Duplicity vs Rclone
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted backup & recovery options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Rclone
Sync and copy files to dozens of cloud providers
| Feature | Duplicity | Rclone |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 300 | ★ 59,925 |
| First released | 2002 | 2014 |
| Replaces | CrashPlan, Backblaze | Backblaze |
What are Duplicity and Rclone?
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
Rclone
Rclone is a command-line program to manage, sync, and copy files across more than seventy cloud storage providers. It targets users moving or backing up data between storage systems. It is deployed as a single binary.
- Supports 70+ cloud providers
- Encryption and mount support
- Powerful sync and copy
- Single self-contained binary
Duplicity vs Rclone: key differences
Duplicity is written in Python, while Rclone is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Duplicity versus MIT for Rclone. Duplicity is the more established project (first released 2002), while Rclone arrived in 2014. Rclone has the considerably larger community, at 59,925 GitHub stars versus 300. Rclone lists first-class Docker deployment; Duplicity does not.
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 Rclone if…
- Works with almost any cloud
- Extremely versatile
- Reliable
Watch out for
- Not a snapshot backup tool
- Command-line focused
Frequently asked questions
Is Duplicity or Rclone better?
Neither is universally better. Rclone has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Duplicity and Rclone free and open-source?
Yes. Duplicity is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Rclone under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duplicity and Rclone with Docker?
Duplicity: check the project docs for container support. Rclone: yes.