Duplicacy vs ElkarBackup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Duplicacy | ElkarBackup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 76 · Good | 66 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,683 | ★ 416 |
| First released | 2016 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Carbonite |
What are Duplicacy and ElkarBackup?
Duplicacy
Duplicacy is a cross-platform cloud backup tool using a novel lock-free deduplication algorithm for efficient encrypted backups. It targets users backing up to cloud storage. It is deployed as a binary with an optional web UI.
- Lock-free deduplication
- Many cloud backends
- Cross-computer deduplication
- Optional web GUI
ElkarBackup
ElkarBackup is an open-source backup solution with a web interface, built on rsync and rsnapshot for incremental file backups. It targets administrators wanting GUI-managed network backups. It is deployed via Docker.
- Web UI for rsync backups
- Incremental snapshots
- Scheduling and scripts
- Email reports
Duplicacy vs ElkarBackup: key differences
Duplicacy is written in Go, while ElkarBackup is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — Proprietary for Duplicacy versus GPL-3.0 for ElkarBackup. Duplicacy is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for ElkarBackup. ElkarBackup is the more established project (first released 2014), while Duplicacy arrived in 2016. Duplicacy has the considerably larger community, at 5,683 GitHub stars versus 416.
Why pick each one
Choose Duplicacy if…
- Efficient deduplication
- Good cloud support
- Reliable
Watch out for
- Web edition is paid
- CLI is free but licensed
Choose ElkarBackup if…
- GUI for rsync backups
- Good scheduling
- Multi-host
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Slower development
Frequently asked questions
Is Duplicacy or ElkarBackup better?
Neither is universally better. Duplicacy has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Duplicacy and ElkarBackup free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicacy is licensed under Proprietary and ElkarBackup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicacy and ElkarBackup with Docker?
Duplicacy: yes. ElkarBackup: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Duplicacy or ElkarBackup?
Duplicacy has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for ElkarBackup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.