Duplicacy 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 | Duplicacy | Tarsnap GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 76 · Good | 7 · At risk |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Proprietary | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,683 | ★ 251 |
| First released | 2016 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Backblaze |
What are Duplicacy and Tarsnap GUI?
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
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
Duplicacy vs Tarsnap GUI: key differences
Duplicacy is written in Go, while Tarsnap GUI is built with C++. Licensing differs — Proprietary for Duplicacy versus BSD-2-Clause for Tarsnap GUI. Tarsnap GUI is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Duplicacy. Duplicacy has the considerably larger community, at 5,683 GitHub stars versus 251. Duplicacy lists first-class Docker deployment; Tarsnap GUI does not.
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 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 Duplicacy or Tarsnap GUI better?
Neither is universally better. Duplicacy 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 Duplicacy and Tarsnap GUI free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicacy is licensed under Proprietary and Tarsnap GUI under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicacy and Tarsnap GUI with Docker?
Duplicacy: yes. Tarsnap GUI: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Duplicacy or Tarsnap GUI?
Tarsnap GUI has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Duplicacy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.