BackupPC vs HashBackup
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
HashBackup
Efficient command-line backup with deduplication
| Feature | BackupPC | HashBackup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 57 · Fair | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Perl | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,626 | ★ 1 |
| First released | 2001 | 2009 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Time Machine | CrashPlan |
What are BackupPC and HashBackup?
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
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
BackupPC vs HashBackup: key differences
BackupPC is written in Perl, while HashBackup is built with Python. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for BackupPC versus MIT for HashBackup. HashBackup is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for BackupPC. BackupPC is the more established project (first released 2001), while HashBackup arrived in 2009. BackupPC has the considerably larger community, at 1,626 GitHub stars versus 1. BackupPC lists first-class Docker deployment; HashBackup 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 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 BackupPC or HashBackup better?
Neither is universally better. BackupPC has the larger community, while HashBackup is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BackupPC and HashBackup free and open-source?
Yes. BackupPC is licensed under GPL-3.0 and HashBackup under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupPC and HashBackup with Docker?
BackupPC: yes. HashBackup: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BackupPC or HashBackup?
HashBackup has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for BackupPC. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.