Bupstash vs Restic Mailer
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bupstash | Restic Mailer |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 13 · At risk | 76 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Rust | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 924 | ★ 663 |
| First released | 2020 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, CrashPlan | Backblaze |
What are Bupstash and Restic Mailer?
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
Restic Mailer
A wrapper around restic that runs backups on schedule and emails detailed success or failure reports. It adds visibility to unattended restic deployments.
- Scheduled restic runs
- Email job reports
- systemd integration
- Unattended backups
Bupstash vs Restic Mailer: key differences
Bupstash is written in Rust, while Restic Mailer is built with Shell. Restic Mailer is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Bupstash. Restic Mailer is the more established project (first released 2018), while Bupstash arrived in 2020. Restic Mailer lists first-class Docker deployment; Bupstash does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Bupstash if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Restic Mailer if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Shell
Frequently asked questions
Is Bupstash or Restic Mailer better?
Neither is universally better. Bupstash has the larger community, while Restic Mailer is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bupstash and Restic Mailer free and open-source?
Yes. Bupstash is licensed under MIT and Restic Mailer under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bupstash and Restic Mailer with Docker?
Bupstash: check the project docs for container support. Restic Mailer: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Bupstash or Restic Mailer?
Restic Mailer has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Bupstash. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.