Duplicity vs Knoxite
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Duplicity | Knoxite |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 300 | ★ 493 |
| First released | 2002 | 2016 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Backblaze | Backblaze |
What are Duplicity and Knoxite?
Duplicity
Duplicity backs up directories by producing encrypted, signed tar-format volumes and uploading them to a remote or local file server. It uses the rsync algorithm for incremental archives.
- GPG-encrypted archives
- Many remote storage backends
- Incremental rsync deltas
Knoxite
Knoxite is a flexible data storage and backup tool that supports deduplication, encryption, and many storage backends. It can back up to local disk, SFTP, and S3-compatible targets.
- Deduplicated backups
- Encryption
- Multiple storage backends
- Cross-platform
Duplicity vs Knoxite: key differences
Duplicity is written in Python, while Knoxite is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Duplicity versus GPL-3.0 for Knoxite. Duplicity is the more established project (first released 2002), while Knoxite arrived in 2016.
Why pick each one
Choose Duplicity if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Knoxite if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Duplicity or Knoxite better?
Neither is universally better. Knoxite has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Duplicity and Knoxite free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicity is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Knoxite under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicity and Knoxite with Docker?
Duplicity: check the project docs for container support. Knoxite: check the project docs for container support.