diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml
index 987580d6df..2c9f51daf4 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/monitoring.sgml
@@ -4388,10 +4388,7 @@ SELECT pg_stat_get_backend_pid(s.backendid) AS pid,
      <entry><structfield>backup_total</structfield></entry>
      <entry><type>bigint</type></entry>
      <entry>
-      Total amount of data that will be streamed. If progress reporting
-      is not enabled in <application>pg_basebackup</application>
-      (i.e., <literal>--progress</literal> option is not specified),
-      this is <literal>0</literal>. Otherwise, this is estimated and
+      Total amount of data that will be streamed. This is estimated and
       reported as of the beginning of
       <literal>streaming database files</literal> phase. Note that
       this is only an approximation since the database
@@ -4399,7 +4396,10 @@ SELECT pg_stat_get_backend_pid(s.backendid) AS pid,
       and WAL log may be included in the backup later. This is always
       the same value as <structfield>backup_streamed</structfield>
       once the amount of data streamed exceeds the estimated
-      total size.
+      total size. If the estimation is disabled in
+      <application>pg_basebackup</application>
+      (i.e., <literal>--no-estimate-size</literal> option is specified),
+      this is <literal>0</literal>.
      </entry>
     </row>
     <row>
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_basebackup.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_basebackup.sgml
index 29bf2f9b97..90638aad0e 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_basebackup.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_basebackup.sgml
@@ -460,21 +460,6 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
         in this case the estimated target size will increase once it passes the
         total estimate without WAL.
        </para>
-       <para>
-        When this is enabled, the backup will start by enumerating the size of
-        the entire database, and then go back and send the actual contents.
-        This may make the backup take slightly longer, and in particular it
-        will take longer before the first data is sent.
-       </para>
-       <para>
-        Whether this is enabled or not, the
-        <structname>pg_stat_progress_basebackup</structname> view
-        report the progress of the backup in the server side. But note
-        that the total amount of data that will be streamed is estimated
-        and reported only when this option is enabled. In other words,
-        <literal>backup_total</literal> column in the view always
-        indicates <literal>0</literal> if this option is disabled.
-       </para>
       </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
 
@@ -552,6 +537,30 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
        </para>
       </listitem>
      </varlistentry>
+
+     <varlistentry>
+      <term><option>--no-estimate-size</option></term>
+      <listitem>
+       <para>
+        This option prevents the server from estimating the total
+        amount of backup data that will be streamed, resulting in the
+        <literal>backup_total</literal> column in the
+        <structname>pg_stat_progress_basebackup</structname>
+        to be <literal>0</literal>.
+       </para>
+       <para>
+        Without this option, the backup will start by enumerating
+        the size of the entire database, and then go back and send
+        the actual contents. This may make the backup take slightly
+        longer, and in particular it will take longer before the first
+        data is sent. This option is useful to avoid such estimation
+        time if it's too long.
+       </para>
+       <para>
+        This option is not allowed when using <option>--progress</option>.
+       </para>
+      </listitem>
+     </varlistentry>
     </variablelist>
    </para>
 
diff --git a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
index 48bd838803..c5d95958b2 100644
--- a/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
+++ b/src/bin/pg_basebackup/pg_basebackup.c
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ static char *label = "pg_basebackup base backup";
 static bool noclean = false;
 static bool checksum_failure = false;
 static bool showprogress = false;
+static bool estimatesize = true;
 static int	verbose = 0;
 static int	compresslevel = 0;
 static IncludeWal includewal = STREAM_WAL;
@@ -386,6 +387,7 @@ usage(void)
 	printf(_("      --no-slot          prevent creation of temporary replication slot\n"));
 	printf(_("      --no-verify-checksums\n"
 			 "                         do not verify checksums\n"));
+	printf(_("      --no-estimate-size do not estimate backup size in server side\n"));
 	printf(_("  -?, --help             show this help, then exit\n"));
 	printf(_("\nConnection options:\n"));
 	printf(_("  -d, --dbname=CONNSTR   connection string\n"));
@@ -1741,7 +1743,7 @@ BaseBackup(void)
 	basebkp =
 		psprintf("BASE_BACKUP LABEL '%s' %s %s %s %s %s %s %s",
 				 escaped_label,
-				 showprogress ? "PROGRESS" : "",
+				 estimatesize ? "PROGRESS" : "",
 				 includewal == FETCH_WAL ? "WAL" : "",
 				 fastcheckpoint ? "FAST" : "",
 				 includewal == NO_WAL ? "" : "NOWAIT",
@@ -2066,6 +2068,7 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 		{"waldir", required_argument, NULL, 1},
 		{"no-slot", no_argument, NULL, 2},
 		{"no-verify-checksums", no_argument, NULL, 3},
+		{"no-estimate-size", no_argument, NULL, 4},
 		{NULL, 0, NULL, 0}
 	};
 	int			c;
@@ -2234,6 +2237,9 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 			case 3:
 				verify_checksums = false;
 				break;
+			case 4:
+				estimatesize = false;
+				break;
 			default:
 
 				/*
@@ -2356,6 +2362,14 @@ main(int argc, char **argv)
 	}
 #endif
 
+	if (showprogress && !estimatesize)
+	{
+		pg_log_error("--progress and --no-estimate-size are incompatible options");
+		fprintf(stderr, _("Try \"%s --help\" for more information.\n"),
+				progname);
+		exit(1);
+	}
+
 	/* connection in replication mode to server */
 	conn = GetConnection();
 	if (!conn)