BorgBackup vs Kopia
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Kopia
Fast, encrypted backup with a clean interface
| Feature | BorgBackup | Kopia |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 94 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,762 | ★ 14,188 |
| First released | 2015 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Carbonite, Backblaze | Backblaze, Carbonite |
What are BorgBackup and Kopia?
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
Kopia
Kopia is a fast and secure backup tool that creates encrypted, deduplicated snapshots and offers both a CLI and a desktop GUI. It targets users who want modern backups with a clean interface. It is deployed as a binary or via Docker.
- Encrypted deduplicated snapshots
- Both CLI and desktop GUI
- Many storage backends
- Compression and policies
BorgBackup vs Kopia: key differences
BorgBackup is written in Python, while Kopia is built with Go. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for BorgBackup versus Apache-2.0 for Kopia. BorgBackup is the more established project (first released 2015), while Kopia arrived in 2019. Kopia 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 Kopia if…
- GUI and CLI both available
- Fast and efficient
- Modern design
Watch out for
- Younger than Restic
- Advanced options can confuse
Frequently asked questions
Is BorgBackup or Kopia better?
Kopia 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 Kopia free and open-source?
Yes. BorgBackup is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Kopia under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BorgBackup and Kopia with Docker?
BorgBackup: check the project docs for container support. Kopia: yes.