File Browser vs Restic

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureFile BrowserRestic
CategoryFile Sync & StorageBackup & Recovery
LicenseApache-2.0BSD-2-Clause
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarybinary, docker
GitHub stars★ 35,800★ 35,412
First released20172015
ReplacesDropboxBackblaze, Carbonite

Why pick each one

Choose File Browser if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Trivial to deploy
  • Good for quick file access
File Browser details

Choose Restic if…

  • Strong encryption
  • Efficient deduplication
  • Wide backend support
Restic details

Frequently asked questions

Is File Browser or Restic better?

File Browser is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Restic if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are File Browser and Restic free and open-source?

Yes. File Browser is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Restic under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run File Browser and Restic with Docker?

File Browser: yes. Restic: yes.

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