SHSelfHostIndex

Kanister vs Kopia

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?
KA Kanister Application-level data management for Kubernetes VS KO Kopia Fast, encrypted backup with a clean interface
FeatureKanisterKopia
CategoryBackup & RecoveryBackup & Recovery
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentkubernetes, helmbinary, docker
GitHub stars★ 883★ 13,798
First released20182019
ReplacesKasten K10Backblaze, Carbonite

Why pick each one

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
Kanister details

Choose Kopia if…

  • GUI and CLI both available
  • Fast and efficient
  • Modern design
Kopia details

Frequently asked questions

Is Kanister or Kopia better?

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

Are Kanister and Kopia free and open-source?

Yes. Kanister is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Kopia under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Kanister and Kopia with Docker?

Kanister: check the project docs for container support. Kopia: yes.

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