Duplicati vs BackupNinja
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?
Duplicati
Free backup software with a friendly web UI
VS
BackupNinja
Lightweight backup configuration and scheduling system
| Feature | Duplicati | BackupNinja |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C# | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,864 | ★ 68 |
| First released | 2008 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | CrashPlan |
Why pick each one
Choose BackupNinja if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Shell
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Duplicati or BackupNinja better?
Duplicati is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider BackupNinja if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Duplicati and BackupNinja free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicati is licensed under MIT and BackupNinja under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicati and BackupNinja with Docker?
Duplicati: yes. BackupNinja: check the project docs for container support.