Backup tool nono Plakar vs BackupNinja

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? Compare Backup tool nono Plakar with Compare BackupNinja with

BA Backup tool nono Plakar Effortless backup with built-in verification and UI VS BA BackupNinja Archived Lightweight backup configuration and scheduling system

Feature	Backup tool nono Plakar	BackupNinja
Deploy effort	Under-an-hour setup	Read-the-docs project
Health score	86 · Excellent	2 · At risk
Status	Actively maintained	Archived
Category	Backup & Recovery	Backup & Recovery
License	ISC	GPL-2.0
Language	Go	Shell
Setup difficulty	Medium	Medium
Min. RAM	256 MB	64 MB
Deployment	docker, binary	bare-metal
GitHub stars	★ 2,068	★ 68
First released	2021	2004
Replaces	Backblaze, CrashPlan	CrashPlan

What are Backup tool nono Plakar and BackupNinja?

Backup tool nono Plakar

Plakar is a modern open-source backup solution that creates encrypted, deduplicated snapshots with built-in integrity verification. It includes a web UI for browsing and restoring data.

Encrypted deduplicated snapshots
Integrity verification
Web UI for restores

BackupNinja

Backupninja lets you coordinate system backups through a central configuration directory of simple files. It supports many backends including rdiff-backup, rsync, duplicity, and database dumps.

Central config directory
Many backup backends
Database dump handlers

Backup tool nono Plakar vs BackupNinja: key differences

The biggest difference is maintenance: BackupNinja's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Backup tool nono Plakar is actively maintained. Backup tool nono Plakar is written in Go, while BackupNinja is built with Shell. Licensing differs — ISC for Backup tool nono Plakar versus GPL-2.0 for BackupNinja. BackupNinja is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Backup tool nono Plakar. BackupNinja is the more established project (first released 2004), while Backup tool nono Plakar arrived in 2021. Backup tool nono Plakar has the considerably larger community, at 2,068 GitHub stars versus 68. Backup tool nono Plakar lists first-class Docker deployment; BackupNinja does not.

Why pick each one

Choose Backup tool nono Plakar if…

Released under the ISC license
First-class Docker support for quick deployment
Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
Written in Go

Backup tool nono Plakar details

Choose BackupNinja if…

Released under the GPL-2.0 license
Written in Shell
Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM

BackupNinja details

Frequently asked questions

Is Backup tool nono Plakar or BackupNinja better?

Neither is universally better. Backup tool nono Plakar has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Backup tool nono Plakar and BackupNinja free and open-source?

Yes. Backup tool nono Plakar is licensed under ISC and BackupNinja under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Backup tool nono Plakar and BackupNinja with Docker?

Backup tool nono Plakar: yes. BackupNinja: check the project docs for container support.

Which is lighter on resources, Backup tool nono Plakar or BackupNinja?

BackupNinja has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Backup tool nono Plakar. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.