Bareos vs zrepl
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bareos | zrepl |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 70 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,256 | ★ 1,159 |
| First released | 2010 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Veeam, CommVault | Veeam |
What are Bareos and zrepl?
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
zrepl
zrepl is a one-stop solution for automated ZFS snapshot management and replication. It handles taking snapshots, pruning them per policy, and replicating datasets between machines with a simple daemon and configuration.
- Automatic ZFS snapshots
- Push and pull replication
- Flexible pruning policies
- Single daemon
Bareos vs zrepl: key differences
Bareos is written in C++, while zrepl is built with Go. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Bareos versus MIT for zrepl. Zrepl is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Bareos. Bareos is the more established project (first released 2010), while zrepl arrived in 2017. Bareos lists first-class Docker deployment; zrepl 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 zrepl if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Watch out for
- ZFS required
- YAML configuration
Frequently asked questions
Is Bareos or zrepl better?
Neither is universally better. Bareos has the larger community, while zrepl is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bareos and zrepl free and open-source?
Yes. Bareos is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and zrepl under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bareos and zrepl with Docker?
Bareos: yes. zrepl: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Bareos or zrepl?
zrepl has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Bareos. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.