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.
| Feature | Back In Time | btrbk |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 78 · Good |
| 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 | ★ 2,669 | ★ 2,154 |
| First released | 2008 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are Back In Time and btrbk?
Back In Time
Back In Time is a simple backup tool for Linux inspired by Time Machine and rsnapshot. It takes snapshots of specified folders using rsync and hard links to save disk space.
- Time Machine-style snapshots
- Hard-link deduplication
- GUI and command-line modes
btrbk
btrbk is a backup tool for creating and managing snapshots of Btrfs subvolumes and replicating them to local or remote targets. It is designed for incremental, atomic backups driven by a simple configuration file.
- Incremental Btrfs backups
- Remote replication over SSH
- Configurable retention
- Atomic snapshots
Back In Time vs btrbk: key differences
Back In Time is written in Python, while btrbk is built with Perl. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Back In Time versus GPL-3.0 for btrbk. Btrbk is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Back In Time. Back In Time is the more established project (first released 2008), while btrbk arrived in 2014.
Why pick each one
Choose Back In Time if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Choose btrbk if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Btrfs only
- No graphical interface
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.
Which is lighter on resources, Back In Time or btrbk?
btrbk has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Back In Time. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.