SHSelfHostIndex

Backrest vs Docker Volume Backup

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?
BA Backrest Web UI and orchestrator for Restic backups VS DO Docker Volume Backup Backup tool for Docker volumes to local or remote storage
FeatureBackrestDocker Volume Backup
CategoryBackup & RecoveryBackup & Recovery
LicenseGPL-3.0MPL-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptGo
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker
GitHub stars★ 7,071★ 3,944
First released20242021
ReplacesBackblazeVeeam

Why pick each one

Choose Backrest if…

  • Makes Restic approachable
  • Good scheduling
  • Lightweight
Backrest details

Choose Docker Volume Backup if…

  • Released under the MPL-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
Docker Volume Backup details

Frequently asked questions

Is Backrest or Docker Volume Backup 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 Docker Volume Backup free and open-source?

Yes. Backrest is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Docker Volume Backup under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Backrest and Docker Volume Backup with Docker?

Backrest: yes. Docker Volume Backup: yes.

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