bup vs Restic Exporter
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?
bup
Efficient backup system based on the git packfile format
VS
Restic Exporter
Prometheus exporter for restic repository status
| Feature | bup | Restic Exporter |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,337 | ★ 158 |
| First released | 2010 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Datadog |
Why pick each one
Choose bup if…
- Released under the LGPL-2.1 license
- Mature project with 7.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Restic Exporter if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is bup or Restic Exporter better?
Neither is universally better. bup has the larger community, while Restic Exporter is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are bup and Restic Exporter free and open-source?
Yes. bup is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and Restic Exporter under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run bup and Restic Exporter with Docker?
bup: check the project docs for container support. Restic Exporter: yes.