Backrest vs mail-archiver
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
mail-archiver
Web application for archiving, searching, and exporting emails from
| Feature | Backrest | mail-archiver |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,071 | ★ 2,045 |
| First released | 2024 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Backblaze | — |
Why pick each one
Choose mail-archiver if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in C#
Frequently asked questions
Is Backrest or mail-archiver better?
Backrest is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider mail-archiver if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Backrest and mail-archiver free and open-source?
Yes. Backrest is licensed under GPL-3.0 and mail-archiver under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Backrest and mail-archiver with Docker?
Backrest: yes. mail-archiver: yes.