diff --git a/frappe/exceptions.py b/frappe/exceptions.py
index 267f5410af..9b63b23787 100644
--- a/frappe/exceptions.py
+++ b/frappe/exceptions.py
@@ -110,4 +110,5 @@ class DocumentAlreadyRestored(Exception): pass
 class InvalidAuthorizationHeader(CSRFTokenError): pass
 class InvalidAuthorizationPrefix(CSRFTokenError): pass
 class InvalidAuthorizationToken(CSRFTokenError): pass
-class InvalidDatabaseFile(ValidationError): pass
\ No newline at end of file
+class InvalidDatabaseFile(ValidationError): pass
+class ExecutableNotFound(FileNotFoundError): pass
diff --git a/frappe/utils/backups.py b/frappe/utils/backups.py
index b11c73c2b2..3ae300d3c4 100644
--- a/frappe/utils/backups.py
+++ b/frappe/utils/backups.py
@@ -2,11 +2,12 @@
 # MIT License. See license.txt
 
 # imports - standard imports
+import gzip
 import os
 from calendar import timegm
 from datetime import datetime
 from glob import glob
-import gzip
+from shutil import which
 
 # imports - third party imports
 import click
@@ -14,7 +15,7 @@ import click
 # imports - module imports
 import frappe
 from frappe import _, conf
-from frappe.utils import get_url, now, now_datetime, get_file_size
+from frappe.utils import get_file_size, get_url, now, now_datetime
 
 # backup variable for backwards compatibility
 verbose = False
@@ -344,6 +345,20 @@ class BackupGenerator:
 		import frappe.utils
 		from frappe.utils.change_log import get_app_branch
 
+		db_exc = {
+			"mariadb": ("mysqldump", which("mysqldump")),
+			"postgres": ("pg_dump", which("pg_dump")),
+		}[self.db_type]
+		gzip_exc = which("gzip")
+
+		if not (gzip_exc and db_exc[1]):
+			_exc = "gzip" if not gzip_exc else db_exc[0]
+			frappe.throw(
+				f"{_exc} not found in PATH! This is required to take a backup.",
+				exc=frappe.ExecutableNotFound
+			)
+		db_exc = db_exc[0]
+
 		database_header_content = [
 			f"Backup generated by Frappe {frappe.__version__} on branch {get_app_branch('frappe') or 'N/A'}",
 			"",
@@ -384,8 +399,8 @@ class BackupGenerator:
 				)
 
 			cmd_string = (
-				"pg_dump postgres://{user}:{password}@{db_host}:{db_port}/{db_name}"
-				" {include} {exclude} | gzip >> {backup_path_db}"
+				"{db_exc} postgres://{user}:{password}@{db_host}:{db_port}/{db_name}"
+				" {include} {exclude} | {gzip} >> {backup_path_db}"
 			)
 
 		else:
@@ -400,20 +415,22 @@ class BackupGenerator:
 				)
 
 			cmd_string = (
-				"mysqldump --single-transaction --quick --lock-tables=false -u {user}"
+				"{db_exc} --single-transaction --quick --lock-tables=false -u {user}"
 				" -p{password} {db_name} -h {db_host} -P {db_port} {include} {exclude}"
-				" | gzip >> {backup_path_db}"
+				" | {gzip} >> {backup_path_db}"
 			)
 
 		command = cmd_string.format(
 			user=args.user,
 			password=args.password,
+			db_exc=db_exc,
 			db_host=args.db_host,
 			db_port=args.db_port,
 			db_name=args.db_name,
 			backup_path_db=args.backup_path_db,
 			exclude=args.get("exclude", ""),
 			include=args.get("include", ""),
+			gzip=gzip_exc,
 		)
 
 		if self.verbose: