Back In Time vs Velero
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
Velero
Backup and migrate Kubernetes cluster resources
| Feature | Back In Time | Velero |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,641 | ★ 10,187 |
| First released | 2008 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Kasten K10 |
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 Velero if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 10.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Back In Time or Velero better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while Back In Time is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Back In Time and Velero free and open-source?
Yes. Back In Time is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Velero under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Back In Time and Velero with Docker?
Back In Time: check the project docs for container support. Velero: check the project docs for container support.