Backrest vs Gickup
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
Gickup
Mirror and back up Git repositories across hosts
| Feature | Backrest | Gickup |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,071 | ★ 1,427 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | GitHub Backup |
Why pick each one
Choose Gickup if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Backrest or Gickup better?
Neither is universally better. Backrest has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Backrest and Gickup free and open-source?
Yes. Backrest is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Gickup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Backrest and Gickup with Docker?
Backrest: yes. Gickup: yes.