Backrest vs Bareos
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?
Backrest
Web UI and orchestrator for Restic backups
VS
Bareos
Backup Archiving Recovery Open Sourced
| Feature | Backrest | Bareos |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,071 | ★ 1,232 |
| First released | 2024 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | Veeam, CommVault |
Why pick each one
Choose Bareos if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Backrest or Bareos better?
Backrest is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Bareos if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Backrest and Bareos free and open-source?
Yes. Backrest is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Bareos under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Backrest and Bareos with Docker?
Backrest: yes. Bareos: yes.