Bupstash vs Burp

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?
FeatureBupstashBurp
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectRead-the-docs project
Health score13 · At risk74 · Good
CategoryBackup & RecoveryBackup & Recovery
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageRustC
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM128 MB256 MB
Deploymentbinarybare-metal
GitHub stars★ 924★ 502
First released20202011
ReplacesBackblaze, CrashPlanCrashPlan

What are Bupstash and Burp?

Bupstash

Bupstash is a tool for encrypted, deduplicated, and compressed backups. It is designed to be simple, secure, and efficient, storing backups locally or over SSH.

  • Encrypted deduplicated backups
  • Works over SSH
  • Simple command-line interface

Burp

Burp is a backup and restore program that uses librsync to save network and disk usage, while protecting against corruption. It supports client-side encryption and Windows VSS.

  • librsync-based deduplication
  • Client-side encryption
  • Windows VSS support

Bupstash vs Burp: key differences

Bupstash is written in Rust, while Burp is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for Bupstash versus AGPL-3.0 for Burp. Bupstash is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Burp. Burp is the more established project (first released 2011), while Bupstash arrived in 2020.

Why pick each one

Choose Bupstash if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Written in Rust
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Bupstash details

Choose Burp if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • Written in C
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Burp details

Frequently asked questions

Is Bupstash or Burp better?

Bupstash is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Burp if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Bupstash and Burp free and open-source?

Yes. Bupstash is licensed under MIT and Burp under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Bupstash and Burp with Docker?

Bupstash: check the project docs for container support. Burp: check the project docs for container support.

Which is lighter on resources, Bupstash or Burp?

Bupstash has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Burp. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.

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