Autorestic vs Deja Dup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Autorestic | Deja Dup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Vala |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,868 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2019 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, CrashPlan | Time Machine, Backblaze |
What are Autorestic and Deja Dup?
Autorestic
Autorestic is a higher-level wrapper around Restic that makes it easy to manage multiple backups from a single declarative configuration file. It handles backends, locations, and scheduling.
- Declarative backup config
- Multiple backends and locations
- Cron-based scheduling
Deja Dup
Deja Dup is a simple backup tool that hides the complexity of doing backups properly. It supports local, network, and cloud storage with encryption and incremental backups powered by Restic.
- Beginner-friendly GUI
- Encrypted incremental backups
- Local and cloud targets
Autorestic vs Deja Dup: key differences
Autorestic is written in Go, while Deja Dup is built with Vala. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Autorestic versus GPL-3.0 for Deja Dup. Autorestic is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Deja Dup. Deja Dup is the more established project (first released 2008), while Autorestic arrived in 2019. Autorestic has the considerably larger community, at 1,868 GitHub stars versus 600. Autorestic lists first-class Docker deployment; Deja Dup does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Autorestic if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
Choose Deja Dup if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Vala
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Autorestic or Deja Dup better?
Neither is universally better. Autorestic has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Autorestic and Deja Dup free and open-source?
Yes. Autorestic is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Deja Dup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Autorestic and Deja Dup with Docker?
Autorestic: yes. Deja Dup: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Autorestic or Deja Dup?
Autorestic has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Deja Dup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.