BackupNinja vs Burp
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | BackupNinja | Burp |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 2 · At risk | 74 · Good |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 68 | ★ 502 |
| First released | 2004 | 2011 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan | CrashPlan |
What are BackupNinja and Burp?
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
Burp
Burp is a backup and restore program that uses librsync to save network and disk usage, while protecting against corruption. It supports client-side encryption and Windows VSS.
- librsync-based deduplication
- Client-side encryption
- Windows VSS support
BackupNinja vs Burp: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: BackupNinja's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Burp is actively maintained. BackupNinja is written in Shell, while Burp is built with C. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for BackupNinja versus AGPL-3.0 for Burp. BackupNinja is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Burp. BackupNinja is the more established project (first released 2004), while Burp arrived in 2011. Burp has the considerably larger community, at 502 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 Burp if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in C
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupNinja or Burp better?
Neither is universally better. Burp has the larger community, while BackupNinja is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BackupNinja and Burp free and open-source?
Yes. BackupNinja is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Burp under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupNinja and Burp with Docker?
BackupNinja: check the project docs for container support. Burp: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BackupNinja or Burp?
BackupNinja has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Burp. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.