Back In Time vs btrbk
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
btrbk
Backup tool for Btrfs subvolume snapshots
| Feature | Back In Time | btrbk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,641 | ★ 2,125 |
| First released | 2008 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
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
Choose btrbk if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Back In Time or btrbk better?
Back In Time is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider btrbk if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Back In Time and btrbk free and open-source?
Yes. Back In Time is licensed under GPL-2.0 and btrbk under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Back In Time and btrbk with Docker?
Back In Time: check the project docs for container support. btrbk: check the project docs for container support.