Comparison Guide

pgBadger vs MonPG: Post-Hoc Log Reports vs Live Monitoring

pgBadger is the standard answer for turning PostgreSQL log files into readable HTML reports - slow queries, errors, checkpoints, autovacuum, all parsed offline without ever touching the database. MonPG watches the database live. These are genuinely different jobs: one tells you what happened in last night's logs, the other tells you what is happening right now and pages you when it matters.

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Strongest fit

  • You need to know about a problem while it is happening - pgBadger reports arrive after the log is written and the report is generated.
  • You want query statistics from pg_stat_statements (every execution), not only the statements that crossed log_min_duration_statement.
  • You need alerting on locks, replication lag, vacuum debt, and connection saturation - log reports cannot page anyone.
  • You monitor several servers and want one aggregated surface instead of per-host report files.

Not ideal when

  • Your security posture forbids any tool from connecting to the database - pgBadger works entirely from log files, and that is a real, sometimes decisive advantage.
  • You need deep error and log-event forensics (who, when, which error class) for an audit - that is exactly what pgBadger's reports are built for.
  • You want a free tool for occasional retrospective analysis rather than an always-on service.

Decision signals to evaluate

Latency of insight: pgBadger is batch (run it hourly or nightly); MonPG surfaces query and lock state continuously.
Data source: pgBadger sees only what logging captures - if log_min_duration_statement is 500ms, faster queries are invisible; MonPG reads cumulative stats for every query.
Access model: pgBadger needs log files, no DB connection; MonPG needs a monitoring role on the database.
Alerting: pgBadger has none; MonPG pages on regressions and saturation.
Multi-server: pgBadger reports are per log source unless you merge logs yourself; MonPG aggregates instances natively.
Cost: pgBadger is free open source; MonPG is a paid service - if retrospective analysis is genuinely all you need, free wins.

Related PostgreSQL pages

PostgreSQL Slow Query Monitoring

Continuous regression detection vs log-threshold sampling.

PostgreSQL Query Monitoring

What live query-level coverage looks like.

PostgreSQL Monitoring

Full production coverage baseline.

FAQ

Does MonPG replace pgBadger?

Mostly, but not entirely. MonPG covers the slow-query and activity analysis continuously, with alerting. pgBadger still earns its place for deep log-event forensics and for environments where nothing is allowed to connect to the database.

pgBadger misses queries below my log threshold - does that matter?

Often, yes. A 30ms query running 50,000 times a minute can dominate your database while never appearing in a log configured at log_min_duration_statement = 500ms. pg_stat_statements-based monitoring sees cumulative cost; log-based analysis structurally cannot.

Can I run both?

Yes, and many teams do: MonPG for live monitoring and alerting, pgBadger on a nightly cron for log-level forensics. They do not conflict - one reads logs, the other reads statistics views.

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