bup vs Tarsnap GUI
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
Tarsnap GUI
Cross-platform desktop front end for Tarsnap backups
| Feature | bup | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Python | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,337 | ★ 250 |
| First released | 2010 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Time Machine | Backblaze |
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 Tarsnap GUI if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in C++
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is bup or Tarsnap GUI better?
Neither is universally better. bup has the larger community, while Tarsnap GUI is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are bup and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. bup is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run bup and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
bup: check the project docs for container support. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.