pgwatch

pgwatch is an open-source PostgreSQL monitoring tool for teams running their own databases and willing to manage a self-hosted stack. Its combination of low-privilege collection and customizable metrics is compelling, but cloud-provider limits can leave gaps in operating-system visibility.

Overview

pgwatch runs a remote daemon that periodically connects to PostgreSQL and reads database statistics. It works as a normal database user, without special rights or extensions on the database server, so it can collect metrics without changing the monitored database installation.

It supports PostgreSQL 14 and newer, from single instances to high-availability clusters, pooled environments using PgBouncer or Pgpool II, and Patroni-managed clusters. CYBERTEC positions it for large infrastructures, including thousands of systems. The monitoring stack can also be deployed fully on premises, which suits organizations with strict data-residency requirements.

Key features

Collection and analysis

pgwatch covers query analysis, wait and lock analysis, resource metrics, and query plan capture. Metrics can be extended in pure SQL, with custom definitions added through the configuration database or YAML files. That flexibility is useful when standard monitoring misses a workload-specific signal, though it assumes PostgreSQL expertise and some willingness to maintain configuration.

Dashboards and alerting

Grafana presents the collected metrics, and users can add graphs for their own monitoring needs. Optional Grafana alerting supports Mail, Slack, and PagerDuty. Teams already using Grafana can build on a familiar presentation layer; those seeking a packaged, hosted monitoring service should expect more operational responsibility.

Storage and administration

Supported metrics storage options are PostgreSQL, Prometheus, JSON File, and RPC. A built-in web interface manages monitored databases and metrics, controls preset definitions, and displays logs. The range of storage choices gives operators room to fit pgwatch into different architectures, but the self-hosted deployment means choosing and running that infrastructure remains their job.

Pricing

Open Source: free. The open-source software is free to extend and supports PostgreSQL 14 and newer. There is no paid tier required for the core monitoring capabilities described here, making it suitable for teams able to operate the collector, dashboards, and storage themselves.

CYBERTEC also offers support packages. Standard, Professional, and Enterprise include bug fixes for extensions; ticket-system access is included in Professional and Enterprise. These packages have custom pricing. CYBERTEC says its international team is available 24/7 for technical backup, which may matter to organizations that want vendor support rather than relying solely on internal operators.

Platforms

pgwatch is self-hosted and web-based. The product page describes a one-minute Docker installation, with custom installations also possible. The speed of that Docker route is attractive for an initial deployment, but it does not remove the work of maintaining the monitoring environment. On cloud-managed PostgreSQL services, some operating-system metrics may be unavailable because of platform restrictions.

Who it's for

pgwatch is a strong fit for PostgreSQL teams that need ongoing monitoring across varied deployments, want to define their own metrics, or need to keep monitoring data on premises. Its low-privilege collector and support for clusters and pooled environments make it especially relevant to operators managing infrastructure rather than just consuming a hosted database service.

It is less suitable for teams that need complete host-level visibility from a managed cloud database, or want a turnkey hosted service without running monitoring components. CYBERTEC's ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO 14001 certifications and completed TISAX assessment may also be relevant when evaluating the vendor for support, though pgwatch itself is deployed on the customer's infrastructure.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Free, open-source software avoids a license charge for core monitoring.
• Pros: Collection works with a normal database user and requires no database-server extensions, reducing changes to monitored systems.
• Pros: SQL-defined metrics, Grafana graphs, and multiple storage options give PostgreSQL teams room to tailor monitoring.
• Pros: Support for PostgreSQL 14+, high availability, pooling, and Patroni covers a broad range of operational setups.
• Cons: Self-hosting means the team must operate the collector, storage, and visualization environment.
• Cons: Cloud-managed PostgreSQL may restrict access to some operating-system metrics, limiting host-level insight.
• Cons: Optional alerting depends on Grafana, so teams must configure that layer as part of their monitoring setup.

Alternatives

Percona Monitoring and Management is another free, open-source database monitoring and observability option; consider it if you want a broader monitoring and management package rather than pgwatch's PostgreSQL-focused collector.

Grafana Cloud Application Observability is a better fit for teams seeking a freemium, hosted observability service, with a free tier and usage-based Pro pricing. DBmarlin is another freemium database-monitoring alternative for readers who want to compare a separate product with a free plan.

MySQL is worth considering when the database choice itself is open and MySQL's SQL and NoSQL application focus is a better match. For a cloud-managed database service, Amazon RDS offers a different approach, while Site24x7 Database Monitoring is a paid monitoring alternative with a free plan and trial.

AI SQL Tuner Studio is a narrower option for SQL Server query tuning on Windows, while AimBetter is a paid per-server monitoring alternative.

Verdict

Choose pgwatch if you operate PostgreSQL infrastructure, want to extend monitoring in SQL, and can run the supporting stack yourself. Its strongest advantage is flexible, low-privilege collection across diverse PostgreSQL deployments at no software cost. Look elsewhere if cloud-managed host metrics are essential or you need monitoring delivered as a service.