Backup tool nono Plakar vs Rustic

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 PlakarRustic
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupRead-the-docs project
Health score86 · Excellent88 · Excellent
CategoryBackup & RecoveryBackup & Recovery
LicenseISCApache-2.0
LanguageGoRust
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarybinary
GitHub stars★ 2,068★ 3,273
First released20212022
ReplacesBackblaze, CrashPlanBackblaze, CrashPlan

What are Backup tool nono Plakar and Rustic?

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

Rustic

Rustic is a backup tool written in Rust that creates fast, encrypted, and deduplicated backups. It is fully compatible with Restic repositories while offering lower memory usage.

  • Restic-compatible repositories
  • Low memory footprint
  • Cold storage support

Backup tool nono Plakar vs Rustic: key differences

Backup tool nono Plakar is written in Go, while Rustic is built with Rust. Licensing differs — ISC for Backup tool nono Plakar versus Apache-2.0 for Rustic. Rustic is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Backup tool nono Plakar. Backup tool nono Plakar lists first-class Docker deployment; Rustic 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 Rustic if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • Active community (3.3k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Rust
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Rustic details

Frequently asked questions

Is Backup tool nono Plakar or Rustic better?

Neither is universally better. Rustic 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 Rustic free and open-source?

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

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

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

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

Rustic 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.

Related comparisons