K8up vs Kanister
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?
K8up
Kubernetes backup operator built on Restic
VS
Kanister
Application-level data management for Kubernetes
| Feature | K8up | Kanister |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,010 | ★ 883 |
| First released | 2018 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Kasten K10 | Kasten K10 |
Why pick each one
Choose K8up if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Choose Kanister if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is K8up or Kanister better?
Neither is universally better. K8up has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are K8up and Kanister free and open-source?
Yes. K8up is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kanister under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run K8up and Kanister with Docker?
K8up: check the project docs for container support. Kanister: check the project docs for container support.