BackupNinja vs Bupstash
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | BackupNinja | Bupstash |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 2 · At risk | 13 · At risk |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Shell | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 68 | ★ 924 |
| First released | 2004 | 2020 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan | Backblaze, CrashPlan |
What are BackupNinja and Bupstash?
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
Bupstash
Bupstash is a tool for encrypted, deduplicated, and compressed backups. It is designed to be simple, secure, and efficient, storing backups locally or over SSH.
- Encrypted deduplicated backups
- Works over SSH
- Simple command-line interface
BackupNinja vs Bupstash: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: BackupNinja's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Bupstash is actively maintained. BackupNinja is written in Shell, while Bupstash is built with Rust. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for BackupNinja versus MIT for Bupstash. BackupNinja is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Bupstash. BackupNinja is the more established project (first released 2004), while Bupstash arrived in 2020. Bupstash has the considerably larger community, at 924 GitHub stars versus 68.
Why pick each one
Choose BackupNinja if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Shell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose Bupstash if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupNinja or Bupstash better?
Neither is universally better. Bupstash has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BackupNinja and Bupstash free and open-source?
Yes. BackupNinja is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Bupstash under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupNinja and Bupstash with Docker?
BackupNinja: check the project docs for container support. Bupstash: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BackupNinja or Bupstash?
BackupNinja has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Bupstash. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.