BackupPC vs Minarca
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
Minarca
Cross-platform backup software with a central server
| Feature | BackupPC | Minarca |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,626 | ★ 100 |
| First released | 2001 | 2015 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Time Machine | CrashPlan |
What are BackupPC and Minarca?
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
Minarca
Minarca is a free and open-source backup software with a centralized web-based server and cross-platform clients. It is built on rdiff-backup for efficient incremental backups.
- Central backup server
- Cross-platform clients
- rdiff-backup engine
BackupPC vs Minarca: key differences
BackupPC is written in Perl, while Minarca is built with Python. BackupPC is the more established project (first released 2001), while Minarca arrived in 2015. BackupPC has the considerably larger community, at 1,626 GitHub stars versus 100.
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 Minarca if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupPC or Minarca better?
Neither is universally better. BackupPC has the larger community, while Minarca is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are BackupPC and Minarca free and open-source?
Yes. BackupPC is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Minarca under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupPC and Minarca with Docker?
BackupPC: yes. Minarca: yes.