BackupPC vs borgmatic
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
BackupPC
High-performance backup system for PCs and servers
VS
borgmatic
Simple configuration-driven frontend for BorgBackup
| Feature | BackupPC | borgmatic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,626 | ★ 2,000 |
| First released | 2001 | 2013 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Time Machine | CrashPlan, Backblaze |
What are BackupPC and borgmatic?
BackupPC
BackupPC is a high-performance system for backing up Linux, Windows, and macOS PCs to a server's disk. It uses pooling and compression to minimize disk usage, with a full web interface.
- File pooling deduplication
- Web management interface
- No client software required
borgmatic
borgmatic is a command-line tool that wraps BorgBackup to make it easy to schedule and configure backups. It adds features like database dumps, monitoring hooks, and consistency checks.
- Declarative YAML configuration
- Database backup integration
- Monitoring service hooks
BackupPC vs borgmatic: key differences
BackupPC is written in Perl, while borgmatic is built with Python. Borgmatic is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for BackupPC. BackupPC is the more established project (first released 2001), while borgmatic arrived in 2013.
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
Choose borgmatic if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupPC or borgmatic better?
borgmatic 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 borgmatic free and open-source?
Yes. BackupPC is licensed under GPL-3.0 and borgmatic under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupPC and borgmatic with Docker?
BackupPC: yes. borgmatic: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, BackupPC or borgmatic?
borgmatic has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for BackupPC. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.