CKAN 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?
| Feature | CKAN | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Python | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,088 | ★ 250 |
| First released | 2026 | 2016 |
| Replaces | — | Backblaze |
Why pick each one
Choose CKAN if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 5.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
- Lightweight — runs in 512 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 CKAN or Tarsnap GUI better?
Neither is universally better. CKAN 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 CKAN and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. CKAN is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CKAN and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
CKAN: check the project docs for container support. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.