[pvorb]

How long does this procedure take in comparison to the network transfer?

My first try would've been to copy the db file first, gzip it and then transfer it but I can't tell whether compression will be that useful in binary format.

[MPSimmons]

The sqlite file format (https://www.sqlite.org/fileformat.html) does not talk about compression, so I would wager unless you are storing already compressed content (media maybe?) or random numbers (encrypted data), it should compress reasonably well.

[chasil]

Native compression in sqlite is offered as a closed and licensed extension.

https://sqlite.org/com/cerod.html