Backup tool nono Plakar vs borgmatic

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?
FeatureBackup tool nono Plakarborgmatic
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
CategoryBackup & RecoveryBackup & Recovery
LicenseISCGPL-3.0
LanguageGoPython
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 2,068★ 2,000
First released20212013
ReplacesBackblaze, CrashPlanCrashPlan, Backblaze

What are Backup tool nono Plakar and borgmatic?

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

borgmatic

borgmatic is a command-line tool that wraps BorgBackup to make it easy to schedule and configure backups. It adds features like database dumps, monitoring hooks, and consistency checks.

  • Declarative YAML configuration
  • Database backup integration
  • Monitoring service hooks

Backup tool nono Plakar vs borgmatic: key differences

Backup tool nono Plakar is written in Go, while borgmatic is built with Python. Licensing differs — ISC for Backup tool nono Plakar versus GPL-3.0 for borgmatic. Borgmatic is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Backup tool nono Plakar. Borgmatic is the more established project (first released 2013), while Backup tool nono Plakar arrived in 2021.

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 borgmatic if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Python
borgmatic details

Frequently asked questions

Is Backup tool nono Plakar or borgmatic 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 borgmatic free and open-source?

Yes. Backup tool nono Plakar is licensed under ISC and borgmatic under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

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

Backup tool nono Plakar: yes. borgmatic: yes.

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

borgmatic has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 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.

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