BackupPC vs BorgBackup
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?
BackupPC
High-performance backup system for PCs and servers
VS
BorgBackup
Deduplicating archiver with compression and encryption
| Feature | BackupPC | BorgBackup |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Perl | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,621 | ★ 13,588 |
| First released | 2001 | 2015 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Time Machine | Carbonite, Backblaze |
Why pick each one
Choose BackupPC if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupPC or BorgBackup better?
BorgBackup is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider BackupPC if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are BackupPC and BorgBackup free and open-source?
Yes. BackupPC is licensed under GPL-3.0 and BorgBackup under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupPC and BorgBackup with Docker?
BackupPC: yes. BorgBackup: check the project docs for container support.