Bupstash 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.
| Feature | Bupstash | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 13 · At risk | 7 · At risk |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Rust | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 924 | ★ 251 |
| First released | 2020 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, CrashPlan | Backblaze |
What are Bupstash and Tarsnap GUI?
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
Tarsnap GUI
Tarsnap GUI is a cross-platform graphical client for the Tarsnap secure online backup service, making encrypted deduplicated backups accessible without the command line. It manages archives, scheduling, and restores through a desktop interface.
- Tarsnap archive management
- Scheduling support
- Encrypted deduplicated backups
- Cross-platform UI
Bupstash vs Tarsnap GUI: key differences
Bupstash is written in Rust, while Tarsnap GUI is built with C++. Licensing differs — MIT for Bupstash versus BSD-2-Clause for Tarsnap GUI. Tarsnap GUI is the more established project (first released 2016), while Bupstash arrived in 2020. Bupstash has the considerably larger community, at 924 GitHub stars versus 251.
Why pick each one
Choose Bupstash if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Rust
- 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
Watch out for
- Tarsnap service is paid
- Requires Tarsnap CLI
Frequently asked questions
Is Bupstash or Tarsnap GUI better?
Neither is universally better. Bupstash 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 Bupstash and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. Bupstash is licensed under MIT and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bupstash and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
Bupstash: check the project docs for container support. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.