BackupNinja vs Duplicity
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | BackupNinja | Duplicity |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Shell | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 68 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2004 | 2002 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan | CrashPlan, Backblaze |
What are BackupNinja and Duplicity?
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
Duplicity
Duplicity backs up directories by producing encrypted, signed tar-format volumes and uploading them to a remote or local file server. It uses the rsync algorithm for incremental archives.
- GPG-encrypted archives
- Many remote storage backends
- Incremental rsync deltas
BackupNinja vs Duplicity: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: BackupNinja's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Duplicity is actively maintained. BackupNinja is written in Shell, while Duplicity is built with Python. BackupNinja is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Duplicity. Duplicity is the more established project (first released 2002), while BackupNinja arrived in 2004. Duplicity has the considerably larger community, at 300 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 Duplicity if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupNinja or Duplicity better?
Neither is universally better. Duplicity has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BackupNinja and Duplicity free and open-source?
Yes. BackupNinja is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Duplicity under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupNinja and Duplicity with Docker?
BackupNinja: check the project docs for container support. Duplicity: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BackupNinja or Duplicity?
BackupNinja has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Duplicity. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.