Honest comparison
Firedrill vs SimpleBackups
SimpleBackups is a solid, mature product that automates backups for databases, servers, and storage across many providers. If you need one tool to back up MySQL, Mongo, and a VPS filesystem, it's a fine choice. Firedrill does one thing they don't center: it restores every backup on real infrastructure and hands you the evidence.
Where SimpleBackups is genuinely good
- ✔ Broad coverage: MySQL, MongoDB, Redis, filesystems, storage buckets — not just Postgres
- ✔ Bring-your-own storage to any S3-compatible bucket
- ✔ Years of production maturity and integrations
Side by side
| SimpleBackups | Firedrill | |
|---|---|---|
| Restore testing | Backup integrity checks; restoring is up to you | Every backup restored onto a real ephemeral Postgres with 7 verification checks |
| Focus | Many databases and services | Postgres only — the whole pipeline is built around proving Postgres restores |
| Audit evidence | Backup logs and status | Per-backup verification reports (schema hash, row counts, amcheck, recovery time) + monthly compliance PDF |
| Recovery time | Unknown until you try | Measured on every verification — you always know your current RTO |
| Encryption | Supported | Always on: client-side AES-256-GCM with per-project keys before upload |
Need to back up five kinds of things? Use SimpleBackups. Need to prove to yourself, your team, or an auditor that your Postgres backups actually restore? That's Firedrill.