Duplicati vs Deja Dup
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
Deja Dup
Simple backup tool for the GNOME desktop
| Feature | Duplicati | Deja Dup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | Vala |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,020 | ★ 600 |
| First released | 2008 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Time Machine, Backblaze |
What are Duplicati and Deja Dup?
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
Deja Dup
Deja Dup is a simple backup tool that hides the complexity of doing backups properly. It supports local, network, and cloud storage with encryption and incremental backups powered by Restic.
- Beginner-friendly GUI
- Encrypted incremental backups
- Local and cloud targets
Duplicati vs Deja Dup: key differences
Duplicati is written in C#, while Deja Dup is built with Vala. Licensing differs — MIT for Duplicati versus GPL-3.0 for Deja Dup. Duplicati has the considerably larger community, at 15,020 GitHub stars versus 600. Duplicati lists first-class Docker deployment; Deja Dup 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 Deja Dup if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Vala
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Duplicati or Deja Dup better?
Neither is universally better. Duplicati has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Duplicati and Deja Dup free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicati is licensed under MIT and Deja Dup under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicati and Deja Dup with Docker?
Duplicati: yes. Deja Dup: check the project docs for container support.