Are you writing that pg_dump is unfit for purpose and that I should be using a commercial backup solution instead?
pg_dump is a logical backup. If you need a fast logical backup; then it’s the right tool. To get a fast logical backup use the directory format, multiple threads (jobs), and turn off compression. You shouldn’t have to wait days to get a logical backup; if so, maybe your system is too small and/or disks are too slow.
i.e. pg_dump --format=d --file=prod --compress=0 —jobs=16 prod
However, for database backups a binary solution is best as it is faster and allows for point in time recovery if archiving is enabled.
Relying on logical backups as a backup solution seems like a bad idea.
-rui