 8.4, MariaDB 10.6, 10.11 and 11.4; also SQL Server and PostgreSQL.
Backup methodsLogical with mysqldump / mariadb-dump or parallel mydumper; hot physical backups with XtraBackup / MariaBackup, including incrementals. No locks on InnoDB.Full backups are mysqldump SQL scripts. Incrementals (Standard and up) copy binlogs after FLUSH BINARY LOGS and need the app on the MySQL server itself. No physical backups.
Point-in-time recoveryYes. Continuous binlog archiving; restore to a timestamp, a binlog position or just before a GTID.Partial: incrementals are binlogs, but restoring to a chosen point in time is not documented.
StorageLocal disk / NFS, S3 and compatibles, Google Drive, OneDrive, SFTP, FTP / FTPS, WebDAV, Backblaze B2, Azure Blob, Dropbox and every rclone backend; several per job.Local / NAS, FTP, SFTP, FTPS, OneDrive, Box, Backblaze B2, Yandex, Google Drive and Dropbox. Amazon S3, S3-compatible, Azure and OneDrive for Business need Professional.
Encryptionage encryption on your server before anything is uploaded; zstd compression; SHA-256 for every file.Zip or 7z compression; AES-256 password encryption on Professional only.
Scheduling and retentionCron-style schedules; retention per storage by count, age or GFS (daily / weekly / monthly).Built-in scheduler and cleanup of old backups.
RestoreFrom the web UI: restore under a new database name, test-decrypt every file before dropping anything, integrity checks after each run.One-click restore of a full + incremental chain, under a new name or to another server.
Where your data goesStraight from your server to the storage you choose. Nothing passes through a third party.From your Windows machine to your storage.
NotificationsEmail, Telegram, Slack, Discord and HMAC-signed webhooks.Email on every edition; Slack, Teams, Discord and webhooks from Lite.

Choose SQLBackupAndFTP if

  • You are on Windows and also back up SQL Server or PostgreSQL, and want one tool for all of them.
  • You prefer a one-time licence and a desktop app with guided setup wizards for cloud storage.
  • You want vendor support with a paid service plan.

Choose DumpCat if

  • Your MySQL or MariaDB server runs on Linux: DumpCat runs natively on Linux (amd64, arm64) and on Windows.
  • You need real point-in-time recovery: continuous binlog archiving and restore to a second or just before a GTID.
  • Your databases are large: parallel mydumper and hot physical backups with XtraBackup / MariaBackup.
  • You want S3, encryption and every notification channel without a paid tier: DumpCat is free and open source.

Switching from SQLBackupAndFTP

  1. Install DumpCat on the database server (Linux or Windows).
  2. Add the storage you use today (Google Drive, S3, SFTP…) to DumpCat, in a new folder.
  3. Recreate each job, and turn on binlog archiving where you used SQLBackupAndFTP's incremental backups.
  4. Run each job once and check the integrity result; keep the old backups until DumpCat's retention covers the same period.

Sources

Facts about SQLBackupAndFTP were checked on October 18, 2026 against the sources below. Products change: if something here is out of date, please open an issue on GitHub.

  1. SQLBackupAndFTP download and version history
  2. SQLBackupAndFTP features and editions
  3. SQLBackupAndFTP: MySQL backup
  4. SQLBackupAndFTP docs: how MySQL backup and restore works
  5. SQLBackupAndFTP docs: encryption

SQLBackupAndFTP is a trademark of its owner. DumpCat is an independent open-source project and is not affiliated with it.

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