BackupPC vs Sanoid
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
Sanoid
Policy-driven ZFS snapshot management and replication
| Feature | BackupPC | Sanoid |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 57 · Fair | 69 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,626 | ★ 3,861 |
| First released | 2001 | 2014 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are BackupPC and Sanoid?
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
Sanoid
Sanoid is a policy-driven snapshot management tool for ZFS filesystems, bundled with Syncoid for snapshot replication. Together they automate ZFS snapshots and offsite backup replication.
- Policy-based ZFS snapshots
- Syncoid replication included
- Automated pruning
BackupPC vs Sanoid: key differences
Both projects are written in Perl. Sanoid 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 Sanoid arrived in 2014. Sanoid has the considerably larger community, at 3,861 GitHub stars versus 1,626. BackupPC lists first-class Docker deployment; Sanoid 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 Sanoid if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (3.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is BackupPC or Sanoid better?
Neither is universally better. Sanoid has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BackupPC and Sanoid free and open-source?
Yes. BackupPC is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Sanoid under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BackupPC and Sanoid with Docker?
BackupPC: yes. Sanoid: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BackupPC or Sanoid?
Sanoid 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.