#5 of 16 open-source backup tools · Updated October 2026
Barman review 2026
Barman · Vendor-backed reference tool
Barman ranks #5 of 16 open-source backup tools in the Open-Source Backup Ledger 2026, with a Ledger Index of 62.6 out of 100. Barman is EDB's centralised PostgreSQL backup manager and the backup engine behind CloudNativePG.
Scores
Source: Open-Source Backup Ledger 2026, edition 2026-10-02. How each score works: methodology.
Pros
- Databases and applications4.5/5
- Recovery4/5
- Replication and DR4/5
Cons
- Virtual and physical servers0.5/5
- New-platform support (VMware exit)0.5/5
What the Ledger says
Barman is EDB's centralised PostgreSQL backup manager and the backup engine behind CloudNativePG. It matches pgBackRest on the essentials, with a server-pulls model that suits central backup teams, and has a broader set of maintainers.
No AI features.
Capability by area
Buying, lock-in and release record
Buying and licence (sustainability risk)(lower is better)
- Maintainer concentration2.5
- Rotating EDB maintainers
- Backer health2
- Backed by EDB
- Licence-change risk1.5
- GPLv3
- Abandonment signs0.5
- Active
- Security response1
- Security fix released 9 days after advisory
Technical lock-in(lower is better)
- Formats0.5
- Standard PostgreSQL data files
- Export path0.5
- Standard data files
- Stack coupling0.5
- Python tool
- Hardware / cloud coupling0
- Any POSIX or cloud target
- Skills and tooling coupling1
- PostgreSQL skills
Release credibility
- Cadence5
- 6 to 10 releases a year
- Roadmap transparency4
- Public issues and releases
- Say-do4
- 5 of 5 shipped; Azure managed identity took 16 months
- Velocity4
- Active
- Lifecycle stability4
- Stable; Python 3.12 minimum in 3.20
Partners and services
- Paid support4
- EDB support
- Consultants and partners3.5
- PostgreSQL consultancies
- Documentation3.5
- Good manual
- Community and packaging3.5
- In PGDG repositories; core of CloudNativePG backups
Alternatives to Barman
Questions about Barman
Is Barman any good?
Barman ranks #5 of 16 open-source backup tools in the Open-Source Backup Ledger 2026, with a Ledger Index of 62.6 out of 100. Its strongest areas are databases and applications, recovery, replication and dr. Its weakest are virtual and physical servers, new-platform support (vmware exit).
What are the best alternatives to Barman?
The closest by Ledger Index are pgBackRest (63.9), WAL-G (61.3), XtraBackup (61.3), PBS (66.2).
How is Barman licensed and sold?
Rotating EDB maintainers.
How much lock-in does Barman bring?
Barman scores 2.5 out of 25 on technical lock-in (lower is better). Export path: Standard data files.
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