Google Cloud SQL vs pgwatch

Google Cloud SQL is a managed cloud service for relational databases, supporting MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. It provides automated backups, high availability, read replicas, scaling, and point-in-time restoration; retention can extend to 35 days. Database Migration Service can move databases from on-premises systems, Compute Engine, or other clouds, and lift-and-shift migrations to Cloud SQL are available at no additional charge. The service connects with Google Cloud products including Compute Engine, Cloud Run, Google Kubernetes Engine, Cloud IAM, BigQuery, and Datastream, as well as tools such as Looker and Terraform. It encrypts data in transit on Google’s internal networks and at rest, and supports private VPC connectivity and network firewalls. The dedicated trial provides PostgreSQL and MySQL Enterprise Plus instances for 30 days, with no automatic charge, followed by a 90-day stopped state. Cloud SQL is paid, from $0.04; there is no free plan. MySQL use is limited to the InnoDB storage engine.

pgwatch is a free, open-source metrics collector and visualization solution for PostgreSQL databases. A remote daemon periodically connects to databases and reads PostgreSQL statistics using a normal database user, without special database rights or server-side extensions. Grafana presents the metrics and lets users add graphs; optional alerts can go through Mail, Slack, or PagerDuty. Metrics can be extended using pure SQL, and supported storage options include PostgreSQL, Prometheus, JSON File, and RPC. A built-in web interface manages databases and metric definitions and displays logs. pgwatch supports PostgreSQL 14 and newer, including single instances, high-availability clusters, pooled environments using PgBouncer or Pgpool II, and Patroni cluster managers. It is self-hosted, with a one-minute Docker installation described alongside custom installation options. The FAQ says it can be deployed fully on premises. Some operating-system metrics may be unavailable on cloud-managed PostgreSQL services because of platform restrictions.