BackupNinja vs HashBackup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | BackupNinja | HashBackup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 2 · At risk | 0 · At risk |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Shell | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 68 | ★ 1 |
| First released | 2004 | 2009 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan | CrashPlan |
What are BackupNinja and HashBackup?
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
HashBackup
HashBackup is a command-line backup program for Unix-like systems that performs deduplicated, compressed, and encrypted backups to local or remote destinations. It supports retention policies, selective restore, and many storage targets.
- Deduplication and compression
- Encrypted backups
- Many remote destinations
- Flexible retention
BackupNinja vs HashBackup: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: BackupNinja's repository is archived and no longer developed, while HashBackup is actively maintained. BackupNinja is written in Shell, while HashBackup is built with Python. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for BackupNinja versus MIT for HashBackup. BackupNinja is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for HashBackup. BackupNinja is the more established project (first released 2004), while HashBackup arrived in 2009. BackupNinja has the considerably larger community, at 68 GitHub stars versus 1.
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 HashBackup if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Watch out for
- Command-line only
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupNinja or HashBackup better?
Neither is universally better. BackupNinja has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BackupNinja and HashBackup free and open-source?
Yes. BackupNinja is licensed under GPL-2.0 and HashBackup under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupNinja and HashBackup with Docker?
BackupNinja: check the project docs for container support. HashBackup: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BackupNinja or HashBackup?
BackupNinja has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for HashBackup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.