Duplicati vs ElkarBackup
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Duplicati
Free backup software with a friendly web UI
VS
ElkarBackup
Web-based backup solution built on rsync
| Feature | Duplicati | ElkarBackup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 66 · Good |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,020 | ★ 416 |
| First released | 2008 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Carbonite |
What are Duplicati and ElkarBackup?
Duplicati
Duplicati is free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups to cloud and local destinations through a web interface. It targets users who want scheduled GUI-driven backups. It is deployed via Docker or installers.
- Web-based backup management
- Encrypted incremental backups
- Many cloud storage targets
- Scheduling built in
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
Duplicati vs ElkarBackup: key differences
Duplicati is written in C#, while ElkarBackup is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Duplicati versus GPL-3.0 for ElkarBackup. Duplicati is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for ElkarBackup. Duplicati is the more established project (first released 2008), while ElkarBackup arrived in 2014. Duplicati has the considerably larger community, at 15,020 GitHub stars versus 416.
Why pick each one
Choose Duplicati if…
- Friendly GUI
- Broad storage support
- Free
Watch out for
- Restores can be slow
- Long beta history
Choose ElkarBackup if…
- GUI for rsync backups
- Good scheduling
- Multi-host
Watch out for
- Dated interface
- Slower development
Frequently asked questions
Is Duplicati or ElkarBackup better?
Duplicati is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider ElkarBackup if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Duplicati and ElkarBackup free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicati is licensed under MIT and ElkarBackup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicati and ElkarBackup with Docker?
Duplicati: yes. ElkarBackup: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Duplicati or ElkarBackup?
Duplicati 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.