Backrest vs borgmatic
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Backrest
Web UI and orchestrator for Restic backups
VS
borgmatic
Simple configuration-driven frontend for BorgBackup
| Feature | Backrest | borgmatic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,394 | ★ 2,000 |
| First released | 2024 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | CrashPlan, Backblaze |
What are Backrest and borgmatic?
Backrest
Backrest is a web-based backup orchestrator built on top of Restic, adding scheduling, monitoring, and a friendly interface. It targets users who want Restic's power with a GUI. It is deployed via Docker or a binary.
- Web UI for Restic
- Scheduling and retention policies
- Backup health monitoring
- Notifications
borgmatic
borgmatic is a command-line tool that wraps BorgBackup to make it easy to schedule and configure backups. It adds features like database dumps, monitoring hooks, and consistency checks.
- Declarative YAML configuration
- Database backup integration
- Monitoring service hooks
Backrest vs borgmatic: key differences
Backrest is written in TypeScript, while borgmatic is built with Python. Borgmatic is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Backrest. Borgmatic is the more established project (first released 2013), while Backrest arrived in 2024. Backrest has the considerably larger community, at 7,394 GitHub stars versus 2,000.
Why pick each one
Choose Backrest if…
- Makes Restic approachable
- Good scheduling
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Young project
- Depends on Restic underneath
Choose borgmatic if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is Backrest or borgmatic better?
Backrest is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider borgmatic if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Backrest and borgmatic free and open-source?
Yes. Backrest is licensed under GPL-3.0 and borgmatic under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Backrest and borgmatic with Docker?
Backrest: yes. borgmatic: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Backrest or borgmatic?
borgmatic has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Backrest. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.