Duplicati vs UrBackup
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
UrBackup
Client-server backup for files and disk images
| Feature | Duplicati | UrBackup |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 95 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,020 | ★ 922 |
| First released | 2008 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Carbonite |
What are Duplicati and UrBackup?
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
UrBackup
UrBackup is a client-server backup system that performs both file and disk image backups across a network with a web UI. It targets administrators backing up multiple machines. It is deployed via Docker or native packages.
- File and full image backups
- Client-server architecture
- Web-based administration
- Incremental backups
Duplicati vs UrBackup: key differences
Duplicati is written in C#, while UrBackup is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for Duplicati versus AGPL-3.0 for UrBackup. Duplicati is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for UrBackup. Duplicati is the more established project (first released 2008), while UrBackup arrived in 2011. Duplicati has the considerably larger community, at 15,020 GitHub stars versus 922.
Why pick each one
Choose Duplicati if…
- Friendly GUI
- Broad storage support
- Free
Watch out for
- Restores can be slow
- Long beta history
Choose UrBackup if…
- Good for backing up many PCs
- Image backup support
- Central management
Watch out for
- Interface feels dated
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Duplicati or UrBackup better?
Duplicati is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider UrBackup if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Duplicati and UrBackup free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicati is licensed under MIT and UrBackup under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicati and UrBackup with Docker?
Duplicati: yes. UrBackup: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Duplicati or UrBackup?
Duplicati has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for UrBackup. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.