Duplicati vs Obnam2
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
Obnam2
Simple, secure chunk-based backup program
| Feature | Duplicati | Obnam2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,020 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2008 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Backblaze |
What are Duplicati and Obnam2?
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
Obnam2
Obnam2 is a backup program that splits files into chunks for deduplicated, encrypted storage to a backup server. It is built with a focus on simplicity and verifiable correctness.
- Chunk-based deduplication
- Encrypted storage
- Backup server model
- Simplicity focused
Duplicati vs Obnam2: key differences
Duplicati is written in C#, while Obnam2 is built with Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for Duplicati versus AGPL-3.0 for Obnam2. Obnam2 is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Duplicati. Duplicati is the more established project (first released 2008), while Obnam2 arrived in 2020. Duplicati has the considerably larger community, at 15,020 GitHub stars versus 200. Duplicati lists first-class Docker deployment; Obnam2 does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Duplicati if…
- Friendly GUI
- Broad storage support
- Free
Watch out for
- Restores can be slow
- Long beta history
Choose Obnam2 if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Duplicati or Obnam2 better?
Duplicati is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Obnam2 if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Duplicati and Obnam2 free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicati is licensed under MIT and Obnam2 under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicati and Obnam2 with Docker?
Duplicati: yes. Obnam2: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Duplicati or Obnam2?
Obnam2 has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Duplicati. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.