Kopia vs Restic Browser
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?
Kopia
Fast, encrypted backup with a clean interface
VS
Restic Browser
Desktop app to browse and restore Restic snapshots
| Feature | Kopia | Restic Browser |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Backup & Recovery | Backup & Recovery |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,798 | ★ 1,275 |
| First released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Backblaze, Carbonite | Time Machine |
Why pick each one
Choose Restic Browser if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Kopia or Restic Browser better?
Neither is universally better. Kopia has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kopia and Restic Browser free and open-source?
Yes. Kopia is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Restic Browser under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kopia and Restic Browser with Docker?
Kopia: yes. Restic Browser: check the project docs for container support.