bup vs rdiff-backup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | bup | rdiff-backup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 65 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,355 | ★ 1,267 |
| First released | 2010 | 2001 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Time Machine |
What are bup and rdiff-backup?
bup
bup is a backup tool that stores data using the git packfile format with rolling-checksum deduplication. It can back up enormous datasets efficiently and incrementally.
- Git-packfile storage format
- Rolling-checksum deduplication
- Handles very large datasets
rdiff-backup
rdiff-backup backs up one directory to another, keeping the latest copy plus reverse diffs for older versions. It preserves permissions, ownership, and special files while working over SSH.
- Reverse-incremental storage
- Preserves file metadata
- Works over SSH
bup vs rdiff-backup: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — LGPL-2.1 for bup versus GPL-2.0 for rdiff-backup. Rdiff-backup is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for bup. Rdiff-backup is the more established project (first released 2001), while bup arrived in 2010. Bup has the considerably larger community, at 7,355 GitHub stars versus 1,267.
Why pick each one
Choose bup if…
- Released under the LGPL-2.1 license
- Mature project with 7.4k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose rdiff-backup if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is bup or rdiff-backup better?
Neither is universally better. bup has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are bup and rdiff-backup free and open-source?
Yes. bup is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and rdiff-backup under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run bup and rdiff-backup with Docker?
bup: check the project docs for container support. rdiff-backup: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, bup or rdiff-backup?
rdiff-backup has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for bup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.