Back In Time vs Backrest
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Back In Time
Simple backup tool inspired by Apple Time Machine
VS
Backrest
Web UI and orchestrator for Restic backups
| Feature | Back In Time | Backrest |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,641 | ★ 7,071 |
| First released | 2008 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Backblaze |
Why pick each one
Choose Back In Time if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Back In Time or Backrest better?
Neither is universally better. Backrest has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Back In Time and Backrest free and open-source?
Yes. Back In Time is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Backrest under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Back In Time and Backrest with Docker?
Back In Time: check the project docs for container support. Backrest: yes.