Bareos vs Barman
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bareos | Barman |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,256 | ★ 3,244 |
| First released | 2010 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Veeam, CommVault | Veeam |
What are Bareos and Barman?
Bareos
Bareos is a cross-network open-source backup solution forked from Bacula. It preserves and recovers data from disk, tape, and other media, with a web-based management interface.
- Network-wide backup management
- Web UI for administration
- Tape and disk support
Barman
Barman is a disaster recovery tool for PostgreSQL servers that manages backups and point-in-time recovery. It supports remote backups, retention policies, and WAL archiving.
- Point-in-time recovery
- Retention policy management
- Remote backup support
Bareos vs Barman: key differences
Bareos is written in C++, while Barman is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Bareos versus GPL-3.0 for Barman. Barman is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Bareos. Bareos is the more established project (first released 2010), while Barman arrived in 2012. Barman has the considerably larger community, at 3,244 GitHub stars versus 1,256. Bareos lists first-class Docker deployment; Barman does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Bareos if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Choose Barman if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Bareos or Barman better?
Neither is universally better. Barman has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bareos and Barman free and open-source?
Yes. Bareos is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Barman under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bareos and Barman with Docker?
Bareos: yes. Barman: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Bareos or Barman?
Barman has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Bareos. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.