borgmatic vs Velero
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
borgmatic
Simple configuration-driven frontend for BorgBackup
VS
Velero
Backup and migrate Kubernetes cluster resources
| Feature | borgmatic | Velero |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,000 | ★ 10,187 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Backblaze | Kasten K10 |
Why pick each one
Choose borgmatic if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Choose Velero if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 10.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is borgmatic or Velero better?
Neither is universally better. Velero has the larger community, while borgmatic is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are borgmatic and Velero free and open-source?
Yes. borgmatic is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Velero under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run borgmatic and Velero with Docker?
borgmatic: yes. Velero: check the project docs for container support.