Vorta vs rsnapshot
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?
Vorta
Desktop backup client built on BorgBackup
VS
rsnapshot
Filesystem snapshot utility based on rsync
| Feature | Vorta | rsnapshot |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Perl |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,490 | ★ 3,662 |
| First released | 2018 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Time Machine, CrashPlan | Time Machine |
Why pick each one
Choose Vorta if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Choose rsnapshot if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (3.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Perl
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Vorta or rsnapshot better?
Neither is universally better. rsnapshot has the larger community, while Vorta is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Vorta and rsnapshot free and open-source?
Yes. Vorta is licensed under GPL-3.0 and rsnapshot under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Vorta and rsnapshot with Docker?
Vorta: check the project docs for container support. rsnapshot: check the project docs for container support.