Backup tool nono Plakar vs Obnam2
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Backup tool nono Plakar | Obnam2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | ISC | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,068 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, CrashPlan | Backblaze |
What are Backup tool nono Plakar and Obnam2?
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
Obnam2
Obnam2 is a backup program that splits files into chunks for deduplicated, encrypted storage to a backup server. It is built with a focus on simplicity and verifiable correctness.
- Chunk-based deduplication
- Encrypted storage
- Backup server model
- Simplicity focused
Backup tool nono Plakar vs Obnam2: key differences
Backup tool nono Plakar is written in Go, while Obnam2 is built with Rust. Licensing differs — ISC for Backup tool nono Plakar versus AGPL-3.0 for Obnam2. Obnam2 is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Backup tool nono Plakar. Backup tool nono Plakar has the considerably larger community, at 2,068 GitHub stars versus 200. Backup tool nono Plakar lists first-class Docker deployment; Obnam2 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
Choose Obnam2 if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Backup tool nono Plakar or Obnam2 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 Obnam2 free and open-source?
Yes. Backup tool nono Plakar is licensed under ISC and Obnam2 under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Backup tool nono Plakar and Obnam2 with Docker?
Backup tool nono Plakar: yes. Obnam2: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Backup tool nono Plakar or Obnam2?
Obnam2 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.