BackupPC vs Duplicity
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
Duplicity
Encrypted bandwidth-efficient backup using rsync
| Feature | BackupPC | Duplicity |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Perl | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,626 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2001 | 2002 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Time Machine | CrashPlan, Backblaze |
What are BackupPC and Duplicity?
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
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
BackupPC vs Duplicity: key differences
BackupPC is written in Perl, while Duplicity is built with Python. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for BackupPC versus GPL-2.0 for Duplicity. Duplicity is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for BackupPC. BackupPC has the considerably larger community, at 1,626 GitHub stars versus 300. BackupPC lists first-class Docker deployment; Duplicity does not.
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 Duplicity if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupPC or Duplicity better?
Neither is universally better. BackupPC has the larger community, while Duplicity is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BackupPC and Duplicity free and open-source?
Yes. BackupPC is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Duplicity under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupPC and Duplicity with Docker?
BackupPC: yes. Duplicity: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BackupPC or Duplicity?
Duplicity 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.