BorgBackup vs Duplicati
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Duplicati
Free backup software with a friendly web UI
| Feature | BorgBackup | Duplicati |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | MIT |
| Language | Python | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,762 | ★ 15,020 |
| First released | 2015 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Carbonite, Backblaze | Backblaze, Carbonite |
What are BorgBackup and Duplicati?
BorgBackup
BorgBackup is a deduplicating backup program with compression and authenticated encryption for efficient, secure archives. It targets technical users backing up to local or remote storage. It is deployed as a binary or package.
- Deduplication and compression
- Authenticated encryption
- Append-only repos for ransomware safety
- Efficient remote backups over SSH
Duplicati
Duplicati is free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups to cloud and local destinations through a web interface. It targets users who want scheduled GUI-driven backups. It is deployed via Docker or installers.
- Web-based backup management
- Encrypted incremental backups
- Many cloud storage targets
- Scheduling built in
BorgBackup vs Duplicati: key differences
BorgBackup is written in Python, while Duplicati is built with C#. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for BorgBackup versus MIT for Duplicati. Duplicati is the more established project (first released 2008), while BorgBackup arrived in 2015. Duplicati lists first-class Docker deployment; BorgBackup does not.
Why pick each one
Choose BorgBackup if…
- Excellent space efficiency
- Strong security
- Battle-tested
Watch out for
- Command-line oriented
- Repo not directly mountable everywhere
Choose Duplicati if…
- Friendly GUI
- Broad storage support
- Free
Watch out for
- Restores can be slow
- Long beta history
Frequently asked questions
Is BorgBackup or Duplicati better?
Duplicati is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider BorgBackup if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are BorgBackup and Duplicati free and open-source?
Yes. BorgBackup is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Duplicati under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BorgBackup and Duplicati with Docker?
BorgBackup: check the project docs for container support. Duplicati: yes.