Collective Access - Providence vs Kopia
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?
Collective Access - Providence
Highly configurable Web-based framework for management, description,
VS
Kopia
Fast, encrypted backup with a clean interface
| Feature | Collective Access - Providence | Kopia |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 382 | ★ 13,798 |
| First released | 2026 | 2019 |
| Replaces | — | Backblaze, Carbonite |
Why pick each one
Choose Collective Access - Providence if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in PHP
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Collective Access - Providence or Kopia better?
Kopia is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Collective Access - Providence if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Collective Access - Providence and Kopia free and open-source?
Yes. Collective Access - Providence is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Kopia under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Collective Access - Providence and Kopia with Docker?
Collective Access - Providence: check the project docs for container support. Kopia: yes.