Backrest vs Ganymede

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?
FeatureBackrestGanymede
CategoryBackup & RecoveryBackup & Recovery
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker
GitHub stars★ 7,071★ 991
First released20242026
ReplacesBackblaze

Why pick each one

Choose Backrest if…

  • Makes Restic approachable
  • Good scheduling
  • Lightweight
Backrest details

Choose Ganymede if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Go
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Ganymede details

Frequently asked questions

Is Backrest or Ganymede better?

Backrest is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Ganymede if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Backrest and Ganymede free and open-source?

Yes. Backrest is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Ganymede under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Backrest and Ganymede with Docker?

Backrest: yes. Ganymede: yes.

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