K8up vs Rclone
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
Rclone
Sync and copy files to dozens of cloud providers
| Feature | K8up | Rclone |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | kubernetes, helm | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,010 | ★ 58,995 |
| First released | 2018 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Kasten K10 | Backblaze |
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
Frequently asked questions
Is K8up or Rclone better?
Rclone is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider K8up if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are K8up and Rclone free and open-source?
Yes. K8up is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rclone under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run K8up and Rclone with Docker?
K8up: check the project docs for container support. Rclone: yes.